Stephen Ilagan's Blog

Here’s an article that all of us in Comm 101 should take a look at: The Top Eight Rules of Networking, by Kelly Eggers, a regular blogger in FINS finance. True, most of this is common sense, and a select few of us are well-practiced at applying these basic rules in real life, but it does point out a few intricacies such as the differences of how to look at a person during a professional or social conversation.

Interestingly enough, the article also pointed out that business cards are beginning to trump random resume passing. Coincidentally, it seems like I’ve had to hand out more and more resumes whenever I want a job just to get an interview. It seems like you have to know someone in the company for there to be even a remote chance at landing that job. For all those wanting holiday or summer jobs, take note. This is trend that is affecting us now and will affect us in the future: job hiring (and business in general, for that matter) is becoming more and more personal. The sparkly resume simply doesn’t cut it anymore. But hey, I guess that’s why we are all in Sauder, right?

For all you sport-nut Sauderites, here is a recommendation for a sports show that puts a business twist on topics. Tom Mayenknecht hosts a show on the TEAM 1040 (better known for rants and in the words of David Pratt, “yahoo callers”) every Saturday from 9am to 12 noon called “the Sport Market“. Mayenknecht is a 30-year veteran in sport marketing and brand management and his insights often reveal things that are overlooked for most spectators of sports.

Think of Mayenknecht’s show as BusinessWeek meets ESPN Radio. Concepts that we have been learning in class – from brand positioning to supply chain operations to the effect of technology – are applied in a sports context. The application of those concepts to a real-world entity makes classes exponentially more valuable. The fun part is, of course, it involves sports, which, for a sports fan, should be a real treat, as all the perks of your regular sports radio shows – athlete guests and caller opinion – still exist.

Take last week’s show, for instance. Mayenknecht was talking about this year’s small media market World Series and the implications on TV Revenue and Baseball’s dependence on the Series reaching seven games (which it did).

If you have nothing else to do on a lazy Saturday morning on campus, tune in to AM 1040, even if its just for a few minutes, for some entertainment and learning.

Few men have been as influential in shaping the way the world operates as Steve Jobs. Many credit Jobs with single-handedly lifting Apple one of the world’s most valuable and successful companies. With his passing, Apple now looks to Tim Cook to lead the way into the post – Jobs era.

This brings to question one thing: How much impact can individuals have on a business? Undoubtedly, there have been prime examples of individuals shaping not only their business, but the world around them. The Gates’, Fords, Edisons, and so on. Traditionally, as we are taught here in Sauder, running a business is as much a team effort than anything else. Would these men be in the same place without their “teams”? Or were they so driven that they influenced the people around them and pushed themselves to success? It’s a question that deserves some recognition, especially considering that many of us Sauderites are leaders in our ways.

Interestingly enough, I am currently reading Driven, written by Dragon’s Den host Robert Herjavec, a person who carved out individual success in his own right. He emphasizes the power of determination and “being driven”, and ultimately loving what you do in business and life. Funnily enough, these same points are emphasized in Steve Job’s 2005 Stanford Commencement Address.

Sorry, Mr. Hubbert, the "pimple" doesn't exist

Reynolds, Neil. “A Peak Oil Technocrat Ignored the Power of Technology.” The Globe and Mail 5 Oct 2011: B2. Print.

“Hubbert’s Peak is still not in sight”. Marion King Hubbert’s prediction that the world oil production would begin to decline after the 1970s has been squashed, according to U.S. Energy historian Daniel Yergin. All that fear about oil running out and OPEC crippling the American economy? Pure fantasy. The power of technology has allowed the Western Hemisphere “to move back into self-sufficiency” (Reynolds). Oil drilling has become more efficient with the technology to tap into shale oil reserves. In fact, countries like Venezuela and Argentina have untapped reserves the size of Saudi Arabia’s. America’s dependence on foreign oil in going down.

Hubbert, who was a Technocrat, failed to see a major component built in to the global market economy. If demand exists for a good – we will find a way to get that. Technology now lets us achieve that. In today’s world, technology has become a driving force behind every industry, even in conservative markets like oil drilling and mining. As Reynolds concludes in his article, drill, baby, drill.

The catastrophe that is unfolding in the Euro Zone is one for the history books. Europe’s future, both politically and financially, has literally been hanging in the balance in the past few weeks. Here is my two cents on what is happening on the EU and what could possibly be done to save Europe:

The way I see it, the structure of the EU is the major problem. This “crisis” has shown just how slowly a united front of democratic nations moves into action. Here in Canada, we always complain about the government being slow to react to public demands. Compound that with 27 governments and you have a recipe for disaster. True, when at it’s peak, the EU has the capability to compete economically with global powerhouses like China and the US. However, at its worst, unnecessary expenditure falls heavy on countries like Germany, one of the few economically “stable” countries.

At his point, the only solution I see is letting the ECB take control and pull Greece out of debt. The EU cannot risk a Greek default, since that would result in an incomprehensible amount of investor confidence lost in the EU. Then, begin slowly contracting the EU to avoid such disaster in the future.