Are big and small different?

One dilemma often encountered in the MBA internship and job search is whether to work for a large or small company. The standard advice I have heard is to work for the big company first, to learn best practices in a mature organization, and then take these skills to a small/young company second. But I think there is a counterpoint in the breadth of vision gained at a small company. For example, consider the question of staffing.

As a general manager of a small company (approx. 20 employees), I made the mistake of managing staff levels too tightly in order to minimize cost. By the time I realized the need to hire, it had become very difficult to find the time to do a quality job of the search and selection. Having lived through this experience, I can now see the exact same thing playing out in very large companies. Shell makes a conscious effort to invest in HR capacity in order to maintain high quality staffing decision. The HR folks at another large energy company are stretched too thin and are having difficulty maintaining quality in their recruitment process. This will inevitably lead to difficulty in attracting the best candidates, which can exacerbate a vicious cycle. I know from my GM experience at a small company that this is a difficult hole to climb out of even for a large company. You start to accept warm bodies rather than matching skills to roles, which will reduce the effectiveness of the whole organization.

The point: small organizations are not so different from large organizations and working for a small one can allow you to get involved in a broader range of managerial activities.

Thinking like HR/Recruiting

As the end of my internship approaches, I am focused on turning it into a job offer. A final presentation on my activities to a panel of evaluators is meant to cover the skills and traits Shell values - capacity, achievement, and relationships. I am finding it remarkably natural to demonstrate these three criteria. I am a smart guy with academic credentials (capacity) who is goal oriented and results driven (achievement) and build lasting relationships over a long period of time (relationships). My conclusion: Shell and I are a good match. The importance of this statement can't be overstated because these same three criteria will form the basis for performance evaluations and promotions throughout my career at Shell (If I succeed in landing the job offer). In contrast, went through several rounds of interviews with a consulting firm before failing to get an offer for summer internship. Their feedback on why I didn't get an offer? They valued charisma and assertiveness and weren't sure I could "own the room" the minute I entered. In hindsight, I now see that they would not have been a good match for me. To succeed in that company, I would have had to change myself into an assertive personality with confidence over dialog... not who I am in my core. So one lesson I am learning from this internship is the importance of finding a match between the person and the "culture" (an over-used buzzword), and how to search for this match: think like an HR recruiter for the company and ask what they are scanning the crowd to find. Is it you?

Demographics in who's hiring

The following is based on no empirical research.

Tough economy got your job search down? Having trouble finding companies who are hiring? You might try looking for a work force knocking on the door of retirement. Shell is in this situation and they know it. Looking around my floor, I see a lot of people my parent's age with 25+ years with the company. There's one guy younger than me and a couple others in my decade. That's it. Seems like a good chance of needing some new hires in the next few years and good chance for some upward mobility.

Now just don't blow it (my final presentation is in three weeks... more on that later).

Moving up the WalMart supply chain

Many case studies have been written about WalMart's business model and you'll likely digest several in any business school program. Is it the efficient hub-and-spoke distribution, investment in POS data collection, dominance in small rural markets with big stores, subsidy with public road and energy infrastructure, etc. etc.? What is WalMart's sustainable competitive advantage? You'll struggle with this question in Professor Lacey's Organizational Structure and Strategy class (and get his views on the question), but the discussion takes on new meaning when working for a WalMart supplier.

The Shell lubricants and car care business is one of those suppliers to whom WalMart is supplying data, and asking for cost reduction and market analysis in return. Just like a good manager pushing work out into the divisions of her company (with encouragement and support for success), WalMart is pushing work back up the supply chain (with support). A strategy of everyday low price (not unique to WalMart - that's not the answer for Lacey's class) requires everyday low cost from suppliers. So WalMart works with Shell to make use of backhaul trucks returning to the distribution centers. They require no stock-outs with efficient inventory management but provide Shell the POS data to do the careful market-by-market forecast which, by the way, helps Shell plan for offering the products WalMart customers will ask for next year. Standing here in the eye of the WalMart hurricane (a metaphor shout-out to H-town), it's quite peaceful.

What qualifies as innovation?

This is the case of Rain-X Wipers. In professor Lacey's Management of Innovation course you'll learn about recombinant innovation (and a whole lot more). Rain-X Wipers might be the epitome... or might not even qualify. You be the judge.

What do you think of when you hear "Rain-X"? Maybe water whisked off the windshield, clear view of the road, almost magical results. Wow, pretty powerful brand identity. I wonder what we else we could do with it? Well, so did others at Shell. They looked for other products where people would value magical results for whisking water away and, no big surprise here, came up with the logical next step of a super-duper wiper blade. This begs the question: is it recombinant innovation to spread these feelings, this brand itentiy across other products? From an academic perspective I'm not sure, but that's how the Rain-X Wiper was born.

Empathy

I am a firm believer in the power of empathy for good in this world. But it's a skill that takes work to develop and practice to maintain. (I certainly struggle to do so). Turns out it's valuable in business as well. As a supplier, the tendency is to focus on looking at our customers, analyzing, trying to understand our relationship, trying to find ways to increase business. But the range of insights gained from considering how the customer sees us, having the empathy to put on their shoes for a bit, is astounding.

Now, do this all the way up and down the value chain. Our customer is someone's supplier and so on. It's quite revealing if you're honest and fully embracing the empathy, really trying to see the world from their points of view.

The language of business

I am beginning to appreciate the value of business school as a language academy. The fundamentals of business are really not complicated - products, revenues, costs, etc. - but the vernacular can be a barrier. POS and the four-Ps seem like great mysteries until you learn that we're talking about the point-of-sale where a customer takes the product off the shelf. These are the basics. But then - and here's the key - developing skill in business (or at least the appearance) depends on refining the use of this language. Listening to a skilled orator deliver carefully chosen words full of connotation is a pleasure whereas common words laced with fillers can be painful. The same is true in business. Knowing the definition of margin from accounting class becomes more powerful when we understand the numerous variants and links with product turns, payment terms, and overall corporate strategy. It takes time to develop thorough understanding of the language of business but, like the skilled orator, listening to a person with this expertise is wonderful. I aspire to develop this ability.