New Smith MBAs Get Advice from Top Business Executives

One hundred and seven (107) students hailing from 22 countries, including Iceland and Norway, are now proud members of the Smith full-time MBA Class of 2007. They have not only the desire to succeed, but to excel and the potential to be great, said Sabrina White, director of MBA admissions. During orientation week (August 16-19) well-known speakers gave the students advice as they enter one of the most exciting and life-changing journeys of their lives.

Mark Walsh Instills the Entrepreneurial Spirit
Mark Walsh, senior executive fellow at Smith and managing partner at Ruxton Associates, LLC, a private equity and investment firm, addressed students on their first day of orientation.

A graduate of Harvard's MBA program, Walsh has become a strong supporter of the valuable business education that is taught at the Smith School. He told the students they had made a choice: a choice to take the time, spend the money and made the commitment to better their career path, expand their knowledge base, and explore new horizons.

He asked the new students if they were on a crusade to change the world, on a mission to start a company, on an assignment to accelerate your career in the company you love, or on a search to change careers and reinvent yourself. Walsh said they would only get what they give, and they have to give to this school to make it a good investment.

Whatever you choose, you have to open yourself up in order to gain assets, said Walsh. The cost will be worth the benefit, and the risk will be worth the reward. You are here for a reason, he said. Smith wanted YOU, and you wanted SMITH. Make the most of it, and both will prosper, he concluded.

Jeff Irby Discusses the Work-Life Balance

Jeff Irby, vice president at BearingPoint, discussed the work-life balance with students, including methods for improving organization and time management.

First-year MBA Mark Mulvanny said he learned two main things from Irby's presentation. "The first of which was that if I have a task in front of me that demands five minutes or less of my time, I should do it immediately rather than putting it off. Also, I took from the talk that alphabetical filing systems are one of the most effective methods of organization and that I should not underestimate the value of journaling future tasks to prevent them from being lost in short-term memory. I also found it interesting that Mr. Irby was a friend of David Allen, whose book "Getting Things Done" I have heard quite a few positive things about," added Mulvanny.

Jeremy Rifkin Encourages Students to Improve "The American Dream"
Jeremy Rifkin, founder and president of Foundation on Economic Trends, is the author of 17 books on the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society, and the environment. Smith MBA students received a copy of Rifkin's latest book, The European Dream, which relates how "The American Dream" is fading and "The European Dream" is building.

During a keynote speech to students, Rifkin encouraged them to compare the dream components and work to improve business strategies in the U.S., which he says is an alarming 24th in the world for income disparity. "'The European Dream' is the first attempt to dare to dare a dream based on a global consciousness," says Rifkin. When considering Europe as one single entity rather than 25 countries, it is the largest exporting power in the world. "The European Dream" is based on a good quality of life, sustainable development, social rights, and "working to live, instead of living to work," says Rifkin.

"The American Dream" is based on individualism - no one will take care of you, so you have to work hard to provide for yourself. Americans work longer hours than citizens of any other country and take fewer vacation days. That said, the shorter work weeks and more vacation days haven't hurt the productivity of the Europeans, which is higher than that of the U.S., says Rifkin.

Rifkin said that MBAs need to understand that the first goal of good business is social capital responsibility. It shouldn't be a winner-take-all attitude, but focused on redistributing the wealth. "The American Dream" has strengths: higher education, individual personal accountability, and a sense of optimism and risk-taking. Having a balance of each dream is Rifkin's hope for the next "American Dream."

Climbing to New Heights

A highlight of orientation was a half-day of team-building exercises at the University of Maryland's Outdoor Recreation Center. MBA students worked on two of the adventure complex's ropes courses - a rock climbing wall and an alpine tower.

"I also really enjoyed the brief skits which were put on showing poor and good networking skills," said Sachin Agarwal. "I was telling my wife, that I almost do everything that the poor networker did in the skit! It was quite an eye-opener and it conveyed a fairly brutal message with such wonderful humor."

"I liked the session on business formal dress quite a bit," added Mulvanny. "In addition to the light nature of the "fashion show" there were a few very important questions asked and points made on a subject that doesn't figure foremost into people's minds when they think of business school orientation. However, if we consider that the interviewer will decide to hire or pass in less than a minute, personal appearance and business dress plays a large factor into that quick decision."

Signed-books, Flash Keys, BlackBerrys; Check!

Receiving a flash key drive, a new BlackBerry handheld device and two top-selling books (The World is Flat, by best-selling author and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, and The European Dream - which students were able to get personally signed by author Jeremy Rifkin), Smith MBAs departed orientation with a sense of relief that the long week was over, but also with great anticipation to start classes at one of the best business schools in the world.

"I saw a commitment to the presentation of the Smith Brand with all of the renovations and technology and from the [orientation] committee I saw an enthusiastic group of second-years willing to give back to the school by introducing it to us," said Mulvanny.

"Smith is exactly as I expected it to be," said Agarwal. "I was expecting a bunch of super-smart, hungry people, thrown into a challenging situation and then fighting their way out, and that is exactly what the tough schedule and classes are delivering. In terms of the overall impression of the program, as soon as I interviewed here in the spring I knew it is an extremely ambitious program. And I can see that everywhere. It is early days yet, but so far I think I have made the right choice."