Anne He, BSBA ’22, wrote this for the Olin Blog. She is studying finance and sociology.
In business, we face rejection all the time. We may be rejected from a job, a customer may reject our product, the list goes on. Entrepreneurs famously tell stories about the hundreds of rejections that lead up to a single success. It’s clear that dealing with rejection and coming out on top is not only important but necessary to excel in business.
Even knowing this, I am still afraid of rejection. When someone tells me, “No,” my first instinct is to immediately nod, say, “No worries, I understand,” and try to forget about it as soon as possible.
During my freshman year, after making it all the way to the last round of interviews for my dream summer internship, I was rejected. I did not get the job. I quickly became frustrated with my lack of assertion, and my inability to turn rejection into something positive.
Inspiration from a Ted Talk
That’s when I stumbled across what has become one of my favorite Ted Talks, Jia Jiang’s “What I Learned from 100 Days of Rejection.” The idea was simple: overcome the fear of rejection by completing a list of tasks that would be certain to face rejection. Sleep at Mattress Firm, take pictures with strangers, borrow $100 from a stranger, etc. When told “no,” the goal was to question the rejection and find ways to circumvent it.
I embarked on this challenge last summer by creating my own list of tasks based on my experiences. Thus began a summer of asking the barista if I could come around the counter and make my own coffee, trying on a stranger’s stylish jacket and asking time after time if I could have a phone call with random professionals.
Practicing rejection
The first time, I had to have a friend physically push me toward the confused barista. Over time, my thought process started to shift toward, “What can I lose?” The more tasks I accomplished, the less hesitant I became to complete the next one.
It’s a silly challenge and I had lots of laughs while doing it, but it’s made a monumental impact on the way I respond to rejection. If I meet an Uber driver who has had an interesting career path, my first instinct is to ask for advice and a future phone call. If a recruiter says “no” to my application, my response is no longer “I understand,” but rather “How can I improve?”
Fear of rejection has prevented me from taking opportunities that could be the start of new passions and journeys. When I returned to WashU in the fall, I was ready to apply myself to new roles like joining Bear Studios, LLC or becoming executive vice president of Student Union.
These experiences seemed like a far-reaching dream only a year ago and are now a reality. Rejection should never be feared but used as an opportunity for exploration and growth.
Cozen O’Connor named trial lawyer and Olin alum Karl O. Riley, BSBA ’06 — who for the past two years has served as law clerk to the Honorable Johnnie B. Rawlinson at the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, in Las Vegas — as the new office managing partner of its Las Vegas office. One of the first African Americans to be named office managing partner for an Am Law 100 firm in Nevada, Riley joins the firm as a member within the firm’s Commercial Litigation department. Additionally, Riley will be a part of the Labor & Employment, Class Actions, and Appellate practice groups.
As a clerk, he assisted with courtroom proceedings, conducted legal research and briefings and drafted bench and en banc memoranda, orders, opinions and memorandum dispositions. He also published opinions on matters ranging from antitrust, constitutional, immigration, criminal and environmental disputes to cases involving commercial, intellectual property, labor and employment, civil rights and habeas corpus issues.
Prior to that, Riley worked at Snell & Wilmer LLP in Las Vegas, where he advised and litigated on behalf of a range of corporate-level clients in the global telecommunications, e-commerce, retail, gaming, banking, and construction industries.
“Since we opened the office in 2018 our goal in Las Vegas has been to provide comprehensive, national representation to Nevada’s thriving gaming, technology, education, and real estate sectors,” said Vincent R. McGuinness, Jr., Cozen O’Connor’s president and managing partner. “As an attorney with clients in all of those industries—including several in gaming technology—Karl is the ideal choice to lead our Las Vegas office. I’m both pleased and excited he’s chosen to join our firm.”
“Karl brings to us impeccable credentials, both for his work with Judge Rawlinson and as a corporate trial lawyer,” added James H. Heller, co-chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Commercial Litigation Department. “His clients run the proverbial gamut and he represents them from complaint through appeal in federal, state, and appellate courts, and in arbitration. Suffice to say I’m very happy to welcome him to our practice.”
A previous chair of the State Bar of Nevada’s Young Lawyers Section and widely recognized as one of Nevada’s top up and coming lawyers, Riley has been named “Young Lawyer of the Year” by the State Bar of Nevada, a “Rising Star of Business” by the Las Vegas Business Press, and an “On the Rise” Top 40 Young Lawyer by the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division.
“I chose Cozen O’Connor because I wanted to bring my practice to a full-service firm with a national litigation department. I can now provide a one stop shop for my clients regardless of the type or location of their dispute,” Riley said. “In addition, the firm has also fully embraced the legal profession’s diversity initiatives, which is not only important to me, but to my clients as well.”
An ocean liner hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Ten people scramble into one lifeboat, and wind and waves drive the lifeboat far from other boats. The passengers have no idea where they are or when help might come.
What’s worse, the lifeboat can only hold six passengers. If four don’t go overboard into the icy water and certain death, all 10 will drown. You have only minutes to decide. Who stays? Who goes?
The lifeboat game is part of a lesson in decision-making frameworks in the new book “The Right Way to Win: Making Business Ethics Work in the Real World,” by Robert Zafft, an adjunct lecturer at Olin. Published by Rowman & Littlefield in mid-September, the book gives readers tools and techniques to encourage ethical behavior, which Zafft argues drives long-term business success.
The ideas and examples in the book come from a business-ethics course Zafft teaches at Olin. He calls the book “a stand-alone guide to making business ethics work in the real world.” It’s meant for people in the workforce and also for students in business or other programs who want to understand the basics of business ethics.
“My students want the fundamentals of business ethics explained in ways that are simple, straightforward, practical and fun,” Zafft said. “That’s how I teach my course, and that’s how I’ve written my book. The lifeboat game introduces people to basic ethical frameworks in a way they’ll enjoy and remember.”
Zafft is a Harvard-trained lawyer who has worked as a McKinsey & Company consultant and international expert. His own introduction to business ethics came in Moscow during Russia’s “wild 1990s, when bankers were getting blown up on Main Street at rush hour,” he said.
An emphasis on reputation
“Experience has taught me that people who treat business ethics as a back-office issue will fail,” Zafft said. His book stands out because of its emphasis on reputation, he said, “as well as concrete managerial tools and techniques for fixing and enforcing individual accountability.”
The 12-chapter book is divided into three parts. Part I describes the meaning of “ethical behavior,” and one of its chapters includes the lifeboat game. “Various ethical frameworks exist, and these can produce varying – and sometimes directly contradictory – outcomes,” Zafft writes. “Sometimes, both sides can be right.”
Part II examines what it means for a company or other organization to be ethical. It also looks at how critical reputation is to business leaders ranging from history’s “real” Godfather, Carlo Gambino, to Warren Buffett.
Part III focuses on the managerial tools and techniques for encouraging and enforcing ethical behavior throughout an organization. “These include the organizational designs and process controls which managers must put in place to define and enforce individual accountability,” Zafft writes. It also “explores the primacy of culture, which, in Warren Buffett’s view, ‘[D]etermines how an organization behaves … more than rule books.’”
The best way to rob a bank
Entertaining writing fills the book. The chapter “Organizational Design: The Who and What of Accountability” begins this way:
“‘The best way to rob a bank is to own it’ goes the old saw. In fact, robbers don’t even need to own the bank, just to work there. So it was with Wells Fargo. So it was with Enron, which was not a bank but traded like one. The individual world record for bank robbery may belong to Nick Leeson, a 20-something trading-desk manager for Barings plc. In 1995, Leeson’s unauthorized trades cost his employer over $1.3 billion, leaving it insolvent.”
Other chapters offer engaging perspectives on classic business-ethics cases including those involving Ford Pinto, Arthur Andersen and Bernie Madoff.
Mark Arian, CEO of Korn Ferry Consulting, called the book a “must read for any executive or professional focusing on making business ethics work in the real world and driving and sustaining ethical decisions throughout an organization.”
“The book focuses extensively on practical managerial techniques and individual accountability,” Arian said, “showing the reader how to do well by doing good.”
Andrew Wu (BSBA ’22) wrote this for the Olin Blog. He’s majoring in computer science and finance and is a technology fellow at Bear Studios.
Purpose.
A word that has been stuck in my head since I began thinking about life after high school. Like many of my peers, I was stuck trying to figure out what career path would be the best fit.
It seemed easy enough: pick a major that would give me the best employment opportunities after graduation. But when it came time to submit my university applications, I was stuck with two questions. What is my purpose? What career best fits that purpose?
In my junior year of high school, I had narrowed my options down to biomedical engineering, computer science and finance. Over the summer, I brought up my concerns with my uncle, and in an attempt to help me he took me on a tour of his office at the Apple Park. I remember looking around in awe of the modern design, the massive communal field, and the people riding by on Apple-branded bicycles. Everything looked so immaculate. Even the pebbles looked like they were manually affixed to the path. It felt perfect.
But as we were about to enter his office, a section of the staircase caught my eye. Instead of leading to the main doors, it veered off to the side, straight into a bush. I turned to my uncle to make a joke of such a pointless slab of concrete. He took one look, laughed and said. “Have you never found yourself trying to find a place to sit outside, but when you sat down on a staircase you felt like you were blocking someone’s path? That’s what that staircase is for. Not for walking, but for sitting.”
While touring the park didn’t help me make my decision, that one small, seemingly insignificant interaction has been essential to my university experience so far. Eventually, I decided on biomedical engineering as my major and committed to WashU. thinking that I would graduate and become a biomedical engineer.
But during my first semester, I learned that many of the graduates in my major went on to do very similar things post-graduation, the majority going into medical or graduate school, consulting or industry. As I sat in the lecture halls with my peers, the same two questions kept nagging me. Would I truly find my own purpose following that same path, or like that staircase, could I redefine my own purpose? By doing so, would I inadvertently limit my opportunities?
To find some answers, I decided to take classes for the other majors that I considered—computer science and finance. After a few weeks I immediately knew that this was the better path. I was much more engrossed with the material, so I soon found myself switching to computer science and adding a second major in finance from Olin.
Going down a more uncertain path has allowed me to see new opportunities to reconcile these two areas of interest that otherwise I would not have been able to discover. One such opportunity was Bear Studios, a student-run consulting firm. During my sophomore year I saw that Bear Studios was recruiting, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to put my skills to the test. I successfully applied to be a technology fellow, and now I’ve had opportunities to leverage my passions and help St. Louis entrepreneurs.
Even now, going into junior year, I am still not able to confidently define my own purpose and passions. But by reminding myself that this time in university is an incredible opportunity to grow alongside like-minded individuals with unique dreams and aspirations, I have been able to continue searching for those definitions.
By actively branching out to explore new interests and applying what I’ve learned in different ways, I am creating my own path.
An online real estate marketplace cofounded by WashU Olin alum JD Ross will gain a $1 billion infusion in an acquisition that values the company at nearly $5 billion.
Ross, BSBA ’12, cofounded Opendoor in 2014. He was responsible for building the prototype of its online platform and worked until 2018 as the company’s head of product development, where he built out the product development team.
Opendoor is an online home marketplace that offers homeowners a means to sell their houses instantly, without the heartache of weeks or months on the real estate market. Today, Ross is a partner with San Francisco-based venture capital/private equity firm Atomic.
“I want to take a quick moment to share deep appreciation for everyone who put their heart into getting Opendoor to where it is,” Ross said in a tweet posted on Wednesday, noting that his appreciation extended to “teammates and investors who took a leap of faith with your careers, and the customers who took a bet on a new concept and guided us along the way.”
CNBC reported the acquisition of Opendoor on Tuesday, interviewing Chamath Palihapitiya, founder and CEO of Social Capital Hedosophia II. The deal essentially rolls Opendoor into Social Capital, his publicly traded “special purpose acquisition company.” Proceeds from that firm’s April IPO, along with a $600 million infusion from a group of investors that includes Palihapitiya and funds managed by BlackRock, will total just over $1 billion for Opendoor in the acquisition.
“The company is transforming the $1.6 trillion residential real estate market by combining superior user experience, streamlined operations and machine learning to create a seamless digital experience,” Palihapitiya told CNBC.
CNBC reported that the $4.8 billion valuation for Opendoor is nearly equal to the company’s 2019 revenue. Opendoor operates in 21 markets and says it sold more than 18,000 homes last year. “Homeowners get a quote, through an algorithm, and can sell their houses directly to the company,” CNBC reported. “Opendoor may make some fixes and then put the house on the market to sell. The spread between what the home is bought for and sold is a part of how Opendoor generates revenue.”
Erin Noh, AB ’21, is one of two recipients of Olin’s $2,500 stipend for the business of the arts minor. Noh snagged summer internships at both Almost 30 and Hawke Media. She wrote this for the Olin Blog.
In which area of the arts are you focused? Why?
I am a graphic designer with experience in digital marketing and branding. I love working in this field because I can use my creative skills to deliver a message or purpose to a target audience. Visual marketing allows me to combine my eye for art and passion for marketing. I work in diverse creative fields, including print and logo design, branding and social media.
How do you envision your career path going forward?
I hope to pursue a career path in digital marketing or brand management after graduation. I am open to both larger advertising firms or in-house agencies related to the lifestyle or fashion industry. Because I love working collaboratively with different individuals and teams, I prefer larger work environments that foster this interaction.
How did you find the minor in the business of the arts program? Can you speak yet to the ways it has influenced the vision you have for your career?
My friend who is pursuing fine art major in the Sam Fox School introduced me to the business of the arts minor last year when it first became one of the Olin Business School programs. After talking to my Sam Fox adviser, I decided that it would be the perfect opportunity for me to learn about and prepare for pursuing a career in the creative field.
A sample of Erin Noh’s work from Almost 30.
One key takeaway for me is that I need to be self-aware of my own interests, passions and purpose. Although I always knew I wanted to do something related to art or design, thoroughly thinking about potential career paths helped me to realize that I want to create designs that further a purpose or advertise ideas.
In addition, I not only learned so many new business and management principles but also ways to implement the ideas to my own life. In particular, the core class “business of the arts” was a whole course designed for students to think about their career paths as creatives, and set action steps that can be taken to make those goals a reality.
The program has motivated me to be more proactive about pursuing my career path by encouraging me to research diverse occupations and conduct informational interviews to gain more industry insight. I definitely became much more confident in my career direction and learned about realistic measures I can take to get closer to my vision.
What drew you to the program?
I was drawn to the business of the arts minor because I wanted to learn about art-focused business management principles. Because I want to start working at a company or design firm right after graduation, I thought it would be an opportunity for me to gain knowledge of business fundamentals and management tools.
This would allow me to make more informed decisions related to my finances as I move forward. I also wanted to learn about ways that I can make maximal use of my skills, interests and experiences in design.
How did you land the internship? How did that experience influence your plans for the future?
My business of the arts minor adviser, Sandra Philius, forwarded an application for a graphic design intern position for Almost 30, a lifestyle podcast based in LA. I was so grateful that she informed me of this opportunity. The position was exactly what I was looking for: a designer that creates social media posts and digital marketing collateral.
After the application and interview process, I became a part of an 11-member team that works collaboratively to promote the podcast brand. I strengthened the brand identity by designing new social media marketing templates.
Additionally, when I was about three weeks in with Almost 30, a hiring manager for Hawke Media, a full-service marketing consultancy, reached out to me through LinkedIn and asked for an interview. I had applied a few months back and was happy to hear back, as I had strongly been drawn to their work.
The workdays and hours of the two companies don’t overlap. It has been very manageable and fun to work with so many different individuals. I love that Hawke Media is a larger scale advertising firm, as I get to interact with diverse teams and individuals.
I am responsible for designing creative assets promoting E-Commerce Week LA. This event focuses on highlighting Los Angeles’ wealth of e-commerce brands and the people behind them.
Through my experiences so far, I realized I definitely love creating designs for various digital platforms that people interact with. After graduation, I hope to continue pursuing this path as a graphic designer. I would prefer to work for a lifestyle or fashion company. I am grateful for my internship opportunities as I can get real-life work experience and learn more about what kind of projects I am passionate about.
What’s the most surprising takeaway from your coursework or your internship?
While taking Management 200 as a part of the minor requirement, I learned about what it means to have a “business mindset,” which is something I never really thought about before. I was surprised to learn that this mindset requires both the ability to think strategically and realistically, as well as having the necessary interpersonal skills.
Some of the soft skills required in this mindset are open-mindedness, communication and collaboration.
During my internship, I learned about the interconnected nature of different departments and roles within a business. When I first joined the internship teams, I thought I would be working closely only with other designers or members of the creative team. But to my surprise, I regularly interact with a wide range of people such as the copywriter, social media manager and partnerships director.
As for my internship with Almost 30, the two hosts of the show are actually heavily involved in all of the production and design decisions. I learned how diverse departments of a business are closely connected to each other and although the roles may be different, everyone is working toward the same goal.
