A Message to Garcia, 1899

Originally published in 1899, by Elbert Hubbard, this classic deserves a wide audience even in these more modern times. This is a timeless case study on management delegation and staffer initiative. 

A Message to Garcia

By Elbert Hubbard

In all this Cuban business there is one man stands out on the horizon of my memory like Mars at perihelion.

When war broke out between Spain & the United States, it was very necessary to communicate quickly with the leader of the Insurgents.

Garcia was somewhere in the mountain vastness of Cuba- no one knew where. No mail nor telegraph message could reach him. The President must secure his cooperation, and quickly. 

What to do!

Read the story here.

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Be sure to follow Your Business Professor on Twitter: @JackYoest 

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Class of 2014 off to a great start

We welcomed our 4th MSBA cohort to campus with a series of activities last week.



On Wednesday evening, a reception was held in our graduate lounge for new students and faculty to get acquainted prior to the start of classes. 






Toughest task facilitator Eric Powers
has thrown at us - the Devinci Arch.

Laura conquers the Flying Squirell

We spent Thursday at the Go-Adventures ropes course in Darnestown, MD for a day of team building and problem solving.  This was a mix of fun and challenging activities.  We found we have a very competitive group that does not like to fail at completing a task.  I was very pleased with the participation and comraderie of the group.  We're going to have a good year!

  

On Friday, we completed the orientation exercises with a day on campus and an interesting case study about the current Walmart-DC City Council dispute over fair wages.  The students worked in small groups to defend one of the four constituencies in the debate.  Presentation and speaking skills were quite good and gave us a baseline to work from.

Our cohort of 19 students hails from 10 different universities including Notre Dame, Georgetown, William and Mary,  Rutgers, Howard, Boston College, LSU, Ave Maria and Thomas Aquinas.  We have students from 4 countries which adds to a wonderful spirit of diversity.

Stewart McHie
Director, MSBA Program
mchie@cua.edu

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Leadership Lessons Where Failure Is Deadly

Leadership is important in any business. But the military has a real incentive to get it right: The cost of failure is not merely, say, missed quarterly earning but dead team mates.

So what goes into military management training? Read this short overview 7 TOUGH LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM A NAVY SEAL COMMANDER.

And be sure to follow Your Business Professor, a former Army Captain, on Twitter @JackYoest 

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The Real Scoop on Student Loan Interest

Contributed by Kelly Campbell, CEO, CFP®, ChFC®, CMFC®, AIF®
Campbell Wealth Management
Alexandria, Va

So you have Student Loans and are you getting a little concerned about
what the government has done to interest rates.

Kelly Campbell, CEO,
Campbell Wealth Management

Well for those of you with existing loans, don’t worry. The new rates will not affect you. For those of you who plan to take out a loan for the 2014 fall semester and later, you’ll get a break as your loan interest rate just got cut in half.

President Obama signed into law legislation that locked the Federal Student Loan interest rate which was set to increase (as of July 1^st) from 3.4% to 6.8%.) The new law has tied the rate to the ten year treasury. Now students know what their long term loan rate will be even after they graduate. This makes it easier to plan for post graduate expenses.

Below is a table that shows whose loan is subject to what rate.

Type of Loan	Interest Rates
Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans (undergrads)	Fixed at 3.86%
Direct Unsubsidized Loans (graduate/professional students)	Fixed at 5.41%
Direct PLUS Loans (parents and graduate/professional students)	Fixed at 6.41%

 Ok, Ok but what does that mean to you? That is the real question.

First and foremost, for those of you still in school, it does not mean much because as long as you are taking classes, your payments are being deferred (except for PLUS Loans). But once you graduate, that specified rate will kick in and you will begin making payments based on that rate. While this percentage is likely to stay somewhat constant over the next two years, it will almost definitely rise after that. That rise could be substantial. The law also sets maximums on the loan rates for undergrad, graduate and Plus loan programs at 8.25%, 9.5% and 10.5% respectively.

Second, let’s put it in dollar terms. The table below shows the average payment for a student based on a $10,000 and $20,000 debt level after graduation.

Subsidized debt after grace period	Payment based on old rate of 6.8%	Payment based on new rate of 3.4%	Payment based on a max increase to 9.5% (grads)
$10,000	$115.08/mo	$98.42/mo	$129.40/mo
$20,000	$230.16/mo	$196.84/mo	$258.80/mo

So the thing to be thinking about is how you will be able to repay your loans when your payment period begins. Also for those of you who will be taking on more debt over the next few years, as the ten year treasury increases, so will your payment amount. Good luck and be sure to get a job quickly after you graduate.

 Kelly Campbell

 

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Students returning

So glad students will be back tomorrow to fill this empty space. The energy on a college campus is contagious. 

Can't wait to greet our new MSBA cohort  tomorrow evening. 

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How to Get a Letter of Recommendation

Your Business Professor has written dozens of recommendations for hundreds of students, clients, friends and vendors.

Question: If I wrote only a few dozen letters, then how did hundreds of people get a written recommendation from this very generous, very perceptive and very busy business consultant?

Answer: I didn’t write them.

How do you get a letter of recommendation?

Draft it yourself.

Read the story here.

And be sure to Follow us on Twitter @CUA_MSBA and @JackYoest

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What Makes You Stand Out?

What Makes You Stand Out?

Most of us when applying to jobs make sure our resumes and cover letters are perfect. We spend hours proofreading and editing and tailoring our skills to the job at hand. But what happens once we receive an interview? Why are we not spending hours preparing for the most important part of actually getting the job? Some people take for granted or don't know how to really prepare themselves for an interview.

Your cover letter and resume are what get you an interview, but your personality and intangible traits are what land you the job. It is about highlighting your best qualities and relating them exactly to the job you are applying for.  This article in the Washington Post is a short explanation of how to prepare to talk about your intangible skills in a way that makes you stand out from the crowd and impress the employer.

Also, below is a short video helping you answer one of the most important questions in an interview, Why should I hire you?

Hope this helps in your search!

Marykate Kelly
Corporate Relations Manager
kellyf@cua.edu

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