Elvis has left the building

After yesterday's funny episode, promptly, but not that accurately blogcasted by my fellow KV (you cannot believe in everything you read ;-) ), today was the big day:

Jack Welch was coming to the school.

I mean... he's the man! Everyone talks about him around here! To be honest, I've never heard of him before coming to London Business School. But then I got curious and read his autobiography. This old geezer is definitely the kind of leader you would like to work for, or ultimately you would like to be like.



And, what did I learn from today's speech? Here it is:

1) Never give up. As a true portuguese, I always believe that there's another way to get things done, a backdoor. So, after NOT receiving an invitation for today's event (I was one of the unlucky one who did not get an invite through the ballot), I still went there. First, because I wanted to have his book signed; second, because I wanted to take some photos of the dude; and third, to try and sneak in the event. It turns out that I was lucky! I was just telling some friends that I was waiting for the event to start to see if there were any empty seats, when a lady from the organization heard me and said "Do you want to get in? Ok, what's your name?". Gets her phone and says "I'm sending a student. Let him in.". Niiiice!

2) Jack hates bureaucracy. Way to go, dude!!! Me too!!! :-)

3) Always choose a team to lead made of people smarter than you. Keep learning with those around you. Do not try to be the smart guy. It'll get very boring.

4) We now have a great brand behind us. So we have to grab the world by its ass and take it! :-) Jack's words. And how funny those words were!

5) Try and choose an industry that will most likely be dominant or develop a lot in the next few years. An example: biotechnology.

6) Candour. One of the most important virtues of a true leader. Be honest, straightforward, avoid discrimination, accept your mistakes, show sense of humour.

7) Jack is not that fond of business schools! :-) Although it was funny hearing him say that, it was not a surprise for me. "Too much strategy classes, too much marketing. Leading people! That's what you'll do in a few years. That's what you have to learn. Leading teams". Bravo to the man!

Yesterday we had a presentation from the Media club. I would love to work on the music and film industry! However, I am a bit afraid that this kind of career change is not that plausible. It turns out that it is realistic! When of the guys that spoke during the presentation was a former IT consultant and, however, just finished an internship at Sony. Cool!

So... here's a career plan. Internship in the music or film industry. Permanent job after the MBA at a consulting firm, but dedicated to the media industry. 2 or 3 years after, jump to a good job in the media itself. Sounds great! Is it doable? Yes. But... an even more difficult question: is it what I really want? Maybe. Hmm... 'maybe' is not enough. Hope I can define my career strategy as soon as possible!

PS: KV, you have to start saying something during classes! I want to post something about you too! Revenge is sweeeeeeet!