This is not going to be another long winded essay on business strategy but rather a quick blog entry to capture a recent thought of mine.

I remember hearing this being mentioned in one of my classes before (probably Prof. Tom Allen's class): "Before you can build world class innovations, you need to build a world class organization." When I look at the Internet today, I see the success of MySpace, Wikipedia, and Del.icio.us (just to name a few). Yet all these sites share one thing in common, which is: they all have a rich community of users and contributors. Indeed, web sites can no longer compete solely on content alone, especially single source content. In the world of Web 2.0, websites are becoming more social-centric. Users are drawn to web sites that offer rich social interaction with like-minded people. From my observation, almost every new site that debuted in the last two year or less have grown significantly when it has a rich component of social interaction or social networking feature. In other words, the competitive advantage of a web company, especially a startup, may indeed lies in the community that it builds and the people that it attracts. Maybe the new pointer, appropriate for today's Internet business environment, should say: "Before we can build world class websites, we need to build a world class community."

6/30/2006 12:24:28 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Business

I have always been perplexed by Game Theory and know very little about it. That is why I am interested in learning more about it. So when I learned that a course on the subject was being offered at the Harvard Summer School, I decided to go check it out. Yesterday, I attended the first class and learned a few things about Game Theory.

I had always thought that Game Theory is just another form of probability; but it is not. Here's the distinction that I learned yesterday: Game Theory is applied to a game of strategy like chess and poker as Probability Theory is applied to a game of chance like roulette. It makes perfect sense after the professor mentioned it. The professor lectured most of the session before ending the class by playing a modified form of the prisoner's dilenma to illustrate the concept of game equilibria. After the game, I can see why Game Theory is an integral part of a negotiation course - something that I plan to take next semester. After all, negotiation process is a calculated game of choices that can lead to optimal behavior that benefits all negotiating parties. Appropriately, Game Theory can be applied in such situation. However, as the instructor has explicitly stated yesterday that learning Game Theory does make you a better player as it does not tell you how you should play the game but rather it tells you how rational players will behave or real players actually behave.

The lecturer for this class is Robert Neugeboren who is clear and concise in his instruction. Game Theory is an interesting topic; unfortunately, I decided not register for the class since I am seriously tied up with a summer course and a thesis project at MIT already. I really don't have time for another class. I just have to defer learning this subject till the fall semester when I sign up for a negotiation class or a Game Theory class.

6/29/2006 12:44:54 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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School

Since the World Cup opening on June 9, there has been a series of televised football matches on TV. For the last 19 days, watching World Cup matches has become a daily staple for me with at least one game per day. However, I was dumbfounded earlier today to find that there won't be any matches scheduled for today and tomorrow. YEP, THERE'S NO FOOTBALL TODAY AND TOMORROW. This means that I have some time now to read parts of the bibliography that my thesis advisor had compiled for me.

6/28/2006 12:04:40 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Sports

Now that I am officially working on my master's thesis, what did I do last weekend. Honestly, absolutely nothing - I did zip, nil, nada, diddly-squat this weekend. My time this weekend (Thursday to Sunday) was spent watching the World Cup, playing computer games, and partying with the boys: Fernando, Nick, Serge, Sorin, and Will.

Speaking of the World Cup, I am becoming quite a World-Cup junkie these days. I try to watch every game whenever I can. Last weekend was no exception. I watched every game that was televised. For the Argentina vs. Mexico game, I suggested to the boys that we watch it at the Phoenix Landing. I expected the place to be crowded but not jam-packed with people. We were one of the last few people to get into the pub and we barely found standing room to watch the game. We love it though. It's like being in the stadium. There was a large contingent of Argentinian supporters, all wearing the Argentinian national football jersey, chanting throughout the game. Surprisingly, the Mexican contingent was not as lively but nonetheless enthusiastic. The atmosphere was definitely spirited. I think all 6 of us agree that the Landing is now our offical location to watch live World Cup matches. The Argentina vs. Mexico was an excellent game. I have to compliment the way Latin Americans play the game. They really play with a lot of passion and energy, and all their moves are so fluid. It was always fun watching them play.

Here are other football matches that I watched last weekend. The England vs. Ecuador match was just plain boring. The English players played a tepid style of football - the players look tired and unenthusiastic. Even the Germans who are traditionally boring, mechanic, and stiff on the field played a more interesting game in their matchup against the Swedes last weekend. The Germans seem to be playing very well as a team. They have good team dynamics and have been playing consistently well so far. I like this German team and I am looking forward to the quarter final game where Germany plays Argentina.

Last but not least, there is the Portugal vs Netherlands game. I got one word for that game: tragic. I have never seen so many yellow and red cards given out in a single game; 16 yellows and 4 reds. Sure, FIFA rules may have been changed in this year's World Cup and consequently led to more yellow cards being issued; but I think that the referee ultimately did a terrible job in officiating this game. After the first goal by Portugal, the game was marred by the erosion of sportsmanship. With tension mounting on both sides, the referee can't just issue yellow and red cards and expect to clam the situation down. Especially, not when it is not done in a inconsistent manner.

6/26/2006 11:46:15 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Sports

Sweet... My thesis advisor finally signed my revised thesis proposal earlier today. This means that I can now officially start working on my thesis. However, the revised thesis is bittersweet. I am thrilled to be working on a thesis that applies System Thinking and Chaos Theory to a management and policy context - a topic befitting for an MIT thesis. On the other hand, the work required to complete this thesis is daunting. There will be substantial literature review, research, analyses, and syntheses in the process.

I have already started reviewing relevant literature for the thesis project. What I really need to do now is to start writing summaries for all the books, articles, and journals that I have read. I think writing abstracts of reviewed literature is a key part of the thesis research process. It will help me tremedously when I start writing my thesis later this Fall. To facilitate the literature abstract writing process, I have ordered the academic version of Endnote earlier today. Unfortunately, the software is backordered for another 2 weeks.

My friend, Yoav, introduced me to the concept of using a wiki to facilitate thesis research and writing. A wiki will enable me to add notes or ideas for my thesis. Even better, a wiki can help solicit valuable feedback from other people who may offer further insights or different viewpoints to my thesis. Alright, I will create a wiki tomorrow.

6/22/2006 3:26:14 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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School

The acronym KISS traditionally expands to "keep it simple, stupid." But I have a new definition for it and it's "keep it short, stupid." That's right, the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) principle should be applied to any communication. One thing that I have observed that is consistent among all bad presentations that I have delivered or seen while studying at MIT is that they are often too long. According to this BusinessWeek article, 15 minutes is the length of the average attention span for most people. That's right, less is more.

Yet, time and time again, I have neglected the mantra of keeping it short in my communication (writing and presentation) and ended up with some dismal performances. But I learn; after much reflection, I think I know where my weaknesses are. Sure, I can always improve on my showmanship during a presentation. But more importantly, I need to resist adding unnecessary content to presentation and recognize that it is perfectly okay to cross out extra content. So I need to strive for clarity and brevity in any communication.

6/21/2006 11:04:38 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Personal

To me, the whole notion of System Thinking is motivated by the phrase: "The whole is more than sum of its parts." In other words, System Thinking seeks not only to understand the parts that make up the system but also the interactions that bind these parts together to become the whole system. I will talk more about System Thinking later in my blog since I will be writing a thesis on applying System Thinking to gain additional insights to a Disruptive Technology phenomenon.

One of the challenges of my thesis is to tackle the question on why so many business strategies generate disappointing results or failure? Sometimes, well-intended policies lead to results that differ drastically or are often opposite from their original objectives. Furthermore, in a business environment or in a public policy context, organizations need to embrace change in order to be competitive or successful. Only by understanding how changes take place can we prepare for the consequences and to generate sensible strategies and policies. This is where System Dynamics, a version of System Thinking, comes into play by providing a set of frameworks and tools that examines feedback loops in a dynamic system, be it social, economic, organizational, or business.

This summer, I am taking a course on System Dynamics at MIT. The course is taught by Prof. J. Bradley Morrison, an adjunct professor at MIT Sloan and an assistant professor at Brandeis Univesity. I took the same course last summer before I dropped it by the third week as I couldn't stand sitting through the entire three hour long class session. Even though I have written very positively about System Dynamics in this blog entry, the subject is nonetheless dry and mechanic. To get me through a System Dynamics class, I need someone who is not only animated and articulated, but engages actively with the class. Prof. Morrison does all of the above very well. He doesn't speak in a monotonous voice (a good start) and engages in lively discussions with the class with keen interest in listening from students on how System Dynamics relates to their professional experiences. In comparison, I like this year's System Dynamics course much better than last year's course. Besides, how can I go wrong in taking a class that has direct relevance to my thesis.

6/20/2006 12:41:07 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Business

Nice... my favorite TV show - The Daily Show - is now available from iTunes.

6/20/2006 12:00:16 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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The Daily Show

This weekend has been pretty awesome. Last Friday, I watched Nacho Libre, a movie about a Mexican monk (played by Jack Black) who desire to become a Lucha Libre. I find the movie amusing and funny and was laughing throughout it. But compared to Jack Black's previous movies, Nacho Libre falls in the middle of the road - not as good as School of Rock but still better than Shallow Hal. Nonetheless, I still recommend the movie to people as it has high entertaining value.

On Saturday, Fernando, Serge, Sorin, and I went to Nick's apartment and watch the World Cup. The Ghana vs. Poland game was exciting. I was surprised how well Ghana played. The Ghanaian players came into the game with energy and were determined to win. They got into rhythm early and eventually outplayed the Czechs. Good game. The U.S. vs. Italy match didn't disappoint like the U.S. game where Americans played the just a few days ago. The game on Saturday was a great, nothing short of dramas. While I that thought that U.S. deserve the loss for their lackluster performance in the game against the Czechs earlier, I thought that the Americans played very well last Saturday considering that the Americans played with only 9 players having gotten 2 key players ejected because of some bad officiating calls by the referee.

Later, with the exception of Sorin, we all went out to The Hill to celebrate Chris's (SDM 06) birthday. As usual, it was a good time hang out with these guys. I have to confess, for some reasons I am always lucky with the ladies whenever I hang with Fernando, Nick, Serge, and Sorin.

On Sunday, Camille and I took part in the Learn to Sail class at the MIT Sailing Club. We learned taught the basics of sailing in the first 2 hours of the class with classroom lessons and demos. In the last 2 hours of the class, all students were given boats to sail on the Charles River with our partners. It was a hot, muggy day with very little wind. None of our boats moved very fast today. Even the head instructor was apologetic that today was one of the worst days to sail in the season. Interestingly, the Sailing Club is the only Sailing Club among Boston's colleges that is still open to the public. The class is free to all MIT students, staff, and affiliates(bring your ID card with you). In addition, the students are allowed to bring one guest outside of MIT to sail for free. The sailing clinic is fun and definitely worth the 4 hours. With the sailing orientation out of the way, I am now eligible to bring a boat out to Charles River to practice. The rest of the afternoon was followed by working on the first assignment of System Dynamics (more about this class later) and running 4 miles around Charles River in a muggy 92 F weather.

6/18/2006 11:55:50 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Personal

I contributed a link and a short comment on Paul Graham's essay on replicating Silicon Valley elsewhere in America a few weeks ago. However, in an era of globalization, can Silicon Valley be replicated elsewhere in the world? What economics conditions and policies are conducive to producing a successful Silicon Valley overseas? Paul Graham, once again, explored the issues and came up with an essay entitled "Why Startups Condense in America" that addresses the question.

Although I study policy and management that focus on entrepreneurship and national economic competitiveness, I never really delve into the success of Silicon Valley and how it may be emulated. I have read and learned from class many of the things that Paul had mentioned in his essays; but I just didn't had the time or the opportunity to link these percepts together. I think that the essays are thought-provoking and I agree with Paul wholeheartedly. To replicate a successful cluster of high-technology companies, the best thing that policy-maker can do is not to force it to happen but build the right conditions and let it happen. It is like that inner voice in the movie Field of Dreams: "If you build it, they will come."

6/13/2006 12:10:02 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Entrepreneurship

Last week, I attended MIT's 140th commencement. For me, the last day of classes does not coincide with the last exam but rather the commencement, which truly marks the end of an academic year and to some, the end of an academic career. I was there to catch up with some of my classmates one last time. Moreover, I was also eager to catch a glimpse of what is to come during an MIT commencement when I graduate from the institute next year.

This year, Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve and MIT alumnus, delivered the keynote address. Spoken like a true economist, the speech was rather dry and mechanic at first but became more inspirational as he links technology (something that MIT is good at) and the economy in the second half of his speech. He charged that the class of 2006 shouldn't be afraid to try something different and be innovative in their work. Afterwards, Susan Hockfield, the president of MIT, delivered the graduate charge to the graduates. A far cry from her speeches at MIT during first year of her tenure as president, she made a very moving, inspirational speech charging the graduates to "inspire your own generation and the generations to come with a renewed sense of possibility and optimism for the future."

After the graduation ceremony, I caught up with some of the graduates and reminisce for one last time before we went on our separate ways. From talking to my classmates, I am really amazed how many of them are leaving for bigger, better things with several people taking up leadership positions after graduation. I am envious of them for graduating; but I am also looking forward to mine next year. I just need to finish that thesis and the coming Fall semester.

Congratulations to all MIT graduates last week, you all look smart in those commencement robes. All the best.

6/12/2006 8:45:34 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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School

Last Wednesday night, I attended an MIT Enterprise Forum event called "Talk to an Angel: Crucial Connections to Early Stage Capital," a panel discussion on the role angel investors play in early stage companies. Here are the main points from panelists:

• The definition of angel investor
• There are many types of angels.
• Angels usually invest out of their pocket money and manage their own investments.
• Angel investing is a hobby and consequently usually a part-time endeavor.
• Angels were successful entrepreneurs before.
• The definition of venture capitalist (VC)
• VCs invest with a set of criteria, which are typically:
• They invest with a minimum amount of capital (typically, no less than $3 million).
• They invest in companies that fit their profile.
• These days, they invest in revenue-producing ventures with very short product cycles.
• VC is a full-time job.
• There are some VCs who may dabble in angel investing on the side.
• It may take 1-6 months for a VC to write a company a check. For angels, this time frame is drastically reduced.
• Advices for entrepreneurs
• There are 8 1/2 million millionaires in the U.S. and all of them have the potential to write checks for startups.
• On approaching an angel, don't ask for money from the onset. Establish a relationship first. Remember that most angels were entrepreneurs before, so ask for advices.
• Find investors who understand what the company is doing.
• How to pitch to an angel?
• A pitch should be terse. Keep it under 3 minutes. During a pitch you should always mention what you are selling?
• To take this value proposition further, entrepreneurs need to show how investor's money will grow and how their enterprise can be self-sustaining.
• Having difficulty composing a pitch? Try writing an newspaper ad for your company. It is recommended by one of the panelist because an ad is about selling something and you keep it terse because of the space constraints.
• Different business plans should be given to different investors. There is no "one-size-fits-all" business plan or executive summary. Build an arsenal of various business plans and executive summaries, each catering to a different investor.
• Put your contact information on every page.
• How to work together after funding?
• Keep in mind that a majority of small businesses that received angel funding won't see VC funding.
• A company's growth strategy may not need to involve VC funding or IPO.
• Useful resources
• Do due diligence before approaching an investors. You can get a wealth of information including forms and tools, from these websites:
• National Venture Capital Association
• Kauffman Foundation

6/10/2006 12:39:01 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Entrepreneurship