Author Archive

“Knock, Knock”

“Who’s there?”

“Beedie”

“Beedie who”

“Be dee one who went to the Acumen case competition final.”

All bad jokes aside, I (farthest to the right) recently had the pleasure of preparing and presenting a strategy for Ziqitza health care ltd to a panel of Social Entrepreneurs at the annual Acumen case competition. This competition differs from most in that all cases revolve around a social enterprise, thus adding an added level of challenge to the task.  My team of fellow MBAs Winnie So, Andrew Simard, and I (Mike Vandervelden) placed 2^nd in what the organizer declared “The Closest Finals Yet”. The task was to provide a scalable strategy for Ziqitza to:

“Provide world-class ambulance service for all of India’s population, regardless of socioeconomic status”.

For us it all came down to “HELP”. We knew we had to provide something outside of the case that would be a real game changer, something that would make Ziqitza or 1298 (the emergency number they would use) synonymous with ambulance services.  That’s when we came up with the Acronym “HELP” to teach people when to dial 1298.

So, why bother share a 2^nd place experience you might ask? Well, because the take away from this competition equates to so much more then meets the eye. This competition was unique in the sense that Acumen put on a 4 session course spanning 5 months, in which they gave us tips on how to approach these types of problems. However, these skills go well beyond just case competitions, they are skills that can be applied to real world scenarios. In my mind, case competitions provide real word gut checks as to how we are applying our education.  So although it took a few days for the sting of being so close to victory to dissipate, when I sit back and think about what we achieved, I couldn’t be more thrilled.  One of the judges, an investment and financial innovator known for attacking poor strategy, not only used her Q and A time to praise our unique and innovative strategy, but also sought us out afterwards to inquire about our future aspirations.  This praise alone made up for the bitter defeat, as it provided a real sense of confirmation that we’ve made substantial progress in our MBA journey.

On a more personal level, this experience has done wonders for me in terms of career development. Upon starting the MBA program at BEEDIE, I knew I wanted to get involved in a sector where I could use the mode of business to make an impact in society; I just didn’t know how I was going to do it. I started looking at different options outside of my original goals in hopes of building a circle of experience that I could tie together in hopes of applying it to an honorable initiative one day.  Through a series of cases based on providing healthcare services to citizens in India, I was able to grasp what it takes to provide a sustainable business strategy revolving around philanthropic mission statements: I now believe I can achieve both simultaneously. This experience has not only refocused my objectives and introduced me to the exciting world of Social Enterprise, but I was also able to meet great people already working in this space. It’s opened a whole new world for me.

It is not until you fully immerse yourself in your opportunities, that you create the potential to become one of the Few Great Minds – Mike Vandervelden Beedie MBA 

If you would like to know more about my experience feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on Twitter @vandermike2012

by Laura Anderson

I’ve always considered the hour of 4 am to be a time when no one should really be awake. When my kids were young and they woke up during the 4 o’clock hour, I always felt a jolt of outrage – “don’t you know that everyone is supposed to be asleep right now!” That is certainly how I felt when my alarm when off at 4:30 am and I [literally] bolted upright out of bed.  “Oh no!” The day had begun and I had to start getting ready for the Strategy Case competition at the MBA Games 2013, Hamilton, ON.

Other weary case competitors joined at the buffet breakfast, loading up on coffee and carbs…each team would need its strength to face a complex task, a wickedly short timeframe and worse, fierce competition from approximately 20 other MBA schools across Canada. The Strategy Case typically has the reputation of the being the “money team” – the team where a school’s best and brightness attempt to wow panels of judges with their brilliant analytical skills; seamless presentations and most importantly, advice for a company that will allow it to solve whatever problem the case itself describes.

The slightly old-fashioned school bus arrived at the front door of the hotel to drive us to McMaster’s Degroote School of Business’s new building  – from an out of town perspective, we were in the middle of nowhere on a stretch of highway outside Hamilton. One by one each team was provided with a package of materials that we had just 2.5 hours to analyze. As a woman, I was certainly in the minority of participants. Although many teams had more men than women (some were all men), not a single team had more women than men – our team was no different. Our team had 2 of each:  myself, a full-time MBA student was joined by Geordan Hankinson (MBA full-time), Winnie So (MOT MBA part-time) and Lucas Mitchell (a full-time MBA student who had finished the program but not yet graduated). As a group, we work together very effectively, without conflict or anger, arriving at decisions almost without effort. This, we thought, was a winning team. We would surely at least make it to the finals.

The case we analyzed was one that asked a slightly vague “how do we do better?” kind of question. With the 2.5 hour time limit on our minds, by the time we finished reading the case itself, we had to quickly arrive at a direction and run with it. The group settled on a logistics and streamlining approach and set to work on our presentation.

The difference between practice case competitions that might happen within our program and the MBA Games competition was clearly the volume of adrenaline pumping. Each of us paced the halls as we prepared to present, silently mouthing our speeches, perhaps praying or trying anything to calm ourselves down. In the end, the presentation went smoothly – no major slipups or missteps.

Unfortunately, our best efforts were not enough to move us to the next round. Ten out the 20 teams were eliminated in the first round and we were among them. No finals, no glory, no fame. But each of us felt proud to have given our best effort and in the end, that’s all each of can do. If each of us were to asked the question “was it worth getting up at 4:30 am?”, the answer would surely be “absolutely.”

By Dominik Debois

Crowded in a room at the Beedie School of Business in late October, we waited in anticipation for the first meeting with regard to the much celebrated MBA Games. This competition takes place in January over an entire weekend where students from across the country come together to compete in spirit, athletic and academic events. This year, the games were in Hamilton at the DeGroote School of Business. We were all so excited to get started and when the team captains announced the requirements for the spirit events, we all got to work.

You see, so much preparation behind the scenes goes into these games. For my part, I was grouped with Danielle Friesen and Andrew Simard and we became responsible for creating a video entitled “What Makes a Good Leader”. We had no further instructions from the organizing committee so we just ran with it. This video, along with volunteer hours in our community needed to be completed before the start of the games and would count toward our spirit points.

The amount of hours spent thinking about the concept, developing our ideas, organizing filming sessions and editing the content were countless. However, what a great experience! The final result was spectacular and everyone’s hard work paid off as all team members came together during the final day of filming to create what will forever be remembered as the “SFU Balloon Wall”.

We presented the video, as did all other schools, during the opening ceremonies for the MBA Games on Friday January 4^th. It was impressive to see how everyone had interpreted the tagline “What Makes a Good Leader”.  Some schools opted for a more comedic approach while others stuck to a very formal definition of leadership. There was so much cheering and excitement in the room with over 600 students dancing and cheering and just having a good time. The energy was palpable and I knew I had made the right decision in participating in these games.

With all the hard work and dedication that goes into doing this MBA program at Beedie, this felt like the perfect reward. A chance to let loose, meet new people and create friendships that will last a lifetime. So many stories came as a result of this weekend together in Hamilton. Some of which you may have heard, some which may have been censored…hahaha. But one thing is for sure, no one ever regrets participating in the MBA Games!

At the end of the games, during the closing ceremonies, all winners from each category were announced. Unfortunately, our video submission did not make top 3, but we had so much fun creating it that we still felt like winners. What a weekend. What an experience. Now it’s time to get back in the routine and hit the books once more!

Joanna Kipp and Geordan Hankinson, co-presidents of the Net Impact Segal Chapter for the 2013 school year, recently had the great opportunity to travel to Baltimore to participate in the 2012 Net Impact Conference.

I have always been fascinated by the intersection of business with the complex social and environmental issues that confront our cities and countries. The Net Impact Conference brought together many bright minds who are using innovative business models to address some of the most difficult problems confronting our societies.

Joaquin Duato of Johnson & Johnson, and Kurt Kehne of UPS during the Saturday keynote session.

What I enjoyed the most about my experience at the conference was the opportunity to engage with professionals who are profoundly solutions oriented. Net Impact brings together people from a range of backgrounds who have spent a good part of their lives not just identifying and talking about problems that need to be solved, but actually trying to solve them. As attendees at the conference, Joanna and I had the opportunity to hear a wide array of such creative minds in the various workshop and speaker sessions held throughout the weekend.

My favourite of these sessions was one entitled the Five Levers of Social Change facilitated by Aaron Hurst. Aaron is the president and founder of the TapRoot Foundation, an organization that connects business and legal professionals (offering their services pro bono) with small not-for-profits who are serving their communities or protecting the environment in innovative ways. Aaron has written extensively about the most effective ways to move the dial on any particular issue (be it social, environmental or economic) and he has distilled this into what he dubs the Five Levers Framework (for more detail read his excellent series on the Stanford Social Innovation Review).

For his workshop, he brought together business professionals from a variety of organizations and firms who are applying each of the five levers in a unique way. In the mix were Lisa Nitze, managing director at Mission Measurement, whose firm uses data and statistical analysis to help nonprofits better deliver on their missions. Robert Kaplan, Senior Manager of Sustainability at Walmart, spoke to us about the ways that Walmart was using policy tools to reduce carbon emissions from its supply chain. Aaron Schiller spoke to us about the way his organization, Causes.com utilizes disruptive technology to change the way that people raise awareness of global issues, and ultimately impact public perception of a given issue.

Though the five individuals that spoke were all from unrelated organizations and were all actively involved in effecting change through applying one or two specific “change levers”, the workshop did a great job showing us ways that all five of these levers could be applied to effecting lasting change whether the issue is environmental stewardship, education reform, or more effective impact measurement. It was also a unique look at the ways in which non-profits and for-profit businesses can partner to achieve common goals by sharing strategy, and complementing each other’s skillsets. In addition to this workshop, I was able to attend many learning sessions on impact investing, and business ventures in developing markets, all of which I found immensely valuable.

Aside from these excellent workshops, we had the opportunity to meet many other chapter leaders from different schools across North America, and interact with other students each trying to find creative ways to apply the business skillset to solve complex issues. We are both excited to take our experiences and lessons from the conference and share them with our own chapter here at Segal.

Joanna Kipp and Geordan Hankinson, co-presidents of the Net Impact Segal Chapter for the 2013 school year, recently had the great opportunity to travel to Baltimore to participate in the 2012 Net Impact Conference.

When I arrived in Baltimore for the 2012 Net Impact Conference, I didn’t really know what to expect. Sure, I had downloaded the app and decided which sessions to attend – but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to experience. In the two days I spent attending keynotes, breakout sessions and social events I learned more about how business can be used for positive impact than I ever imagined possible.

I have been thinking a lot about how I can use my own future business career for good for a while now, even before starting the MBA program at SFU. Before the conference, I thought that the key to achieving my career goal of working in environmental sustainability had to start with getting a job with these exact words in the job title. Otherwise, my job wouldn’t allow me to make a difference, right? Wrong. A recurring and eye-opening theme of the Net Impact conference that really hit home with me was the fact that you don’t need to have sustainability in your job title, you can bring it to any job that you do! This concept was particularly impactful coming from two accomplished and inspiring speakers, Kurt Kehne (CFO @ UPS) and Jean Sweeney (Vice President of Environmental, Health, and Safety Operations @ 3M). In addition, Joaquin Duato (Worldwide Chairman @ Johnson & Johnson) said that every company needs champions for sustainability. So even if it is not part of your official responsibilities, you can (and should) incorporate sustainability as an overarching theme in your work.

After hearing this, I have to admit I felt a little relieved. I have really been able to expand the range of options for my post-MBA career, and I’ve begun to think about what I can do to be a champion of sustainability no matter where I end up working.

With this new idea planted in my brain, I attended a number of smaller, more personal sessions over the next 2 days. The conference was great in that it really allowed you to personalize your experience and tailor the sessions you attended to what you were most interested in. I also had the chance to meet with some of the panel speakers and some like-minded students that were in the same position as me with respect to feeling overwhelmed by career choices. It was empowering to connect with these people and hear their thoughts on choosing a career in environmental sustainability.

In the closing keynote session, Net Impact’s President Liz Maw left the audience with a challenge: do you have the courage to lead us – rapidly – into a new world of responsible and sustainable solutions? Will you take a risk and challenge the status quo? After attending the conference, my answer to these questions is a definite “yes”.

Joanna Kipp
Twitter: @thekipp

My learning experience at Impact99 HR Summit 2012

By: Lydia Liao, MBA Candidate

Engagement Through Social Media

The Impact99 HR Summit, in conjunction with the MIS course in my MBA program at the Beedie School of Business, has helped me understand how I can better use social media to promote an organization’s own personal brand, as well as my own brand image. I learned how to promote myself to my future employers, what questions to consider before launching onto a specific social media platform, and what ideas I need to keep in mind when using these powerful tools.

One of the learning pod sessions at the Summit, Five Pillars of Successful Engagement Strategy, focused on engagement through social media. The session discussed a range of tactics, from listening to those you follow, to discussing, meeting and connecting with your followers, either face to face over coffee, or virtually over Skype. Building, expanding and deepening these relationships has great potential, such as the possibility of helping you land your dream job, or increasing incentives to manage a problem when a mistake occurs.

The final keynote speech, Leading change in a technological workplace, focused on the tools required to bring social media to the workplace. Since there are still many people who are resistant to this, it is important to be flexible. Tools which can help you deal with such a scenario include using coaching questions, such as “what would it look like if we did X”, or “if we did Y, what would we create?”

Both of the keynote speakers at the Summit discussed how HR professionals can bring social media initiatives to their CEOs by utilizing language that a CEO would use. One theory suggested using statistics to illustrate how the social media initiatives proposed would translate into savings on both money and time, and what results would be achieved through implementation of these initiatives.

Cheryl Cran, President of Synthesis at Work Inc., and keynote speaker at the Impact99 HR Summit, discussing how HR professionals can bring social media initiatives to CEOs.

Ultimately, the Summit demonstrated why social media is here to stay, and that we must learn to be flexible and adapt to its presence, as well as use it in alignment with our business strategies. In the end, if you do not have a social media presence to promote your own company’s brand image and values, you risk allowing others to say it on your behalf and lose the advantage of being able to control what is being said about you.

Part 1: Social Media takeaways at the Impact99 HR Summit 2012
Part 2: Utilizing social media to instil a sense of trust in your business
Part 3: Engagement through social media