Bringing a data-driven approach to Microsoft

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Visha Chadha ’15 spent last summer in Seattle working at Microsoft, where she interned as a product marketing manager intern. After graduation she will return full time to Microsoft and do product management/marketing in the company’s cloud computing group and work on Microsoft Azure.

One of the most valuable realizations Chadha had as a Microsoft intern was how she constantly applied lessons learned in Kellogg’s data analytics courses.

Chadha, who previously designed semiconductor chips for microprocessors and smartphones at AMD (Advanced Micro Devices), took time to talk about why it was important for her to build a strong foundation in data analytics while at Kellogg.

Preparing women for future board opportunities

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Only 18% of S&P 500 boardrooms contain women. It will likely take 30 years for that number to grow to 30%.

In order to continue supporting women in leadership, the Women’s Business Association (WBA) recently hosted a panel to hear how two prominent female executives navigated their careers to lead them to positions on several boards.

How we won Ben Graham Centre’s International Stock Picking Competition

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How did you get comfortable with the replacement value analysis? Why does this business have a more durable competitive advantage than its peers? Why is short interest so low?

These are some of the questions our Kellogg team of Alex Acosta, Anish Pasari and Will Manderscheid received after our final round presentation for Ivey Business School’s Ben Graham Centre International Stock Picking Competition. The competition features 25 teams of MBA students from top business schools around the world who vie for $17,500 in cash prizes.

Optimizing proxy measurements for you and your business | MBA Learnings

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In our Operations Management class, we discussed how Wilson tests the durability of its tennis balls. It does so by subjecting them to pressure and checking for signs of contortion in the shape of the ball.

It isn’t possible for Wilson to put each ball through hours of tennis hitting and then confirm it is ready for sale. So, it works with a proxy measurement. It is unclear if customers can tell the difference between a tournament standard ball and a non-tournament standard ball. Perhaps professional tennis players can.

There isn’t necessarily an issue with this proxy. It seems to have largely worked out OK for them. But, it is a proxy measurement nevertheless. And, it is foreseeable that there might come a day (if it isn’t already here) when the distance between the proxy and the needs of the customer grows and Wilson fails to adapt simply because it is optimizing for the wrong thing.

Proxy measurements such as the Wilson durability test are critical in Operations. Proxy measures are critical in our life’s operations, too. They’re our attempt at simplifying a complex world and making our lives easy to navigate.

From GMAT To Deposit: An Engineer’s Journey (via Poets & Quants)

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Dean Nordhielm was recently admitted to Kellogg and will begin taking classes in Evanston this fall. In this article, originally published on Poets & Quants, Dean looks back at his application journey and offers advice on what he thinks worked well for him and what he would not do again.

I just finished a 12-month process to get from GMAT to putting down the $2,000 deposit for Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. In some ways, it has been a spectacular process of self-discovery, and in others, it has been a grueling process of painful disappointment. I’ve been fortunate enough to benefit from the MBA applicant community, and I’d like to pay it forward by sharing a bit about my experience.

Is your team slacking?

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Originally posted here. Lethargy is contagious — and if you’re not careful, it can drag the performance of your entire team down. In fact, according to Leigh Thompson, J. Jay Gerber Professor of Dispute Resolutions and Organizations, the more people you have pitching in on a group effort, the less each individual will contribute if… Continue reading

Launching a social venture at Kellogg

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This past fall I joined three of my MMM classmates in a case competition. Two quarters later, what started as a distraction from studying is blossoming into a real business. We secured more than $16,000 (and counting!) of initial funding, we have a great set of advisors and potential partners and we are planning to launch our first pilot this summer.

So how did we actually get here?

Searching for ‘The Good Life’ | MBA Learnings

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Last month, Professor Cast, Professor Corona, Professor Murnane, Lexie Smith and I launched a three-part workshop series we called “The Good Life” sessions. Our idea was to help our classmates and friends breakdown this life concept into three meaningful questions:

What do I value? (Week 1)
How do I find my personal mission? (Week 2)
How do I create an action plan to live a life consistent with this mission? (Week 3)