#8: Global Leadership was awesome!
Before business school, I’d been to fewer than five countries, and knew next to nothing about how international business was transacted, other than what I’d read or experienced through the eyes of others. Not so now: I went to 9 countries in 2 my two years at Freeman! This is amazing considering all the other stuff (classes, internship, job search, vacation, etc) that I had to pack in, but looking back this was perhaps the best program in my MBA.
The class trips to Monterrey, Mexico, Paris, France and Beijing, China provided great opportunities to see how business – and life – worked outside of the US. We learned about the billion dollar cement conglomerate CEMEX in Mexico, heard from a lady who absolutely hated American foreign policy in France, and presented to the Chairman of Citibank China in Beijing.
Guess which country? Hint: it’s to the south of New Orleans.
Each of these events exposed me to a different way to view business AND culture from a non-American perspective. This is, as I’m sure you’ve figured out, an immensely important part of getting a well-rounded MBA: I sincerely doubt I’ll have a career where I don’t have to do business with people from different nations and business systems.
Doing business in China is unlike anywhere else.
How, for example, do you juxtapose the paying of bribes in the US when you’re an international company doing business in a country where kickbacks are a way of doing business? As an American, what perspectives do the people across the negotiating table have of me before I even open my mouth? What’s the best way to initiate a new business contract in an Asian culture? Now I’m not an expert in any of the aforementioned questions, but after the Global Leadership classes at Tulane I definitely have better answers now than I did two years ago. Answers that will help me hit the ground running and get acclimated faster (hopefully) than my competition.
I’ve got a leg up on the competition!
Whatever MBA program you choose, make sure it has a robust abroad program with plenty of opportunities for international exposure.
-Joel Yarmon, joel@tulanemba.org
2 responses so far ↓
Potential Tulane MBA Student // May 29, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Just a quick note to say thanks for the blog post. This was very informative.
I am considering Tulane and found your site on Google. One of my many reasons for evaluating the Freeman School of Business for my MBA is the possiblity that the New Orleans community is reaching out to the Freeman School of Business students, faculty and staff for post Katrina assistance. My theory is that Katrina created some leadership opportunities that cant be found at elsewhere. I dont like associating Katrina with opportunity, but can you confirm this theory? Perhaps a blog post dedicated to this idea.
Thanks for maintaining the blog!
will // May 30, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Hi Anon,
This does sound like a good post to tackle directly, and I’ll keep it in mind.
To respond quickly, however, I think we should note that you are indeed very right.
One of the best things about the city is the leadership opportunities that exist here now. There are, literally, hundreds of start-ups in the city. There are also several new non-profits. Each of these organizations need young energetic people and are perfectly willing to let you take the reigns and direct a project. You’ll also be responsible for its outcome, but, you did ask for the cake, so eat it.
The idea village has a host of positions to lead projects. Several local real estate developers have new projects that need management. The city has announced tax-rebates for a host of industries and start-ups are flying around left and right taking advantage of them.
I’ll post more in a formalized post soon.
Thanks for the nod.
Will
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