 Hanover,
NH: The
instructions were fairly explicit: complete the test in
one sitting. But I just couldn't concentrate! I couldn't
focus on anything. I had to clear my head so I could get
down to business. It wasn't like that extra 10 minutes
really gives me an edge up on people. It's not like I'm
sitting there processing information about the exam. God
forbid Koen Pauwels and his goatee pop into my fantasy.
That's just disgusting. "Welcome back to Marketing,
Welcome back to Marketing" cycling through my head like
that "She gets around" bad dream in Office Space....
No, it's nothing like that. It's all business. I go
straight to one of the videos hidden cleverly on my hard
drive, lock the door, and take care of business. That
time should be excluded from the 4 hour allotment, as
I'm clearly not engaged in the test at all.
To get a better handle on the situation, I decided to
approach some of my fellow students on the Judicial
Board. I mean, this is one of those gray areas, right?
First, I had lunch with 2nd year Jon Michaels. Once I
filled him in on my dilemma, he refused to speak on the
record. I was disappointed. Here I am, faced with an
impossible dilemma, and the head of the J-board can't
seem to get past 7th grade and have a grown-up
conversation? Come on Jon, we all do it. Regularly. Can't we just admit it, and
move on to the deeper ethical issues at stake? What is
Tuck if we refuse to work through ethical challenges in
pursuit of strong moral fiber?
So I decided to take my dilemma to the MBA program
office. As I was walking through Stell Hall, on my way
to meet Sally, I ran into a frantic Michelle Schneider.
She asked me if I had a few minutes to do a “meet and
greet” with a visiting executive. Before I could answer,
she shoved me into a room with Ed Zander, CEO of
Motorola. After we exchanged pleasantries, there was an
awkward silence. So I decided to share my dilemma with
him.
For the next 15 minutes, Ed Zander came alive as he
shared his management philosophy with me. “Whack
yourself,” he said, “and then whack yourself again!” I
protested that I wasn’t sure it was appropriate during a
test. But he cut me off. “You’ve got to whack yourself
before someone else whacks you!” I was amazed at his
candor and, frankly, his unabashed excitement.
When I visited Tuck, I was told that real face time with
visiting executives was a major differentiator from
other top b-schools. It couldn’t be truer, and now I
believe it. Ed Zander cleared up my ethical dilemma and
changed my life. Thank you, Ed! |
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