I have become a huge fan of this software: Writeroom. What does it do? Basically, it allows you to write without any distraction. When you open the software, it’s only about writing.

All other distractions disappear: background, icons, notifications, other windows, bouncing icons, etc…

It’s the author and the text! One on one typing action!

In a way, it’s like returning to WordPerfect for MS-Dos. And it’s fantastic. In an era where thousand stimuli encourage attention deficits of all sorts, this program is a godsend for good focused writing.

So if you are struggling to get the words right with that report, project or application, just go to your room!

Oh! And there is a  Windows clone too, called DarkRoom.

PS: Metaphysical bonus: It always amazes me when the top technology goes back to imitate the old. In this case, my powerful laptop with 1Gb of memory and all the bells and whistles gets software to replicate a text editor that would run in a 1985 PC.

It reminds me the first time I saw a “real sound” mobile telephone, circa 2001. You know, instead of sounding like a synthesized tune, they can reproduce WAV and MP3 sounds, like voice or noises, as ringtone. I found it fascinating, not because of the technology by itself, but because its proud owner had selected a ringtone that copied the bells in the very first telephones of a century early! What a fascinating technological oxymoron!

ROTTEN TOMATOES: 10 Reasons Why We McLove Superbad
1. We’ve all been there…high school.

Anyone who doesn’t remember high school as an awkward vortex of hormonal angst is perhaps a bit too well-adjusted for Superbad (directed by Greg Mottola, produced by Judd Apatow and Shauna Robertson), but the rest of us know exactly what Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) are going through.

[…]

I went to watch Superbad the other day and I found it to be one of the best movie in a lot of time (probably since “The Incredibles”, but they’re difficult to compare). I couldn’t stop laughing for the whole movie. And relating to the awkwardness of high school too… I am so glad I am not a teen anymore!

If you want to revisit you teenage years, I can’t imagine any more candid and fun movie. Not suitable for grownups or children!

Which B-School is good for me? You are probably asking yourself that question. Or you are asking me and other student and alumni that question.

I was facing that conundrum two years ago and it’s frustrating: Everyone I asked from a top school kept telling me: “My school is awesome! This is fantastic! Come join us! Best decision I’ve ever made! You won’t regret!”

And I was there, thinking… “Thanks for your enthusiasm, but this is not helpful”. The answers I was looking after were comparisons: How is LBS vs Stanford? In regards to entrepreneurship? And international-wise? And how does Harvard compare to Columbia? … all looking for the ultimate answer: “Which is the best B-school for me?”

It turns out, no one can answer this sort of comparisson. And the answer is quite simple: No one I know has ever done two MBAs. Therefore, comparissons are tricky. Unless one experience it, it’s very difficult to compare. My analogy to think about choice is simple:

Top B-schools are like luxury cars: You can’t go wrong, yet all have a different character. I still have to find a luxury car driver that tells me… “You know, I don’t enjoy my car!” Regardless of brand, these are fantastic machines.

Same thing with MBA: No matter whether you go to LBS, Insead, Harvard, Stanford, or Columbia, you get a fantastic MBA. Everybody is happy with their top MBA! Fantastic MBA! Fantastic experience!

But then, you might want to get into the character of all these cars: Do I prefer a sporty BMW/Ferrari/AM ? Or a more refined Bentley/MB/etc? How flashy do I want it?

You get the idea, and the same applies to MBA programs: How international? How leadership focused? How experiential? How rigorous in teaching? How case-based (or obsessed)? Where is it located?

So the moral of the story is that top MBAs are as fantastic as top luxury cars. Relax, you can’t go wrong! Do your research and pick the one that suits you best, but you can’t do a bad choice.

Warning: This post is based in an analogy. Don’t force the analogy too far…

This post is a list of the series, please read my disclaimer: I don’t need you to apply to LBS

I discovered Henry Moore visiting Washington DC’s Smithsonian museum, four years ago, and loved it. Last Saturday, I went to Henry Moore At Kew and I had the time of my life. It’s a must-see exhibition, not only because it covers some of the most fantastic sculpture works of the XXth century, but specially because it’s SO BEAUTIFUL. Discovering the scultpures it’s just moving.

Remembering my visit, I get the goose bumps!

So if you have a couple of hours free, get there! I thoroughly recommend it!

As I mentioned in CV updating, the chore of updating CVs is boring beyond belief. I am happy I am done. And it’s available online.

My freshly updated CV

Yesterday I had tons of fun during the LBS MBA information session. I must tell you, the thing that amazes me the most of these sessions is how many alumni are drawn to attend. Last evening there were about 80+ prospectives and applicants, 2 students (class mates are either working or on holiday at the moment), and 8 alumni. Two years ago, when I was in the San Francisco presentation, the numbers were even more impressive, specially given the lesser numbers of alumni in the Bay Area.

And San Francisco brings me to the point of this post: I am starting a new series on my blog. Thinking about the last two years, it has been a fantastic evolution from being a clueless prospective to a 2nd year student (wow! the MBA is ending soon…)

So after talking to so many applicants and prospectives on Monday, I thought that some of my applicant wisdom (that’s why the picture) could be  of interest to other readers.

In the oncoming posts (descriptively labelled “Prospective and Applicant MBA series”) I will reproduce some of the conversations that exemplify many of the questions that matter to prospectives. But before that, here is my full disclaimer:

My only motivation is mainly helping out people who is in the same situation as I was two years ago. I am in debt to those who helped me, and I hope I can pass it forward. Please don’t try to second guess me:

I don’t need you to apply to LBS. I have no interest at all in influencing prospectives and applicants into applying here. If I get a message saying: “Patxi, thanks to your post, I realized that WXYZ Business School is my choice, not London!” I will be happy, because someone out there made an informed decision. Good to her!

In case you didn’t notice, LBS (maybe for the school’s tradition on openness and diversity?) broadcasts a myriad of perspectives on the MBA. For reasons beyond my understanding, probably a cosmic coincidence, we not only have the LBS official blog, where student tell it like it is, but a myriad of blogs about the school. I copied the list from RusGirl’s blog,  and it’s impressive.

Angel Angie (LBS 2008)
Genie in a bottle (LBS 2008)
Sebastien Nuttinck (SEMBA 2008)
Edward Starr (LBS 2008)
Africa Club (LBS 2008)
FM (LBS 2008)
Karlitos (LBS 2008)
Vasconcelos (LBS 2008)
Wheels (LBS 2008)
Natasja (alumnae)
Al Martine (alumnus)
Fahran Lalji (EMBA alumnus)
Ricardo (alumnus)
Gaurav Rekhi (alumnus)
Hobbes (alumnus)
Future Guru (alumnae)
Thiri (alumnae)
Guillaume Rigal (alumnus)
Karibu (alumnus)

So I hope you get my point: I wish you all the best, I wish you make the best decision for yourself, and I hope you can take advantage of some of the modest knowledge I have distilled over these two years.

Now let the series begin… Stay tuned!

Next Monday, at the school campus, there will be an MBA Information Session. I volunteered to be at the panel of alumni and students, plus at the reception afterwards. It’s going to be fun!

I am truly looking forward to it. It’s been two years since I was attending these sessions, and it’s unbelievable to see how my life has changed! I am curious to see how I see these sessions from the other side.

And, above all, I hope that prospective students will get a lot out of it.

If you are going to attend, just send me an email, or let me know.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Facebook ‘costs businesses dear’
Workers who spend time on sites such as Facebook could be costing firms over £130m a day, a study has calculated.

Ok, so that is the headline. Stay with me for a second while I calculate the impact of facebook over a year…

130 GBP milion/working day * 200 working days/year = 26 000 GBP million/year

that is 26 GBP billion or 52 USD billion (approx.) of ‘facebook cost’ per every year.

Now given that, according to the CIA World factbook, the UK’s GDP every year is

GDP (official exchange rate): $2.346 trillion (2006 est.)

are you telling me that the facebook is costing the UK companies

$52bi / $2346bi = 2.2% of the yearly GDP

Seriously, I can’t believe that… The government should regulate it! The ministry of economy! Someone! Now you have an explanation why there is a crisis, it’s not because of the subprime mortgages in the USA. In fact, the GDP doesn’t grow… because of facebook… right.

So facebook has a cost of ‘over’ 2.2% of the GDP! Come’on, who did the study? A bored consultant, an intoxicated blogger or an executive from MySpace?

Today I got a message from Sergio, an applicant, asking a very Spanish centric question about the application process. (Due to its nature, I believe the question is not relevant to most applicants, so I will not copy my answer here)

However, this just serves to illustrate that quite often, through the contact page, I get plenty of questions from applicants.

In general terms, I am truly happy to help applicants that contact me. I am in debt to all those friends that helped me through my process, and the best thing to do is to pay it forward. If it’s something I can help, and I have a minimum of bandwidth, I am happy to oblige. Keep in mind, though, that crafting messages according to what The Divine Miss N says in “The 5 things you should know” increases dramatically your chances of success.

And this is a post to all my audience that has ever found something useful here: When you become  a student of a “Master of the Universe in Ham & Cheese Sandwiches” (a.k.a. MBA), please remember when you were an anxious applicant, and do your best to help others. It really means a lot to someone else, and it will make you feel good about yourself.

So, in short, if you use something from this blog, please pay it forward to another applicant.