Spring Break Already

I finished the first quarter of the spring semester today. I had two classes, but missed both of them. The first class was a review of material covered over the term. Given that I went to every class, I didn’t see the value in attending a review session. The other class had a guest speaker. That would have been more interesting, but I decided that I would rather go to the gym instead.

What did I accomplish this quarter? Among other things, I:

• completed a business plan with the team from my Entrepreneurial Business Planning class,


• performed a DCF valuation on a company the McKinsey way (NOPLAT, blech), and


• learned how to run different types of regressions, e.g., using categorical variables.

I also had the opportunity to hear some great guest speakers in my Strategic Leadership across Sectors class, including Sherron Watkins, the Enron “whistleblower.” I particularly enjoyed a conversation I had with her during a break in the class. She seems very cynical about the media and politicians and with good reason. If you ever have a chance to hear her tell her side of the story, I would recommend taking advantage of it.

Next quarter should be good, too. But for the next two-and-a-half weeks, rest and relaxation rule.