Napoleon's Glance

One of the favorite electives my husband took in his Columbia MBA's first year was "Napoleon's Glance". He kind of lectured me, everyday when he arrived home. Not only because he loved the subject and he agrees mostly with every line of thought of the teacher (Mr. William Duggan), but also, because he expected me to see my life more like they do.

Mr. Duggan believes in a new way of doing and thinking about strategy. Not only strategy in business, but also strategy for one's life.

I am kind of pesimistic person, especially when the subject discussed concerns me. This new line of thought, carefully gathered in the book "Napoleon's Glance" gives the main lines to live a happy life. Not only it explains how to be succesful in business, how to be able to detect the opportunities that life gives us, how to seize them... but also how to be hopeful and not worried about aspect that we cannot control.

I am trying to really work on that. The botton line regarding what I want to change in myself is: If there's something in the future that worries you, ACT, do something to avoid it, to control it, to overcome it... and if you really cannot do anything to avoid it, control it, overcome it... don't loose your time worrying. If you can do something, do it and stop worrying; and if you cannot do anything, stop worrying anyway, the worries won't make any good.

Given the time, I may not being clear enough. I'll give it several more thoughts and write again about it.

Lies about Executives' Education

The intrepid reporter from TheStreet.com, Herb Greenberg announced some "mistakes" in several executives' resumes.

For example, Bausch & Lomb CEO Ronald Zarrella claimed an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business, while he never obtained such a post-graduate program in any university.

Veritas Software CFO Kenneth Lonchar, claimed a degree from Arizona State University and an MBA from Stanford. However all he actually has is an undergraduate degree from Idaho State University.

Why do executives lie about their education? I mean, is it really worth it? This humillation their are suffering now for their lies, is worth the time they managed to ware their masks? I don't know!

I don't think I never lied about my education. In fact, when I was preparing my MBA application, I must say that I was tempted to add some courses I never took, some social work I never did, some languages I don't speak... But, I just had to think about it one sec, to realize that the benefits I could get from lying are not worth the humillation I could get when someone discovered the truth. Besides, I would allways have in my mind that I had lied.

It's not about the people who might find out that I was lying, its about myself, knowing that I've lied. How could I look myself in the mirror and be proud of what I'm seeing?

However, the facts are the facts! People usually lie in their resumés!

BTW: Check this site out: www.cartoonstock.com/ directory/l/lies.asp

NYU-Stern Admission: Essay 3: Describe yourself!

One of the things that I am most proud of to this point in my professional career, is My Admission in NYU- Stern MBA program. I am sure that there are tons of brilliant, special and successful people who sent their applications and didn't have the same luck I had. Just a couple of words for them: Hang in there! Believe in yourselves! Don't give up!

I am sure that there was a combination of factors what made the Admissions Committee decide to accept me. However, I am sure that the photo-album I sent in order to answer the first essay, "Describe yourself", played a big role.

I divided it in three parts:

1. Who and How am I?: To answer this, I thought that the best thing to do would be asking my friends and family to describe me, and that's what I did and what I wrote down in the album.
2. The most important people in my life and my role-models
3. The Most Significant days of my life

I think that the final work was pretty good, cause it trasmits who I am, what I care for and where I'm heading. I'd love to have done two and to have kept a copy of it... At least I took pictures of it before sending it!

Here are some some shots of it...

FACE TIME: New passwords are faces

Can't remeber passwords? Try to remember faces!

Passfaces is a company that just designed the perfect way of never forgetting your password! We'll just have to remember faces.

That's a great idea for those who have the so-called photographic memory. For those who don't have it... you'll have to keep on trying to remember DKL99s8jB como password ;-)

Read the full article here, it's really interesting.

By the way: A message for someone who'll understand it => When using this system, it's necessary to differenciate between Jennifer Garner (Daredevil) and Piper Perabo (Coyote ugly).

NYU - Stern Business School...

... I'm coming! On July 2006, I'll be starting my MBA program in New York University - Stern Business School!!!!

I am terribly excited! The Business School is great, the studen body so far is amazing, the teachers are wonderful, the program is the one that fits better my future goals and... what can I say about its location??? One of the best places in Manhattan.

I can't wait to start!!!

Downtown, Down to earth, Down to business!

http://reflectweb.reflectsystems.com/getContent.aspx?WCID=9cfdf09e-5e81-48e1-9d54-7cccea64ecd7

http://reflectweb.reflectsystems.com/getcontent.aspx?WCID=bb8f6654-c50c-4705-b002-b26022227a83

The Constant Gardener

This weekend, after my husband left to Spain, I decided to watch "The Constant Gardener" and I loved it. Though it made me miss him even more...

It's not the typical protest film, though it explains the moral dilemma faced by pharmaceutical companies, governmental institutions, non-profit organizations... while working in countries like Africa. It makes you wanna do something, reveal against the system, fight against injustice... help those people who are living an awful life just because they were born in the wrong place.

It's not the typical love story, though it shows the puresness of love, the meaning of loving someone "rotten", how protective love can be... speechless! It's a kind of love that is so real but at the same time so perfect, so profound that I can hardly describe it with words.

It's not the typical hollywood-oscar nominated film with a perfect filmation. Sometimes it seems like someones is really living the story and recording it with his/her personal camera. However it gets to transmit passion, closeness, credibility and a huge dosis of reality.

I highly recommend it!

The Art of folding T-Shirs

After a couple of months working in ZARA and learning how to properly fold t-shirts, pants, sweaters... I must say that the Japanese method is kind of faster thant the Galician one ;-)

Check this video out to learn how to make a perfect fold in just 3 seconds!

http://www.danger-island.com/~dav/video/misc/folding.mpeg

Is it true?

You're only as smart as you appear!!!
Check this article out...

Adoption in China

After watching the documentary The Dying Room by BBC in 1995, I made the decision of adopting a Chinese girl in the future. I am sure that anyone who sees this documentary will feel the same way that I do. Take a look at whats happening in China!

Enron: Two sides of the same story

In my personal opinion, both Skilling and Lay are guilty in Enron's case. The most honest attitude they could've followed would've been to pledge guilty. On the contrary, while lower lever executives, such as Fastow, pledged guilty; Skilling and Lay, the heads of the company, the two top executives pledged innocent.

In a case like Enron, based mainly on testimonies and analysis of past fast, sometimes is difficult to decide who you believe. I always thought all of them were guilty, I mean the top executives. However, as the trial goes on, I am starting to differenciate two different types of guilty.

The first one is where Fastow is. He knows he had done bad things, he regrets it, he acknowledges his faults and he is willing to pay for them.

The second one is where Skilling and Lay are. They know they had done bad things, but they'll never admit it, they will continue with the theory that they didn't know anything about the operations that finally drove Enron into bankruptcy. They continue lying (in my opinion), smiling and posing for the picture. Furthermore, they pretend to make us believe that they are the victims in this story, that they found themselves involved in this scandal without knowing anything.

From my point of view, it is much more honest Fastow's attitude, he knows he destroyed his life, he is ashamed of what he did, but he regrets it, he stands up, assumes his faults and asks for forgiveness.

China Care Foundation

When I first read about this story I was really moved for several reasons. First, the youth of the protagonist, second the amazing goal this foundation has and third the shared loved for children.

Matt Dalio was eleven years old when he first visited China. He spent one academic year in the country living with a Chinese family, going to Chinese school and learning Mandarin. He fell in love with the culture and the people.

Years later, he returned to China, at age 16, and he was haunted by what he saw on visits to local orphanages. Matt found children living with deformities and disabilities in horrible living conditions, mostly malnourished and starved for love.

He learnt that every year tens of thousands of children are thrust into overcrowded, under-funded orphanages. They are abandoned because parents can't afford to care for them. Or, simply because they're born into an enormous population forced to maintain a policy of one child families.

For children born with disabilities, the outlook is far heartless. Even conditions corrected with routine medical procedures can render a child unadoptable and destined for an unthinkable existence in a cold institutional orphanage.

Matt decided to create China Cares, a foundation with the astonishing mission of giving Chinese orphans (specially those with medium or severe dissabilities) the opportunity for a life of love in an American family; and when the adoption is not possible, the opportunity to be in a dignified place, full of love and resources, with access to medical attention...

There are many ways we can collaborate to improve the conditions for orphans in China by supporting China Care:

• Donate money
• Sponsor a special project
• Donate items
• Sponsor a child in foster care
• Start a China Care Club
• Volunteer

I really recommend to take a look at ChinaCare website and help to make the world a better place, especially for those in need.

www.chinacare.org

Women in Business

The latest Catalyst research and other reports reveal that the situation of Women in business hasn't changed significantly during the last year...

• Only 15.7% of Corporate Officers in Fortune 500 companies are women
• Only 8% of the highest positions (chairman, vice-chairman, CEO, president, COO, SEVP and EVP) in Fortune 500 companies are hold by women
• Only 5% of most highly compensated officers in the US are women
• There are only 8 female CEOs in Fortune 500 companies
• There are only 17 female CEOs in Fortune 1000 companies
• Women in Top Executive positions earn between 8% to 25% less than male executives (Female managers' earnings now average 72% of their male colleagues')
• Not a single woman featured in Fortune magazine's list this June of the 25 highest-paid CEOs in Europe

However:

• Women account for 46.5% of US' workforce
• Women account for 47% of all Masters (including MBA) degrees awarded
• Women and men have equal desires to have the CEO job

Then...

• Why are women so persistently absent from top executive jobs?
• Why is still there the famous "glass ceiling"?
• Why "work-life balance" is mainly a women's issue?

It’s been said that true success lies at the intersection of passion and talent, and I used to believe that. However, since I got in the business world, in 1999, I realized that most of the times, a woman needs much more than passion and talent to get success...

This situation is really frustrating for us, women. We get to believe that no matter what we do, how hard we work, how intelligent we are, how brilliant, innovative, creative... we are; we can never reach the top!

I hope business world changes radically in the near future so that "women in business" will not be an issue any more.

Avon Walk For Breast Cancer

MY FIRST WALK!!!!

I've committed to participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, to spending the next few months training and fundraising, and to walking for an entire weekend. I'm one of thousands of people all over the country who will be doing this in 2006, all to raise funds for the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade and support their mission of providing access to care and finding a cure.

I am walking to honor the memory of my grandma, Rosa, who died from this disease... I am walking for the women who can't... I'm walking to eradicate cancer... I'm walking for my friends... I'm walking for my family and ...I'm walking for myself!

I'm required to raise a minimum of $1,800 to participate, but I plan to raise much more! But I can't do that without your help. In fact, I'm going to need support from many people to reach my goals, and I'm hoping that I can count on you to be part of my support team.

It's easy to donate on line...

You can make a donation to my fundraising campaign on my personal webpage:

http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR?px=2402414&pg=personal&fr_id=1230

and then clicking on "Click here to Support Me."

If you prefer to write a check, just contact me and I'll send you the form for that.I hope you can help! Please send this to as many people as you know who may be interested in helping me out.

Thanks so much for your support!

D.G.B.