Archive for the 'Inspiration' Category

The Checklist Manifesto – A hugely important book

February 13th, 2010

Back in 2007 I read a fascinating article called “The Checklist” written by Dr. Atul Gawande in the New Yorker. Atul Gawande is a practicing surgeon, MacArthur Fellow, Rhodes Scholar and professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health. The article described how a doctor convinced a group of hospitals [...]


A tale of two (entrepreneurial) cities

September 30th, 2009

I got my bachelor’s degree (Aerospace Engineering) from the University of Michigan, which is located in the lovely town of Ann Arbor, Michigan (about a 45 minute drive from Detroit). As one of the top research universities in the US, the greater Ann Arbor area is home to major R&D facilities and company headquarters [...]


Simon Murray speaks at Judge Business School

April 29th, 2009

This week our MBA class got to hear from Simon Murray. While his name may not ring a bell like some of the other speakers we’ve had this year, he was an absolute thrill to listen to.
Simon has had a fascinating career. He skipped his A-levels (similar to SATs for the Americans reading [...]


Kevin Roberts & his challenges

March 9th, 2009

Kevin Roberts, the CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, is also the CEO-in-Residence at Judge Business School. He came in to talk to us recently about Winning with an MBA, which was particularly useful considering the somewhat dismal job market that we’ll be entering later this year.
First off, he’s really an incredible speaker. His [...]


Running (rowing?) & reading

January 15th, 2009

I found this via Brad Feld, and saw that Furqan blogged about it, too.
It’s a short & simple video from Will Smith (the “Fresh Prince”) and his two keys to life: Running and Reading. Because if you want to succeed, you’ve got to be willing to work harder than anyone else.
Though I can’t help [...]


An MBA Rugby Blue, the last sprint and a magnificent cover letter

December 1st, 2008

I want to say a public congratulations to Doug Rowe, a fellow Cambridge MBA student. Just yesterday he was named as the scrum-half for the Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club 1st XV in their Varsity Match against Oxford at Twickenham Stadium next Thursday (the 11th). He will be a bit of a [...]


Meeting Michael van Swaaij, Chairman (and former CEO) of Skype

November 19th, 2008

On Monday this week our MBA class had the opportunity to hear Michael van Swaaij speak to our class. He is the current Chairman of Skype, having previously served as CEO of Skype and Chief Strategy Officer (amongst other roles) at eBay.
First of all, I have to say that he was a fantastic speaker. [...]


A Sunday post…

November 16th, 2008

I saw this yesterday via Fred Wilson.
For those of us in Business School, I think it’s critically important to keep a holistic vision of our life and goals in mind. This video really says it all.