New Internship, New Career?

I left TRX with the objective of getting an MBA, then going back to work in the upper echelon of a technology company's management, quite possibly in travel, and quite possibly in product management, with the goal of becoming a CEO asap. And that's still in play. But I started to question my original plans, which I think is a healthy exercise now that I'm free and clear of the working world.

Is travel a good industry? It's one of the least healthy industries in the world, it's cutthroat competitive, and has tight margins. The clearest proof may be that I had to leave the industry to go for an MBA to expand my opportunities. So maybe I should reconsider travel.

What about tech companies? Well, I actually really do like high-tech stuff. I worked in two high-tech firms (telecom and software development) and enjoyed both. They were both relatively dynamic, and I embrace change and ambiguity. I follow news on cutting edge gadgets and technologies just because it all fascinates me. And good opportunities seem to go hand-in-hand with technology. So I seem at home in tech; it just suits me.

What about product management? What I've read about it still sounds quite interesting. Product managers control a product, setting marketing strategies, and recommending / requesting (depending on the degree of authority) product changes. It's basically a mini-CEO role, but over a single product within a company that has several products. Sounds great - but it turns out that those roles don't go to fresh MBA's in Europe. You have to start a few rungs lower and work into the job. So I still like the idea, but it isn't the immediate "CEO path" I thought it might be.

At school, I've learned more about management consulting. Consultants are hired by a company to give advice to senior management on its biggest issues. And since they get practice with top management issues, they are often recruited to become corporate executives (read: CEO!). So, maybe I should become a consultant? But often, and especially lately, the issues they handle are "ugly" problems - cutting costs in a warehouse, downsizing a company, etc. Imagine consulting a carpet manufacturer in a village in Eastern Europe for 6 months on how to reorganize its factory. Not my style, even if it does add a ton of value.

But then I learned about boutique consulting firms - relatively smaller firms that focus only on a specific industry - like technology, for example. And I thought, "Aha!" This might be another path to the same destination, and might be an even quicker path to the top. And maybe along the way I'll decide that I love consulting, and might just stick with that.

The big news is that I have an internship lined up with a Technology-Media-Telecom consulting firm that works exclusively on really cool strategy projects. It has a great, convenient office at an exclusive location amidst the tailors on Savile Row. I start in January. This is exceptionally rare for an MBA; I would say that in our class of 400, maybe 10 of us will be interning during the year. I couldn't be happier, and quite frankly, am way ahead of the curve for MBA's. Now back to studying - I've got finals in a couple days!

College Game Day

Football! Over here, that generally means something different - "soccer." But on rare occassions, I get to view (and celebrate) the great American pastime that is real football. A couple of my friends here went to USC and they have a Huuuge alumni community here in London. Go figure, right? A bunch of people from sunny California would decide to move to cold and dreary London? But from time to time I get to join them out at Sports Cafe. We generally don't get college games on TV here, but we do get 1 NFL game per week. A couple weeks ago we had the Colts-Pats game - hopefully you caught it, because it was one of the best games I've ever seen!

Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum

It was inevitable that I would go. I live less than a 5-minute walk from the legendary (and totally touristy) Madame Tussaud's was museum. It was worth the price of admission. As you walk around the crowds, you might bump into someone and apologize - only to realize they're made of wax. The figures all look quite realistic.

I also found the morbid history to be really interesting. Madame Tussaud got her start in taking "death masks" made of wax from famous people that had been beheaded during the French revolution. Those masks still exist, and are on display - including Marie Antoinette, and the actual guillotine blade that killed her.

Riding the bus

I've become proficient at riding London's big red buses, which is a big step towards becoming a Londoner. Three of my friends (Lee, Molly, Mia) are pictured.

During busy hours you want to stick with the Tube (subway) because the roads have bad traffic. But otherwise, the buses are the way to go.
1. They are cheaper; 1 pound vs. 2 pounds for the tube, or 5-10 pounds for a taxi
2. You can see where you're going as the bus travels, giving you your bearings
3. Buses travel to more exact locations, places that tubes do not, so there is less walking
4. Buses run 24 hours, while the Tube closes around 11:30pm - 12:00am
5. Buses are often faster for short trips, since changing trains and all the station stops add a lot of time

Today I too a bus to meet up with someone I haven't seen since high school! Colleen seems to be doing great, she is a guru at helping out with business pitches. And we had Spanish tapas which were, at least I thought, pretty good. Though my opinion is not harmed by the three chocolate desserts that we split! Good times.

Eloquent!

We had a debate in Ethics recently, and just got back some feedback. I did pretty well! The point about French was part of my rebuttal.

"...Peter French (and nice reference, by the way)... Joshua in particularly made an eloquent argument."

- Josh

London nightlife

If there's one take-away I would offer you from the picture above, it's the hundreds and hundreds of people. This is how London spends its time at night. Everyone goes out to huge nightclubs, spends a fortune on cover (generally 15 - 20 pounds; about US $30 - 40), and drinks cocktails. People dance all night, primarily to house / techno music.

This is a huge contrast to the style of nightlife in Atlanta. In Atlanta it's quite rare to pay entry, and if there is a fee, it's minimal. Drinks inside are relative cheap due to competition. The biggest difference is that Atlanta is primarily a scene with bars, rather than clubs. The emphasis there is on socializing, talking, and bar games (pool, darts, foosball). Most people seem to drink beer, and there's relatively little dancing - if anything, a small area would be devoted to dancing. I'm getting more used to the London scene, but frankly, it's not my preference! I'm more of a talker than a dancer.

Trini Barbeque night

London is a truly international city in a way that Atlanta never was. This night was no exception. My roommate, Mark, knew a girl from Trinidad. She invited Mark to a barbecue and I tagged along. It was south of the city - farther south than I had been before, to an area called Clapham.

The short list of things I didn't know ahead of time: absolutely everyone else was from Trinidad (of all places!), and it was a themed party (so everyone was wearing a costume that started with the letter "B"). Needless to say, I was a little out of place! But I felt welcome to be there.

Some of the better costumes included Bob the Builder, a Biker, Barack Obama, Betty Boop, and...

A Beefeater! Definitely my favorite costume. The fact that he was tending the grill (including beef sausages) was too perfect. They served some of the best chorizo I've had in London. The weather here, despite advance warnings to the contrary, has been really nice over the past couple months. I could count on one hand the number of times it has rained, with only two legitimate downpours. Most days I'm in a t-shirt and jeans. And yeah, I've been here two months - today is my anniversary!