Interesante trabajo por mes

Yo soy estudio un poco de espanol. Todays' title is just words strung together, over time grammar will make an appearance.

One of my b-school professors, Rafael La Porta, has just published a paper on third world economic activity. The authors ask: Will the informal sector drive third world economic growth? There are three main schools of thought in this field.

• The Romantic view. If you've read De Soto's book (The Mystery of Capital), you know this argument. Essentially, adherents contend that the informal sector is very productive, and are held back by regulation, lack of access to finance and lack of secure property rights. 
• The Parasite view. The main proponent of this view is the McKinsey Global Institute. In essence, they claim that informal firms have to stay small to avoid detection, since they're illegal. Therefore, they will never gain sufficient scale to produce efficiently. However, they have a cost advantage that they can and do use to undercut official firms in prices. In short, informal firms hurt growth due to lack of scale and because they take away share from formal firms.
• The Dual view. This is the traditional development economics view. Adherents contend that productive entrepreneurs find it worth their time and effort to pay taxes and bear the burden of regulation, since being legal is more profitable to them. Informal firms, however, stay small because the payoff will not be large for them. Essentially, informal firms are so because they consist of low-quality assets managed by low-ability managers. These firms are not in direct competition with formal firms, and will die off as each sector develops economically.

Having laid out the essential points about each school, La Porta and Schleifer present comparative analyses of data collected on formal and informal firms. Their data covers a range of factors affecting both types of firms, from regulation to taxation to corruption. They also gather data on human capital at each type of firm, and look at productivity in each sector. 

To find out more, the conference version of the paper is here.

In addition to being a well-written and cogent argument, this was presented at the Brookings conference. I don't know intricate details of academia and academic publishing, but presenting at Brookings has got to be a major achievement. Congrats, Rafael!

Book recommendation du jour

.. The Manga Guide to Statistics will teach you everything you need
to know about this essential discipline, while entertaining you at the
same time. With its unique combination of Japanese-style comics called
manga and serious educational content, the EduManga format is already
a hit in Japan.

In The Manga Guide to Statistics, our heroine Rui is determined to
learn about statistics to impress the dreamy Mr. Igarashi and begs her
father for a tutor. Soon she's spending her Saturdays with geeky,
bespectacled Mr. Yamamoto, who patiently teaches her all about the
fundamentals of statistics: topics like data categorization, averages,
graphing, and standard deviation.

After all her studying, Rui is confident in her knowledge of
statistics, including complex concepts like probability, coefficients
of correlation, hypothesis tests, and tests of independence. But is it
enough to impress her dream guy? Or maybe there's someone better,
right in front of her? ..."

I'm buying this as soon as possible. Go here for more. Hat tip to Kuldeep.

4 steps to perfect concentration

Sounds easy, doesn't it? This paper has been around for a long time, but recently made a reappearance in the blogosphere. And in the last week or so, I've seen it mentioned on eight or nine blogs that I subscribe to (all unrelated).

So, what's so new about learning to concentrate? Nothing. But in this era of email, cell phone, SMS, RSS feeds and IM, it is good to have the occasional old-fashioned reminder that the basics never change. In simple terms, the prescription is as follows:

1. Have a schedule. Plan it so you can allocate for personally productive and unproductive times. Also have concrete goals on what you want to get done in a given time interval.
   
2. Take a deep breath and clear your mind. No worrying, no drifting, no daydreaming. Aggressively pull yourself back if you feel any of these coming on.
3. Have a quiet place. This might be an office, a workshop or a park bench. Anywhere you feel quiet and undisturbed. Many years ago, I used to spend hours on a treetop in my grandmother's backyard. To this day, I picture that reading spot when I'm relaxing.
   
4. Check your schedule. Work on whatever is on it.
   

Check out the whole thing, but remember you got the summary here!

Economics 101

Link thanks to Chacko.

Communicating product changes

You have a widely used product. Your customer base is diverse, and includes people at all levels of technological sophistication. You're working on a cool new iteration of the product. In this process, you discover that an existing feature is so badly designed that you cannot redesign the product without eliminating this feature. You have to do the new version, so the old feature has to go.

How do you communicate your decision to customers?

You could write a simple email. Roughly, it has to say:

"Dear Customer,

As you know, we are always working to improve (Product X). We are currently working on a new set of features that will make our product more useful to you.

We expect the new features to be available to you by (Date). In the meantime, we are forced to discontinue (Feature X) due to a previously undiscovered design issue. We are working to bring you an alternative (or list workaround, if it already exists).

We know that (Feature X) is heavily used, and for your convenience have put up an FAQ here: URL. If your questions or concerns are not addressed there, please contact us directly. Thank you for your business, and we look forward to serving you over the coming years."

Simple. Right? Now here is a real-world example. This is an actual email I received this morning. Names and identifiable information elided.

Dear subscriber:

The () team has been pleased to be able to offer the (productname) to thousands of customers over the past three and a half years. As one of our valued subscribers, we want you to be aware of some new developments currently underway within (product name).

(nice paragraph on system improvements)

The first step toward implementing these improvements will include the elimination of the (feature) option. As of July 13, 2008, this will no longer be available.

We regret having to discontinue this feature; however, our research has found that the offering of this option has resulted in technical complications within the (product) system that make this decision unavoidable.

Over the next few months, we will be implementing additional system improvements to the (product) service. These upgrades are expected to increase both the accuracy and speed with which your (alerts) are delivered.

(sorry for the inconvenience, etc)


Another example of poor execution on simple theory. In particular, note that the feature in question is being discontinued 2 days from today.

Winning a client

You're meeting a potential client. You've never worked with them before. It quickly becomes clear that they know exactly what problem needs to be solved, but haven't figured out the details of the solution. What do you do?

You could try to impress them with data about how good you are at what you do, how much experience you have solving this type of problem and try to convince them to leave the solution in your hands.

Or you could choose to engage with them, ask lots of questions to understand the specifics of their situation and tell them how you would approach the problem. Work with them to develop the outlines of a solution. For good measure, give them a few suggestions on how to enhance the answer that starts to emerge. If possible, show them a couple of examples of past work you have done, preferably relevant.

Which approach do you think works better?

Life at Tuck

A few months ago I wrote a short piece for a leading business magazine in India about what it means to live and study at Tuck. The text is reproduced here, for the benefit of prospective business school applicants.

I spent a few years in a relatively successful career as a software engineer, all the while knowing that I wanted to do much more with my life. Today, as a strategy consultant, I work with Fortune 500 firms helping them think through and solve critical business problems. Some day, I hope to be running my own startup, maybe in India. What enabled me to make the transition from one to the other is the two years I spent at Tuck – where I received a top-notch business education, developed skills that are essential to succeeding in a business career, gained entry into the tightest knit alumni network on the planet and had a great experience in the process.

Academics

The coursework at Tuck is rigorous and comprehensive. Tuck offers a challenging curriculum, and also places heavy emphasis on teamwork and leadership skills development, which are excellent preparation not just for a job after school, but for a career. The countless hours in study group provide a rich and diverse learning environment. The school puts a lot of thought into assigning study groups. My first term study group consisted of two bankers, a Canadian biotech entrepreneur, a telecom industry veteran from China, a family business manager who had been a missionary in the Philippines, and me, a woman engineer from Silicon Valley who grew up in India. Similarly, the variety of backgrounds and skills in the classroom is amazing. I benefited immensely from the experience and knowledge my classmates brought to classroom discussions.


Faculty

Tuck faculty are leading researchers in their respective fields. They are committed to teaching, and weave key insights from their research into classroom discussions. These discussions – lively and animated, but never contentious – are actively encouraged, and contribute to a superior learning experience. At Tuck, the classroom is a place where you are exposed to the latest thinking in any field.

Teaching at Tuck is a combination of case-based discussions and lectures. There is plenty of opportunity to learn from the faculty and from classmates. The professors are friendly and always up for a healthy debate, very often over coffee after class. It is also quite common for faculty to invite groups of students home for dinner. These informal interactions can lead to discussions about their latest book or research, industry perspectives, the latest Red Sox game, or in fact, anything at all.

Extra-curricular

Many faculty members participate in student club activities. Extra-curricular activities at Tuck are organized by the clubs, and there were over two dozen active student clubs during my two years at Tuck. There are clubs for everything from career interests to wine to rock climbing. For a class of 240 people, already over-committed to classes, coursework, assignments, exams, meetings with faculty or visiting executives, and recruiting, that is a lot of extra-curricular activities to throw into the mix! Even if I had gone entirely without sleep for the two years, there would not have been enough time to sample all the opportunities available.

Career

Tuckies are actively recruited by major investment banks, consulting firms, and blue-chip corporations. Top recruiters at Tuck include Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, Google, Lehman Brothers, PepsiCo, General Electric, Genentech, Procter and Gamble, and Microsoft. Some of my classmates also chose careers like marketing for the U.S. Tennis Association and advocacy at the Gates Foundation.

The Career Development Office (CDO) helps students pick the right career, in areas related to their background or otherwise. They organize workshops and panels on career management, offer individual counseling and collaborate with student clubs to organize Meet the Company trips, such as the annual Asia trek organized by the Asia Business Club.

The strong alumni network means that students have access to career advice from mentors who are at the top of their professions. Recruiters consistently speak highly of Tuck students not only for their business knowledge, but also for their collaborative approach to problem solving and for their leadership skills. It is not surprising then, that Tuck is consistently ranked #1 in terms of return on investment for students.

Community

However, what really differentiates Tuck is the people – administration, alumni, faculty and students. They are friendly, helpful and amazingly loyal to the school, which makes a diverse, warm and tight-knit community. Being part of it means many things:

• Emailing an alum and hearing back from them the same day
• Having dinner or coffee with a professor or a visiting executive and gaining new perspectives on industry
• Getting to know your classmates and their families
• Making time to catch the latest in music, art or film at the Hopkins Center. Or to listen to some of the renowned speakers that the College sponsors each year.
• Spending as much time as possible outdoors with friends. In warm weather, there’s golfing, hiking, kayaking, biking and climbing. And once the snow arrives, the ski slopes beckon.
• Attending as many events as possible on the busy Tuck social calendar.
  

Summary

Would I recommend Tuck? Absolutely. It is a unique experience that has enriched me in so many ways. Having so many opportunities around me was wonderful. Having to choose among them, due to sheer lack of time, taught me to prioritize as well as to manage my time. Memories of some of the opportunities that I had to pass up left me with the determination to keep learning, and to keep seeking out opportunities. I left Tuck armed with a great education, wonderful memories, lifelong friendships and a can-do attitude. That was the prologue to a new journey that I am on – one that would not have been so rich and fulfilling, but for Tuck. I would like to sign off by sharing with you a few memories from my Tuck years.

A few Tuck highlights

• Having lunch with Warren Buffett
• Spending a month in South Africa with 8 classmates, working on a consulting project. Hard work on weekdays. On weekends, we hiked up Table Mountain in Cape Town, went wine tasting across Stellenbosch, attended a football game in Soweto (Indians vs. Chiefs. Crowd: 50,000), took a safari trip outside Joburg, and attended countless braais (barbecues) with new friends
• Asking Ed Zander (CEO of Motorola) to donate a Q to the school’s charity auction, before the phone had been officially released. He did.
• My dad and uncle (business geeks, both) are huge fans of Jack Welch. When Jack visited Tuck, I got signed copies of his book for both of them.
• Mocha, my chocolate lab, was an integral member of the Tuck community. While I am a T’06 (Tuck, class of 2006), he is a Tuck K9’06.

Updated December 2009: Video tour of the campus