Nhi Huong Huynh- TMMBA Fiscal Specialist
You might want to attend the Information Session for the program highlights. You will have the answers for any questions about the TMMBA Program. Also, you will have an opportunity to hear about the TMMBA experience from a current student or alumni.
Sessions are held at Eatside Executive Center, Kirkland on the following date:
September 13
October 13
November 8
December 6
Please RSVP by contacting TMMBA Program office at 206-221-6914 or tmmba@uw.edu.
Chris Rosenquest, TMMBA Student (Class of 2011)
Since I started this program a lot of people have asked me, “How do you manage school, work and everything else you do?” Here’s my take on scheduling during the 18 months of the program.
The first thing I tell them is yes, it’s possible to manage it all and do well at all of it. The second thing I tell them is I use a calendar.
Schedule Your Life:
So a lot of people say “work-life balance”. Now add school into the mix and then make it all work. It’s entirely possible to make it all work and be satisfied and happy without suffering. In fact, it’s entirely possible to not only make it all work but to excel at it all.
This part is more training on scheduling than having specifically to do with the TMMBA program, but for those of you who haven’t had much training with your schedule you’ll find that being thrown head first into school will provide that for you.
Schedule everything. And I mean it. When you get up, when you go to bed, when you have lunch, when you spend time with friends, when you spend time with family. Schedule work meetings, home work, classes and personal days…
All of this scheduling is more of an exercise and less of a necessity. I recommend all of this scheduling for the first two months of your TMMBA so you can get a real sense of how long things actually take.
You might say, “it only take me 25 minutes to get ready in the morning,” when it actually takes 35. “It takes me 10 minutes to get to work,” when it really takes only 5. All of this scheduling will allow you to find out how long things actually take. This alone will give you a good sense of scheduling and how to maximize your time. From me doing this, I know it takes 3 minutes to read an 8×11 page of normal size font. This comes in handy when scheduling time during the lunch hour to read an assigned case.
Find a way to share your calendar with friends and family. This allows you to easily schedule your school time, work time and play time. The people you enjoy spending time with will be able to easily schedule time with you because they will also see when you’re free.
You will become hyper efficient with your time and ability to accomplish tasks.
Keep it in mind:
This is an 18 month program that will end in 18 months. Meaning, your friends and family will be there at the end of the 18 months so keep them in mind during that time and make sure you’re spending time and appreciating them through this process. Schedule time with them or at the very least keep them in the loop on a regular basis. This is the same thing with work. Let people know what support you need and reach out for help when you need it.
Besides, you want people to be at your graduation don’t you!?
Aaron Lykken, Manager – Academic Services & Technologies
It’s August already?! My mind grows numb as these words crawl through my fingers. When did that happen?!?!
TMMBA Class 10 is well through Summer quarter and has accomplished a lot as they work towards the vast (in TMMBA terms) Summer break in sight. Their Leadership Development course with Professor Bruce Avolio just wrapped up last Saturday. The focus of the course is on understanding the dynamics of leaders and leadership including individual, team and organizational/strategic leadership. Professor Avolio’s objective is to help each individual student translate what they learned in the course into actionable steps that can positively enhance their current leadership impact both inside and outside of work. After the final exam is out of the way the students will return their attention to their other courses for the quarter, Strategic Marketing Management and Leading Across Cultures.
Chris Rosenquest, TMMBA Student (Class of 2011)
So the TMMBA is not all about attending classes and doing schoolwork. For me it’s a construct in which I can develop all of my business skills and not just increase my business knowledge.
Expanding myself as a business leader is the primary context for me and the reason why I applied and accepted. And as I go through each semester there have been opportunities outside of class to expand.
I was recently invited to do a short presentation to potential TMMBA students at an informational meeting. Getting in front of people and talking is very easy for me when I know the subject and have prepared well. In this case it was in short notice and I had a select list of topics from which to choose. This was an opportunity to expand and stretch myself. I did well and also noticed areas of development in public speaking.
My team, The Fantastic Five, was chosen to be presented in the TMMBA newsletter and the TMMBA website (http://www.foster.washington.edu/academic/tmmba/Pages/StudyGroups.aspx). Again, this was an opportunity to reflect on the team work as well as provide some insider information on the TMMBA process.
Both of these examples allowed me to step outside of the classroom and homework to expand, and that’s what school has been about.
Sara Jones, Assistant Director
Last quarter, 12 TMMBA students successfully made it into the Investment Round of the UW Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) Business Plan Competition. This is no small feat since only 36 out of 92 teams were accepted. During the Investment Round, 230 judges each had $1,000 CIE dollars to “invest” in the teams. The 16 teams with the highest investment advanced to the Sweet Sixteen Round. I really enjoyed attending the event this year. There was a lot of excitement in the room and it was fun to see our students pitching their business ideas to local venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and investors. This year TMMBA had 7 students on 3 different teams make it to the Sweet Sixteen Round!
Here is a short video from the Investment Round to give you a feel for the competition.
UW Business Plan Competition – 2010 Investment Round from Foster School of Business on Vimeo.
Aaron Lykken, Manager – Academic Services & Technologies
TMMBA Class 9 graduated earlier in the month and now Class 10 takes the helm as the senior group of students. Personally I consider them in their “Junior year” at this point as they are largely time management experts and widely knowledgeable about how the program runs, however I never feel that the group has 100% nailed down their study habits and figured out their team dynamic until Summer quarter is over.
With Class 9 gone, things have mellowed out a bit here from an operations standpoint at the Eastside Executive Center as we go from max student capacity during Winter through Spring to suddenly roughly half! Everything seems to be affected, from quieter hallways, one less classroom used, fewer teams and students using study spaces, less coffee being consumed, reduced course materials ordered, et cetera.
One of the great benefits this opportunity affords is the chance to get to know the newer group of students that much more. While Class 10 has been around for two full quarters, things can be quite chaotic at times with students relearning to be…well, students again, during the Winter (their first quarter) and Spring in addition to staff helping guide the veteran group to the finish line in the Spring. Summer eases up a bit on the gas-pedal and I feel that both staff and students interact more and make stronger connections in this simplified environment. I’m looking forward to some of the highlights the Summer quarter brings such as the leadership immersion (a student favorite) during the late Summer/early Autumn, the TMMBA Alumni Golf Classic (a very popular alumni/student event), and the legendary September break (also a student favorite – not pictured 
).
As you can see, what’s not to like about the Summer?!
A team comes up short on hole 18 at Washington National during the Alumni Golf Classic
Students listen to instructions before a leadership simulation at the Leadership Immersion
Chris Rosenquest, TMMBA Student (Class of 2011)
Semester two is officially come to an end and I want to take an opportunity to reflect on the beginning of the school year through the first and second semesters…
Semester 1:
The first semester was extremely challenging and upon reflection, the majority of the challenge came from managing my schedule. The course work and content, although challenging, I found the majority of the my struggles coming making time to complete the course work, meet with my team, attend class and the review sessions.
At first I attempted to keep my other engagements (BOD work, volunteer work etc…) but in the end found I needed to temporarily give these up in order to focus solely on school. I don’t regret giving these up as I know the work I’m putting into school will make a lifetime of difference when I take these up in the future.
Semester 2:
Now that I’m in stride, the second semester started and ended very well. Not only was school now well integrated into daily life but my grades also showed improvement because of it. Below is what I’ve resolved will be my schedule for the next year.
Monday: Team study night – It’s highly recommended you meet with your team at least once a week. This is the evening we take to review our workload for the week, work on team cases and discuss topics from class that are more complex
Tuesday: Personal study night
Wednesday: Class night
Thursday: Class review – Very important! I found that making time to attend these can ensure a above average grade versus an average grade. The TAs know what they’re talking about and as long as you’re willing to ask questions you’ll solidify your understanding of a tough topic.
Friday: Personal study night
Saturday: alternating class days/team study days
Sunday: NOTHING – Yes, I don’t do school work (or any other kind of work) on Sundays. This has worked out very well for me and my family and friends. For me it’s a well deserved rest from the rest of the week and a recharge going into the upcoming week. Finding time for myself has been imperative to my experience and success in school and that spills over to the rest of life.
Scott Hannah, TMMBA Student (Class of 2010)
Sitting here basking in the relief and exciting that comes from having been part of a successful capstone presentation, I’m amazed at how fast these 18 months have been. So much has been packed in this past year-and-a-half it seems almost a blur. This truly has been a wonderful adventure, with it’s share of excitement and drama. When I initially started this program I was somewhat uncertain as to how management of technology would be brought out the course. What I discovered was that it was less about the technology and more about the contacts and shared experiences with professionals in the fields of technology. One of the key benefits of this program is the exposure you get to diverse backgrounds and experiences over the 18 months we’re together, and the contacts we make now will benefit us in years to come.
Having just had the course, I can liken my experience to Leading Organizational Change. There was some resistance along the way, but the TMMBA program has been successful in transforming our organization (the student body) into MBA graduates. And to paraphrase the leading organizational change course, there are some things I will miss (learning something new, the shared comraderie of classmates, the pampering of the TMMBA staff, and more), there are some things I won’t miss (16-hr exams, late study nights, too much coffee, having no free time), and things that I missed out on (hanging out at the Keg after classes).
As I sit here relieved and excited to be done, I cannot stress enough how rewarding an experience this has been. Eighteen months go by quickly, and to sit here and feel what I feel cannot be missed.
Go on, take the leap, and enroll in the TMMBA program. You won’t regret it!
Scott Hannah, TMMBA Student (Class of 2010)
Papers are written, tests are taken, and now it’s down to one final assignment – the Capstone presentation. It has been an extremely interesting time working on this project. Not only was it a chance for us to showcase the skills we’ve developed over the entire program, it was also an opportunity for those of us who have never ventured into the entrepreneurial world to see what it’s like to enter and compete in the marketplace.
This year’s capstone projects were a bit different from those in previous years. In addition to the projects selected from the University’s portfolio of patents, students had the opportunity to either work with “Entrepreneurs in Residence” on their projects; continue to develop the projects they began in the previous quarter’s Entrepreneurship class; or as in our case, work on a commercialization project from an ongoing venture.
As fascinating and informative as the lecture cases have been, they pale in comparison to actually seeing up close and personal the challenges and struggles a young company goes through. It takes a certain personality to persevere in this environment, and Sir/Madam I salute you for your effort! In the short amount of time we had to work on this project, we were only able to outline the barest sketch of a commercialization path and plan for this company, but our efforts were appreciated and I know I’ll be watching with interest to see how this venture plays out over time.
Scott Hannah, TMMBA Student (Class of 2010)
I may seem a little prejudiced toward the Monday class session, as that was the session I chose for myself when I enrolled, but with applications for Class 2012 rolling in, I thought I would make a case for the oft maligned day of the week.
At our welcoming reception way back in 2008, the alumni speaker bemoaned all the drawbacks to Mondays. But after our first quarter I soon discovered that there were several benefits to this day of the week which I’ll share with you.
For most people, Mondays are the worst day of the week, and if you’re a glass-half-empty kind of person, having class on a Monday just adds to the pain. For me, having class on a Monday meant that I was more rested following the weekend, that I generally had a full day beforehand to prepare, and the readings were fresh in my mind. Additionally, following Monday’s class, I had the rest of the week to prepare for the two class sessions on Saturday when they occurred. From a psychological standpoint, when looking at a Monday class schedule on the calendar, it seemed like there was more time between classes than if I were to attend classes on Wednesday. The final benefit to Mondays are, if at the last minute you can’t attend class, you can always make it up on Wednesday. You could never do that if you were in the Wednesday session.
Ultimately, whichever session you choose/are assigned to, I think you will quickly discover the TMMBA program to be a rewarding experience.
