whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com

When Mentees Go Anakin Skywalker

by Larry Chiang on February 7, 2012

Larry Chiang teaches at Stanford University and mints engineering undergrads with a JBA (Jedi in Business Administration). He Obi Wan Kenobi’s by grooming young cs major padawans into acting partners for his VC firm. He further Tom Sawyer’s his homework by getting them to help him collect content at his CNN iReport channel “What They Don’t Teach You at Business School”. He collects tactical morsels engineers can use right away. After Chiang’s Harvard Law keynote, Harvard Business wrote: “What They Don’t Teach You at Stanford Business School“ (it’s the same title as his NY Times bestseller). He is Entrepreneur in Residence at Stanford University because that is what you call a teacher at a college with barely a bachelor’s degree. If you read his hilariously awesome “What a Supermodel Can Teach a Stanford MBA” and “How to Get Man-Charm”, you will like his latest post:

When Mentees Go Anakin Skywalker.

By Larry Chiang

Mentors not-so-secretly worry about mentees hurting them. It is a big reason why a mentor won’t mentor you.

You see, I study mentorship in a method and magnitude that is unmatched.

What they don’t teach you in business school is that the person you mentor will maybe screw you. Hard.
I take a serious topic and make light of it using movie analogies. My method is in the oh-so-shiek Stanford Engineering School (SES) business case study format. Yeah, I know, they have that. They’re like HBS case studies– but updated and relevant. I used these case studies to take you into the brain of a potential mentor. I have some positive articles on this around the web. This article focus on when mentorship goes wrong.
Episode I of Star Wars is getting re-released in 3D. It stars a devilishly talented little kid (that grows up to be the devil).
This little kid named Anakin Skywalker,meets discovered by a legendary Jedi named Obi Wan Kenobi. Obi Wan saves him, develops him and gets screwed over when Anakin becomes becomes Darth Vader.
Anakin Skywalker was a BAD mentee for Obi Wan Kenobi

Anakin Skywalker was a BAD mentee for Obi Wan Kenobi

Mentees screwing over their mentors is a very common pattern I recognize. Anakin Skywalker’s story isnt original — it is copy-paste. Literally. But that’s a different blog post
This blog post is “When Mentees Go Anakin Skywalker” in case study format. It is going to focus on mentees, potential mentees, successful mentees and current mentees. I’m not addressing mentor countermeasures. I am focusing on the mentees.
Disclosure: I’ve never been Anakin Skywalker-ed. You’re learning from OMA (other mentors angst). I also teach at Stanford Engineering school.
#### Case Study #1 ####
Bob Sugar.
Jerry Maguire mentee, Bob Sugar, fires him and then takes all of his mentor’s clients. The mentor can only keep one client: Rod ‘Show Me the Money” Tidwell.
This dynamic of mentee screwing over the mentor is not crazy. It is a cliche pattern. You see, when you mentor someone, you springboard them ahead. If your mentee isn’t getting propelled well past you, you suck as a mentor.
Kidding!
Your mentor doesn’t suck, the mentee sucks. Or both.
But if you’re *both* talented… You sling-shot past your mentor pretty often. Makes sense right?? A talented and more seasoned person mentors you, you will get propelled.
Speaking of “sling shot, engage” — I’m thinking this leads to my next case study. It is from the critically acclaimed movie “Talladaega Nights: the Ballad of Ricky Bobby”.
#### Case Study #2 ####
Cal Naughton Jr. in Talladega Nights
Is there a more clear mentor-mentee metaphor than “sling shot engage!”
No.
It pretty much defines that mentor dynamic where mentorship shot your mentee forward. In this case Cal Naughton Jr is Ricky Bobby’s co-hort mentee. (The four categories of mentors are superstar, cohort, junior and default mentor. Ch5 at http://YouTube.com/larrychiang)
Well Ricky Bobby gets slung shot right out of everything he owns by his cohort mentee. He loses his kids, house, car and even wife. How it ends is a mystery until you buy the DVD
Disclosure: I financially, fund-ly or/and kharmic-ally benefit when you support the Stanford engineering student’s startup that sells movies.
Speaking of kids and selling…, a Disney movies has a mentee ruining his mentor.
#### Case Study #3 ####
Sulley.
He is the #1 lead monster and employee of the month every month in the movie: Monster’s Inc.
He is mentored by Waternoose, the ceo of Monsters Inc. Sulley was helped by mastering the “Waternoose jump and growl”. Sulley ends Waternoose career and takes over the defunct Monsters Inc. He pivots the company from scaring kids to making them laugh.
Genius mentee.
#### Case Study #4 ####
Vince.
Tom Cruise gets mentored by Paul Newman in ‘Color of Money’. Paul Newman shows him the ins and outs of pool sharking.

Guess who Tom Cruise later pool sharks?? Yup, Cool Hand Luke himself: Paul Newman.

END ARTICLE

LPs asked me the new VC to ask you the old VC tough questions. Read this to get inside their annual investor meetings.

If you liked this…
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Larry’s mentor Mark McCormack wrote this in 1983.
His own book came out 09-09-09. It is called ‘What They Don’t Teach You At Stanford Business School

*** BONUS ***
a party invite for you…

This post was drafted in an hour and needs your edits… email me if you see a spelling or grammatical error(s)… larry@larrychiang com

Larry Chiang started his first company UCMS in college. He mimicked his mentor, Mark McCormack, founder of IMG who wrote the book, “What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School”.
Chiang is a keynote speaker and bestselling author and spoke at Congress and World Bank.

Text or call him during office hours 11:11am or 11:11pm PST +/-11 minutes at 650-283-8008. Due to the volume of calls, he may place you on hold like a Scottsdale Arizona customer service rep. If you email him, be sure to include your cell number in the subject line. If you want him to email you his new articles…, ask him in an email :-)

You can read more equally funny, but non-founder-focused-lessons on Larry’s Amazon blog .

What A Super Model Can Teach a Harvard MBA About Credit

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Guacamole Recipe #14: Engineer Up Some Momentum

by Larry Chiang on January 19, 2012

Larry Chiang writes about what they don’t teach at b- school. After a Harvard Business School event, they wrote:  “What They Don’t Teach You at Stanford Business School“. He spoke at a Stanford BASES event, did Q&A  via text message and now teaches us what about a recipe too dangerous to try. If you liked his BASES keynote, the Q&A  via text message,  “What They STILL Don’t Teach You at Stanford GSB About Scamming and, “What They STILL Don’t Teach at GSB About Screwing Someone Hard” you will like his latest post: Engineering Up Some Momentum.

by Larry Chiang

Here is your momentum

Pattern replicate it. If you need help, contact a Stanford student that I taught this to (and pay them $80-$500)

http://bit.ly/vc0116f

http://bit.ly/vc0116d

http://on.fb.me/vc0116

http://on.fb.me/vc0116a

http://read.bi/vc0116b

http://bit.ly/vc0116sfc

http://bit.ly/vc0116qb

http://bit.ly/vc0116sfm

Below is my post on “Tipping”

It is how to get homefield advantage on the road. I copy-pasted this whole thing so that the “engineer up some momentum” post will be dark on google SEO and not have a cached copy

Members of this secret society experience a hotel like an owner of an NFL franchise with an AOL email. Your entry into this secret society depends on your ability to communicate by tipping. In the same way that opposing cold war admirals would move 13 submarines a grand total of 250 yards to communicate acceptance of a back-channel offer, you’ll read first-hand how to out flank 100 Stanford Business School graduates in front of you.

If you’re working the conference circuit to promote yourself or your business you’ll need these five tips for “Tipping Bribing and Comping” which can be found in my YouTube video channel: “What They Dont Teach You at Stanford Business School

-1-… 8-10 nickels will significantly change your hotel experience.
A nickel here means a $5 bill. A hitter I know tips 8 five dollar bills before he steps into his hotel room. Instead of shunning the bell-hop, he seeks him out and tips him two nickels. Instead of cringing at the $65 day rate to park, he tips 3 more 5s to take the care, pull the bags out AND CALL UP TO THE FRONT DESK from the parkway/driveway.

The last person to tip is 3 5s for the front desk manager with the statement, “Anything you can do by way of a room upgrade I’d greatly appreciate. I apologize for being such a bore to deal with :-) )

-2-… Outmaneuver everyone at a marquee conference hotel location.
First thing that you must know is the lay-out of the facilities. Second thing you need to do is put your lap-top bag down or check it. An advanced strategy is to host something “after hours”. Another advanced strategy is to buy Wall Street Journals (and do an insert or staple an teaser) and pay the bell captain to deliver to the conference attendees (at many conferences, I also get the list).

-3-… Goal is to turn a strange hotel into home-field advantage.
You must work out 10-20 min in the micro hotel gym facilities. It’ll help metabolize the seven gin and tonics you ingested last night.

-4-… Tip $20 at an open bar and use man-charm
Most conference cocktail parties are open bar so tip a $20 and order bubbly and remember the bartenders name.

-5-… Profiling who you are gonna tip at the hotel
This is critical at the front desk when there are five people checking in guests… I pick a person that’s most likely to upgrade me on these criteria
- are they just waiting to go on break?
- are they fresh outta HRM school like NAU (HRM- Hotel Restaurant Management and NAU is Northern Arizona University) and can’t risk breaking any rules?
- My favorite is the most senior of staff… they’d most appreciate the Andrew Jackson I’m slipping underneath my credit card

-6- Bonus Tip. These even work when you Priceline.com the room
Usually, those room sold online are low-floor crap rooms. You won’t get a corner room high floor unless you bribe and tip your way there.

The biggest tip (pun intended)is to be a vacation for the hotel staff. Any type of self deprecating humor goes a long way in breaking up the monotony of dealing with the public.

Enjoy membership into this secret society… If you have questions email them to chiang9@duck9.com and include your cell phone in the subject line. I’ll ping back all emails.

Good luck hustling hard and watch your back. If you sponsor a party, I am hosting events at Sundance and SXSW, don’t change my deal ;-)

***** ARTICLE END *****

Follow me on Twitter @larryChiang or join my 7 9 person fan club on Facebook. Remember, my book’s 14 chapters are reprinted free at a website called BusinessWeek. If you cannot sleep, watch my 90 minute panel that would’ve put half the room to sleep were it not for my dog Baxter storming the stage to co-moderate.

Good luck hustling hard and effen follow up. If you have a start-up, you can sponsor a party I am hosting at Sundance and SXSW

DISCLOSURE: I don’t make money from Fraiche. I don’t make money from Topix. I do appreciate the monopoly that Congress  granted and the FTC is enforcing: It’s the law that states only companies that get college students to high FICO scores (Duck9) can sell a credit card to that college student.

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Getting Over Your Pre Entrepreneur Fears

January 18, 2012

Larry Chiang scandalously teaches at a school he used to crash classes at: Stanford University . He edits the Bloomberg BusinessWeek channel “What They Don’t Teach You at Business School”. After Chiang’s Harvard Law keynote, Harvard Business wrote: “What They Don’t Teach You [...]

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Tipping, Comping, Thanking and Tipping

December 5, 2011

Larry Chiang writes about business school. After a Harvard Business School event, they wrote:  “What They Don’t Teach You at Stanford Business School“. He spoke at a BASES event, did Q&A  via text message and now teaches us what. If you liked his BASES keynote, the Q&A  via text message,  “What They STILL Don’t Teach [...]

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Raising Your FICO While You’re in an MBA Program

December 5, 2011

Larry Chiang writes about business school. After a Harvard Business School event, they wrote:  “What They Don’t Teach You at Stanford Business School“. He spoke at a BASES event, did Q&A  via text message and now teaches us what. If you liked his BASES keynote, the Q&A  via text message,  “What They STILL [...]

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What They Don’t Teach You at Stanford Business School About Public Speaking

December 5, 2011

Larry Chiang is an instructional humorist and has a PBA (Padawan in Business Administration). He will have you street savvy by Saturday. After a Harvard Business School event, they wrote:  “What They Don’t Teach You at Stanford Business School“. He spoke at a BASES event, did Q&A  via text message and [...]

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What They STILL Don’t Teach at GSB About Screwing Someone Hard

December 5, 2011

Larry Chiang is an instructional humorist and has an IQ of about 88. What he lacks in academic prowess, he more than makes up for in wisdom. He is not a Jedi but has instincts stronger than Obi-Wan Kenobi when it comes to boardroom shenanigans. Read this and the force will [...]

Read the full article →

What They STILL Don’t Teach You at Stanford GSB About Scamming

December 5, 2011

Larry Chiang is an instructional humorist and has a PBA (Padawan in Business Administration). He will have you street savvy by Saturday. After a Harvard Business School event, they wrote:  “What They Don’t Teach You at Stanford Business School“. He spoke at a BASES event, did Q&A  via text message and now teaches [...]

Read the full article →

What They STILL Don’t Teach at GSB About Getting Revenge

December 5, 2011

Larry Chiang is an instructional humorist and has a self-reported IQ of about 88. What he lacks in academic prowess, he more than makes up for in wisdom / street-smarts. He is not a Jedi but has instincts stronger than Obi-Wan Kenobi when it comes to corporate shenanigans. Read this and the force will be [...]

Read the full article →

What They STILL Do Not Teach You at Stanford Business School (But Do at Stanford Engineering)

December 5, 2011

Larry Chiang is an instructional humorist and aspires for a JBA (Jedi in Business Administration). He wants us street smart by Friday. After a Harvard Business School event, they wrote: “What They Don’t Teach You at Stanford Business School“. He spoke at BASES and got over a dozen questions that he will answer below.
By [...]

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