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| − | [[Image:Nuvola apps important.png|25px|left]] 9/9/2012 Back to School Personal Update | + | [[Image:Nuvola apps important.png|25px|left]] 8/25/2013 Yahoo APM! |
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| − | We are one week into classes at MIT. Well 3 days into classes.
| + | ==Yahoo APM== |
| − | | + | [[File:Marissa and Michael.jpg|thumb|Me with Marissa Mayer]] |
| − | [[File:MIT Senior Fall-Schedule.png|thumb|Fall 2012 Schedule]] | + | [[File:Yahoo APMs 13.jpg|thumb|The 2013 Yahoo APMs]] |
| − | =====Classes=====
| + | I am about 1 month into my new job at [[Yahoo]] as an Associate Product Manager or [[APM]]. After I finished classes at MIT, but before I was set to start at Oracle, Yahoo offered me to join Marissa Mayer's new APM program at Yahoo. Marissa started the program back when she had just joined Google - as a way to find and develop new Product Managers out of school, which she thought would be faster than hiring experienced PMs from the industry. This article describes the role http://www.wired.com/business/2012/07/marissas-secret-weapon-for-recruiting-new-yahoo-talent/ though that article overblows things slightly. |
| − | This means I have had about one session of each class. [[7.012|7.012 Bio]] looks interesting. You have to get there 15 minutes early to get a seat. We will see how long that lasts. Plus the Professors said they are focusing on learning the patterns, not memorizing. [[6.858|6.858 Computer Security]] started out with a lecture on the systemic aspects of security - something I am familiar with. [[2.009|2.009 Product Design]] seems like a fun lecture, but I don't know if I want to put the time into the projects, let alone the homework. [[14.72|14.72 Capitalism and its Critics]] had some interesting reading - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fountainhead The Fountainhead] - which is about individualism. Ted, one of my friends, pulled me into his [[15.495|15.495 Quantitative Finance]] class. I'm not that into making money via hedge funds and the like - so while it would be interesting to learn, I don't think I will take it. [[6.046|6.046 Algorithms]] looks like it will be hard, especially since they require formal proofs. I am still not really comfortable with that. [[STS.085|STS.085 Internet Policy]] seems really fun. We have Hal Abelson, as well as Danny Weitzner, the former Deputy CTO for Internet Policy in the Obama White House, and Alan Davidson, the former Head of Public Policy at Google. While I seem to already be familiar with much of the classes' material, it will be a fun semester to dive deeper with these lecturers.
| + | |
| − | | + | I’m super happy where I am at. This is the type of job I was aiming for throughout MIT; I think I was well-prepared by MIT; and I think .Yahoo is also in a very interesting state at the moment. They are rapidly redoing everything. This makes new grads are handed large chunks of the product to manage, because they are so understaffed for what the need is. In addition, they are in the midst of a huge culture change. They are replacing their cube farms with open desks. They are rebuilding teams, which were previously laid off. It’s very interesting to work with people on either side of the culture change and to experience the before-and-after at the same time. |
| − | =====Baker REX=====
| + | |
| − | Before classes started, I had already been on campus for over a week and a half (since 8/23). I've been on campus so long, because as [[Baker President]], I had to entertain over 130 freshmen living in [[Baker House]], plus the others who came to visit, during "[[Residence Exploration Week]]" or REX.
| + | I’m in charge of designing the platform Yahoo uses to know where you are, and I help designing the membership, accounts, and security features of Yahoo. The work is very similar to what I did at MIT – brainstorming solutions, designing schemes, working with other stakeholders to refine plans and achieve consensus. |
| − | | + | |
| − | I think we had a tremendous REX. [[CPW]] and REX are our opportunities to brand Baker for the new students and establish the tone for the upcoming year. We made signs and banners to advertise our events - all in the same visual identity as the rest of Baker. We played music all weekend to try and liven up the campus area.
| + | |
| − | | + | |
| − | [[File:Baker Skyline 2012.jpg|thumb|Skyline]]
| + | |
| | | | |
| − | We gave out over [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475720082/ 300 servings of Ice Cream and give tours to about 100 people]. We had about [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475727258/ 30 parents at our 2 parents events]. I think most parents came during CPW and didn't want to go to the same event twice. About [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475731748/ 200-250 people came to our stargazing event] thrown by our former astronaut and Housemaster, Jeff Hoffman. We had to move Sunrise inside due to the rain, but I think we still did about [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475743032/ 200-250 servings of waffles and freshly squeezed orange juice]. It takes the dining hall about a month to go through that much waffle batter. Over [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475737402/ 740 people came to our party Skyline] - a record I think! (The school newspaper ''The Tech'' called it "boring" and "not well attended". [http://tech.mit.edu/V132/N34/review.html] I'm not sure where they get their facts from.) On the other hand, Baker Confidential, a new event imposed system-wide by MIT Housing, was a total disaster. The administration also handed out meal tickets to other groups during that time who didn't respect our event. However, overall we had one of the highest retention rates ever - only [http://tech.mit.edu/V132/N33/housing.html 4 out of 130] people wanted to leave Baker. Normally, we have about 10 out of 100 wanted to leave.
| + | As an APM, I’m part of Yahoo’s inner circle – giving it the feel of a small company. My experience working with administrators at MIT prepared me very well for working with the executives at Yahoo. It's probably the best business/leadership/PM experience possible in the world for someone just out of school. I think it's rivals management consulting in terms of business experience - since you're directly responsible for something, but still involved at a high level. I think one learns by doing and by being exposed to stuff. The greater scope and responsibility one has, the more one learns, I believe. |
| | | | |
| − | Rooming also went pretty well. We added a [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475750642/ BBQ outside] to allow people to mingle and find their roommates and people they want to live near. For the BBQ we used our dining hall, Bon Appetite to provide pre-prepared food that we just had to cook. To stand out from the other groups, we also did better food than hot dogs and hamburgers. This all worked out pretty well. We had some icebreakers prepared - but everyone seemed to get along so well we didn't have to use them. I also redid the [[:File:Baker Rooming Sheets.pdf|rooming forms]] so the instructions would be more clear. That was a fun exercise in information design. We took 4 hours to do the [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475756146/ actual rooming]. We were trying to design the floors such that the majority of the people would be happy. I think we largely succeeded. We had 2 rooms that were very unhappy, and a further 2-3 rooms that were somewhat unhappy. We were able to move the very unhappy rooms so that they were then happy with their situation.
| + | ==Mountain View== |
| | + | [[File:Mountain View Home.jpg|thumb|Mountain View Home]] |
| | + | [[File:Chevy Volt.jpg|thumb|Chevy Volt]] |
| | + | I'm settled into my new place in [[Mountain View]]. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157634601732288/ Photos] I'm sharing a house with 2 other guys, who were friends of friends. I've purchased a [[Chevy Volt]]. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157634595577805/ Photos] It goes 40 miles in a charge, but after that it can use gas. In almost 2 months, I haven't gone to the gas station once! |
| | | | |
| − | Overall, I am really happy how the everyone worked together to make the events come together and be a big success. We did a much larger volume than most of the other dorms and it’s a challenge to move this many people through at such high volumes. We only had a few hiccups - the little details have degraded our REX events in the past. For example, we had a steady supply of cold drinks all night, arranged in an organized fashion.
| + | I'm meeting a lot of new people here. Everyone seems to be a friend of a friend at least, and about 20-30% have heard of me before! That's kinda scarey! |
| | | | |
| − | =====Disney===== | + | ==Leaving MIT== |
| − | I enjoyed my time at [[Disney]]. I got first hand experience in how Disney manages its [[Disney Parks and Resorts Online|Parks and Resorts Online]] operations. I got to think about not only the low level, concrete stuff (how often you release) but the larger strategy issues about team size, use of contractors, and team organization. I also had incredible freedom to explore. I met with MIT alumni around Disney, including both executives and recent graduates. I really enjoyed doing these meetings and I think it was pretty informative to learn about the different divisions of Disney. On really busy days, Disney has this program called Cross-U where office workers can work in the park. I did that twice. I also learned about Disney's attention to detail in how they develop products - both on our websites and in the actual parks. | + | I had my best semester ever, my last semester at MIT. I had 5 As and one B-. I was literally 10 points away from a 5.0! |
| | | | |
| − | On the other hand, WDPRO had mostly people who were in the later stage of their career because they enjoyed the 9-5 aspect of the work and the stability of working for a large company. I think I am looking for something a little different coming out of school. I think the right moment for me at Disney is later on - I think it would be fun to be a VP - but how do I get there? What is the best intermediate step? It could be the right role at Disney - depending on what they offer.
| + | [[File:Pens MIT Spring 2013.jpg|thumb|Pens|200px]] |
| | + | [[File:Paper MIT Spring 2013.jpg|thumb|Paper|200px]] |
| | + | This semester I used 32 inches of paper, as well as 31 pens. Here is a chart of usage over time: |
| | | | |
| − | =====Summer Photos=====
| + | [[File:Pens and Paper Usage.png]] |
| − | At the end of my summer in LA, I drove down to [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475318912/ San Diego] and [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475466592/ drove to Las Vegas] ([http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475487998/ Day 1] and [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475502562/ Day 2]) and [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475521972/ Primm]. My brother also came to visit and we saw [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475376322/ USC], the [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475383752/ Hollywood Sign], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475400250/ Magic Mountain], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475409074/ Pasadena], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475417922/ CalTech], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475437664/ Harvey Mudd], and [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475445922/ UCLA]. I also went to [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475561240/ Disneyland] and [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157631475586182/ California Adventure] one last time with my friend Eddie.
| + | |
| | | | |
| − | =====After MIT=====
| + | I wrote up two white papers on MIT Policy. [[A Framework for Community Engagement]] is a refinement of the community engagement process which administrators currently follow. [[Problem Solving Teams]] proposes having students work as "management consultants" on the Institute’s biggest problems. This joins [[Unrelenting Advocacy]], about how stundets should act like lobbyists and consultants. This rounds up my [MIT Policy White Papers] series. |
| − | This is also the time where I need to think about what I want to do after school. I spent 6 hours thinking about what I liked about each of the 5 internships that I had. I came up with a [[What Drives Me and What I Want to Do|list of characteristics]]. I realized that almost all of the items were related to characteristics of the work environment, not the industry or job title. Now certainly each job implements each of the characteristics to a different extent, and this is something I have to think through. Here's a short summary:
| + | |
| | | | |
| − | *I want a challenging work environment
| + | [[File:MIT Graduation.jpg|thumb|MIT Graduation]] |
| − | **The industry/work doesn’t matter as much as being pushed to learn something new and improve
| + | Graduation was a super rainy affair - it was pretty miserable. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157634578617238/ Photos] However, I'm happy to say that I've now graduated. It was sad to leave all of the stuff I really liked about MIT behind. |
| − | **I want an all-consuming project that I want to stay late for and to be proud of
| + | |
| − | *A group of super smart peers to work with and motivate me to improve
| + | |
| − | *A team that complements each other and provides unique perspectives
| + | |
| − | *A boss that provides constant growth challenges
| + | |
| − | *Somewhere where I can add unique value and make an impact
| + | |
| − | *Somewhere I can take responsibility for my work
| + | |
| | | | |
| − | I have already gone to a few info sessions and submitted a good number of applications for a full time position. This seems to be what I am most excited about right now at MIT. Hopefully the work wraps up before classes get hard. | + | I used the time I was off (3 weeks at MIT, 3 weeks at home, and 3 weeks in CA) to get organized and clean up my stuff. I emptied some boxes I hadn’t touched in years. I scanned more paper. However, I have still not managed to post my MIT stuff or more from the archives. |
| | | | |
| − | That's all for now, back to work for classes, Baker, and job apps.--[[User:ThePlaz|ThePlaz]] 11:09, 9 September 2012 (EDT)
| + | ==Personal Style== |
| | + | I also spent some time to reflect on my [[Personal Style]]. I spent several months iterating on this - and it ended up being quite lengthy! I wanted to record this, because I know with will update over time, and I wanted to make a record of it. I think it's also helpful for people to know how I approach problem solving. |
| | + | --[[User:ThePlaz|ThePlaz]] ([[User talk:ThePlaz|talk]]) 02:55, 25 August 2013 (EDT) |
| | ''[http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:ThePlaz&action=edit§ion=new Leave Plaz a (public) message] [[Image:File_icon.gif]] or [[User:ThePlaz:E-mail me|send me a (private) e-mail.]][[Image:Mail_icon.gif]]'', ''[http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThePlazPersonalUpdates Subscribe via RSS feed], ''[http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=786542 Subscribe via email]'', ''[http://friendfeed.com/theplaz Detailed feed]'', ''[[Old Updates|See past updates]]'' | | ''[http://theplaz.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:ThePlaz&action=edit§ion=new Leave Plaz a (public) message] [[Image:File_icon.gif]] or [[User:ThePlaz:E-mail me|send me a (private) e-mail.]][[Image:Mail_icon.gif]]'', ''[http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThePlazPersonalUpdates Subscribe via RSS feed], ''[http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=786542 Subscribe via email]'', ''[http://friendfeed.com/theplaz Detailed feed]'', ''[[Old Updates|See past updates]]'' |
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| | Recent Activity from around the Web | | Recent Activity from around the Web |
| | </h3> | | </h3> |
| − | <div class="NavContent"> | + | <div class="NavContent" style="display:none;"> |
| | {{#RawHTML:Main_Page:FriendFeed}} | | {{#RawHTML:Main_Page:FriendFeed}} |
| | </div> | | </div> |
8/25/2013 Yahoo APM!
Yahoo APM
I am about 1 month into my new job at Yahoo as an Associate Product Manager or APM. After I finished classes at MIT, but before I was set to start at Oracle, Yahoo offered me to join Marissa Mayer's new APM program at Yahoo. Marissa started the program back when she had just joined Google - as a way to find and develop new Product Managers out of school, which she thought would be faster than hiring experienced PMs from the industry. This article describes the role http://www.wired.com/business/2012/07/marissas-secret-weapon-for-recruiting-new-yahoo-talent/ though that article overblows things slightly.
I’m super happy where I am at. This is the type of job I was aiming for throughout MIT; I think I was well-prepared by MIT; and I think .Yahoo is also in a very interesting state at the moment. They are rapidly redoing everything. This makes new grads are handed large chunks of the product to manage, because they are so understaffed for what the need is. In addition, they are in the midst of a huge culture change. They are replacing their cube farms with open desks. They are rebuilding teams, which were previously laid off. It’s very interesting to work with people on either side of the culture change and to experience the before-and-after at the same time.
I’m in charge of designing the platform Yahoo uses to know where you are, and I help designing the membership, accounts, and security features of Yahoo. The work is very similar to what I did at MIT – brainstorming solutions, designing schemes, working with other stakeholders to refine plans and achieve consensus.
As an APM, I’m part of Yahoo’s inner circle – giving it the feel of a small company. My experience working with administrators at MIT prepared me very well for working with the executives at Yahoo. It's probably the best business/leadership/PM experience possible in the world for someone just out of school. I think it's rivals management consulting in terms of business experience - since you're directly responsible for something, but still involved at a high level. I think one learns by doing and by being exposed to stuff. The greater scope and responsibility one has, the more one learns, I believe.
Mountain View
I'm settled into my new place in Mountain View. Photos I'm sharing a house with 2 other guys, who were friends of friends. I've purchased a Chevy Volt. Photos It goes 40 miles in a charge, but after that it can use gas. In almost 2 months, I haven't gone to the gas station once!
I'm meeting a lot of new people here. Everyone seems to be a friend of a friend at least, and about 20-30% have heard of me before! That's kinda scarey!
Leaving MIT
I had my best semester ever, my last semester at MIT. I had 5 As and one B-. I was literally 10 points away from a 5.0!
This semester I used 32 inches of paper, as well as 31 pens. Here is a chart of usage over time:
I wrote up two white papers on MIT Policy. A Framework for Community Engagement is a refinement of the community engagement process which administrators currently follow. Problem Solving Teams proposes having students work as "management consultants" on the Institute’s biggest problems. This joins Unrelenting Advocacy, about how stundets should act like lobbyists and consultants. This rounds up my [MIT Policy White Papers] series.
Graduation was a super rainy affair - it was pretty miserable. Photos However, I'm happy to say that I've now graduated. It was sad to leave all of the stuff I really liked about MIT behind.
I used the time I was off (3 weeks at MIT, 3 weeks at home, and 3 weeks in CA) to get organized and clean up my stuff. I emptied some boxes I hadn’t touched in years. I scanned more paper. However, I have still not managed to post my MIT stuff or more from the archives.
Personal Style
I also spent some time to reflect on my Personal Style. I spent several months iterating on this - and it ended up being quite lengthy! I wanted to record this, because I know with will update over time, and I wanted to make a record of it. I think it's also helpful for people to know how I approach problem solving.
--ThePlaz (talk) 02:55, 25 August 2013 (EDT)
Leave Plaz a (public) message 
or send me a (private) e-mail.
, Subscribe via RSS feed, Subscribe via email, Detailed feed, See past updates
or send me a (private) e-mail.
8/25/2013 Yahoo APM!
Email Me
