Hello EPGY Stanford Business Students!
Hope you all had a great time this weekend in San Francisco!
First let me thank all of you for doing such a great job in class and on the assignments. YOur performance speaks well of both you as individuals and is a credit to your respective families and schools. With this level of commitment and effort, I am confident you will all succeed in your college applications and university level study, be it at Stanford or at an equally prestigious school.
Announcements for this Week:
We have both field trips and speakers this week.
Monday at 1PM: Tour of the Stanford bookstore with Mr. Ken Bowers.
Stanford Bookstore is the largest in a chain operating on the West Coast. We will get a tour of their logistical processes (i.e. book orders adn deliveries) marketing campaigns, etc. Remember: If you can understand the operations of a small business, you can understand a large one; it is simply a matter os scale. Please be prepared to answer a lot of questions: this exercise will help you out not just now, but in analyzing any business. Remember: Getting The "Right Answers" is far less important than Asking the Right (=astute) Questions!
Wednesday: Trip to Federal Reserve, Departing at 12:30PM from Delta House. On this day we will have an abbreviated class, as I will come to you at Delta to show you a DVD on the Federal Reserve's response to 911. In preparation, please have read the sections in the "Money and Markets" books re banking and the Fed operations. Also chekout their very good website at http://www.frbsf.org/
Bring questions, and anything I can't answer in class, we will ask our friends at the Federal Reserve!
To Be Announced: Guest lecturers
I have made contact with several small business people here at Stanford, including folks at the "Co Ho Coffeeshop" and "The Treehut". Depending on their availability, we will either have the owner/operators come to us, or us make a "intra-Stanford Fieldtrip".
In preparation for these visits, as you shop around campus, start asking yourself questions like: "How does this company make money? Lose Money" What is good/bad/indifferent about the place?" I assure you, good business people are always willing to hear customer feedback! If not, they probably won't be in business for long...
If it is helpful to you, think of this assignment as a mental "SWOT analysis" as you are sizing up businesses. Think of the "competition" and "coopetition" in each situation... Think about not just the small businesses you see, but also the large ones. Example: Are they selling a lot of coffee? What kind? Who supplies it? what stock investment(s) could I make from this information?
Homework for Everybody:
In the process of doing the above, I also want you to start coming up with business ideas. Be creative - just no "time machine ones". I will start randomly calling on people in class to hear your ideas. Do not be embarrassed about your ideas: even Einstein and the Wright brothers were once told they were crazy!
You Guys are all very sharp and creative, so I am looking forward to this week!
See you in class,
Professor Lennon
