Andrew Lien is probably the most underrated instructors in Santa Clara University MBA program. He comes across as a man who is small and has more than average sense of humor and temper. First week with him in his class and I came out saying finally there is this one man who teaches MBA classes the way they are supposed to be taught.
But the decision to enroll into his class was not an easy one. I realized over a period of time that not many people take his class. Why? Well for one he can come across as extremely rude person and his projects and presentation demands are MBA level. Wait a minute! So are these people I am talking about not MBA students. Of course! they are MBA students but its just that they do not want to work hard and face rude people after one whole day at work.
Hmm! Then why did I take his class. I took it because people who have taken his class went something like this,"Take it if you want to learn. But if you want good grades then skip it." After paying $783 per credit hour do I care about grades or knowledge? I care for both but knowledge wins hands down over grades. I will surely give this course my best shot. But grades are not my priority. Not till I look 13 units one quarter. There are people who take 6 units or sometimes just 3 units per quarter with easy going professors and get an A and take forever to finish the course. Taking forever means when they graduate they probably won't remmeber what they or learnt or maybe they will? I do not know.
And as an adult I respect their choice since they work but what I do not understand is that whether company's money or theirs are not we supposed to take experimental courses and gain knowledge in MBA program?
Maybe people on the other side think otherwise. Thats not the subject of discussion. So I will not breed too much on it. The subject of interest here is Andrew Lien. So as I said I decided to enroll in his class because I wanted to learn International Marketing. I mean think about it. Can we avoid Marketing in our lives ever? Especially with the rapid globalization. No definitely not.
OK to move on. First day in his class I realized that he needed us to do a case presentation in a very professional manner and a project which needs us to choose a US based MNC's product and launch it in a country where it has absolutely no presence. None what so ever. Yeah sounds easy but so far I have not been able to filter one single product. And groups are not always easy to work in. But with 6 quarters done and 1 more to go the one thing I know about doing MBA is to network. And that can happen only through groups. So I am all in for it. You never know what life has to offer.
I still cannot believe that two weeks of school are already done and I am into the third week. So far so good. Andrew Lien seems pretty approachable and fun. I do not take his comments personally. And why should I? Is not corporate America just as ugly, and I am glad I am developing a thick skin. That is what MBA teaches you to face people, and worst case scenarios, and build networks, and get used to live in, and with what ever you have.
I will make sure to map my progress through this blog and hopefully next time someone asks about Andrew Lien they will have enough beef in here to make their decisions.
So long to who ever ever ever reads my blog.
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