Supply and demand

This cool little business really caught my attention. They were linked on Techcrunch and the Jackson Fish market few days ago. PodBrix makes limited run Apple themed Lego sets. Every set of Legos they have put together have sold out completely. Each run is limited to 300 hundred sets. Keeping the supply down has kept the demand up. From some quick maths I calculated that they have grossed over US $ 160,000 in the last 12 months. Not bad for 12 sets of Lego. Check out an interview with Legos CEO here, and note as PodBrix say they are not affiliated with Apple or Lego in any way.

MBA in a page

Guy Kawasaki summarises this site as an "MBA in a page". By his account it seems to have generated some anger from MBA students. The comments to this post are a great resource for potential MBA students. Plenty of MBA graduates with expereince spanning many years give their reasons why their studies were valuable and very relevant to the marketplace. I personally still think there is no hard and fast rule for such decisions but it's interesting to read other peoples views. As far as the contents of the MBA in page goes, a Chinese artist was asked to paint a fish...

The 'no exit strategy' exit strategy

Can exit strategies be self defeating? Does the stated ambition of an exit strategy reduce the possibility of achieving that goal?

According to rational expectations theory of individuals behaviour choices the potential buyer will examine the reasons why the owners are selling the company and make assumoptions about the sellers behaviour. The key point is a stated exit strategy may indicate flaws in the business that are causing the stakeholders to exit the business. Rational individuals will also understand this and conclude that the business is worth less because of hidden problems with the business. Moreover it may deter from a sale when previously it may have occured.

Of course stakeholders may have very valid reasons to leave a business that are unrelated to the business itself. But how does the buyer know this, or, more importantly trust that this is not a cover up? They can undertake due dilligence and develop relationships with stakeholders to build trust and confidence. All at a cost of time and money.

In smaller businesses with fewer staff the risk is more significant. One reason for the possible contradiction is that the stakeholders shift their focus from core business functions of generating revenue and running operations to focussing on packaging the business. Here the exit strategy is directly affecting the business performance and removing value from the business.

Should the optimal position for a business stakeholders seeking to exit their business either through a sale be not to declare that is their intention? Is the best Exit strategy a publicly stated 'no exit strategy' strategy?

Selfish Adam

Adam Smith used the invisible hand metaphor to demonstrate how those who seek wealth by pursuing self interest also assist society as a whole and build a common book. Interestingly this is the same conclusion that is reached in the Selfish gene where "successful" genes will also be beneficial to the organism even though it is "Self interest" that causes their behaviour. Could the Selfish gene and the invisible hand be the same?

The top 25 MBA employers

CNN and Forbes have a list of the top 25 employers for MBA graduates. Technology, finance and consulting firms dominate the list. The list is based on employers that prospective students would most like to work for. All of the companies are US based although, with the exception of BMW, and have international operations. It's interesting to note the lack of conglomerates on the list. I would have expected to see one or two international logistics and infrastructure companies named. However maybe the they hire the skills of MBAs indirectly through the consulting firms.

It would be interesting to compare this to the actual experiences of MBAs once they are employed at these institutions although obtaining an unbiased view could prove to be difficult. Here is an interesting perspective from an intern that was fortunate enough to intern at three of the tech companies on this list.

Off Topic - Apple design impressiveness

There is no doubt about it - Apple design is leading the pack.

Partner Schools: Fisher Ohio

Edinburgh University exchange offering for those wishing to go to te USA is the Fisher School of Business in Ohio. Ohio is in the North West of the US not far from the cities of New York and chicago.

The exchane program is made possible with Ohios trimester course arrangement which is the same as European schools. US schools more typically have two semesters a year. Joining the Ohio program students experience the 2 year program.

The business school is celebtrating its 90th anniversary this year.

From the Edinburgh website:

They offer a number of MBA majors and minors and have outstanding Faculty
in Negotiations, Finance, Marketing and Operations, with particularly exciting
courses in Quality Management and Finance, since they are an accredited institution for GE’s famous 6 Sigma programme. For an American school Fisher is comparatively small having a class size of about 130 students

Edinburgh students must take four courses whilst at Fisher.




Resources: Fisher MBA
Wiki

Book Review: The Fountainhead

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is a powerful novel that tackles what is possibly the most important question for any individual to answer. What is the purpose of my life. This was a gripping book that I could not put down. Written in the middle of the last century it rang true with me today.

Ayn Rands philosophy is known as objectivism. It is for the heroic in man and argues that the only true way to happiness is to live the selfish life. Ayn Rands selfish is not the selfishness as contemporarily known. By it the author means that you should be true to yourself without compromise, for to compromise is to deny your self worth. From single mindedness great things come and they can benefit others so through individual selfish behaviour mankind benefits. This is consistent with the contemporary biological theories such as the selfish gene or the origins of virtue.

At the time when the book was written Ayn Rand lived in a world that was being swallowed by communsim. China and teh Soviet block both had designs on global communist domination. The Fountainhead attacks the core of that now defunct political system by justifyung the right if the individual. Rand strongly favours the capitalist model as the only model that lets individuals thrive. The alternative, to be selfless and live for others is to destroy your own life force.

I identified with many of the characters in the novel from the heroic Howard Roark to the failed Peter Keating. Dominique Francon connects the characters taking us into their worlds. The author considers that the purpose of anyones life is to pursue what you can not help but do. For Howard Roark this is to be an Architect. For Peter Keating this is to be an artist. However Peter is unable to take up his raison de etre due to vanity wheras Howard Roark pursues his work ignoring external influence. Ultimately Howard Roarks path is justified and is argued to be the only true path to a happy life.

This book impressed me. It gave an explanation for my behaviour spanning many years, not without some discomfort I might add. I am a convert to this way of thinking. The only important standard is your own and within and it is in all of us. Whatever your field of work you innately know the quality of work that you deliver because is it judged against your own potential best. It is mans task to strive to deliver that best.

Resources: Wiki
Film