NYC GROWTH PLATFORM - COMMITMENT

Time is of essence! Achieve your career or life goals fast! Especially, in today’s world of global business landscape. This is a unique professional forum i.e. member-driven, member-run, for the immediate benefits of the members. Next great business idea can come from anywhere!

Even a tiger who gets out of practice from hunting ultimately starves to death for losing the critical hunting skills. Soft skills have little relevance to the tigers in the wild.

This group's vision and uniqueness lies in its heavy emphasis on "continuous learning by trying & doing" as opposed to "reading books and cases". Focusing on history will only give incremental gains. The real world is simply too fast and different for traditional business education!

This forum, thus, invites aspiring management professionals who are very driven towards achieving their goals. The objective of this forum is to create a platform for expediting individual’s growth in their respective career or entrepreneurial aspirations.

Members will have a chance to interact with other fellow members & volunteers from top MBA schools and coporations such as Goldman Sacs, Morgan Stanley, P&G, American Express, Consulting Firms (McKinsey, BCG, PwC, Deloitte,..), etc.

The group recognizes the need for going an extra mile for the entrepreneurial-minded women & minority individuals.

We can all win comfortably if we can share our strengths!

TYPES OF PEOPLE WHO COULD BENEFIT FROM THIS GROUP

* Mid-career managers (pigeon-holed in finance, marketing, operations, IT, risk, etc.)

* MBA Graduates & Aspirants (lacking proper real-world experience)

* Entrepreneurial-minded individuals (wondering how to get that kick-start)

* Minority managerial professionals (looking for "that" critical push)

IS THIS FORUM FOR YOU?

Check to see if such a platform is meant for you by quizzing yourself!

*Are you in your mid-career stage finding to be pigeon-holed in a big corporation?

*Are you one of those MBAs who spent some $100K+ only to land into a second-choice job or career? *Are you a recent MBA graduate looking for a job and finding that lack of prior experience or internship is hurting your confidence?

*Are you a B-School professor who is bored reciting the same stories and pretending to have fun?

*Are you pursuing a part-time MBA program and getting burnt out and finding the rate of learning to be quite slow?

*So, you completed MBA program and now finding it difficult to “connect the dots” across courses?

*Do you feel that you graduated with a paper certificate and lots of fluff without specific practical business skills?

*So, you have being doing a job in a particular functional area and now finding it difficult to make transition into a different area of interest?

*Or, are you wondering how to embark on an entrepreneurial venture of your own?

*Feeling that you missed out on building consulting & banking skills?

*Struggling with building robust business plans, financial models, marketing plans, etc.?

*Not convinced if you have access to an “impartial” mentor at workplace to guide you towards your “individual” goals?

*Are you a minority professional with one of those unique set of challenges left unattended?

*So, you did not make into one of those top business schools and now wondering what you missed out i.e. getting a dent on confidence?

*Are you at that crossroad where only a “transformation” can provide you a kick-start?

If you answered yes to 70% of the questions or found some relevance to those situations, then this forum could be your life (and money) savior! Read on (and consider joining).

MEMBERSHIP ADVANTAGE

1. A chance to "Build Your Own Network" and go beyond "B-School", "Corporate Alumni", etc.

2. Early sign-ups will lead to seniority-based access!

3. A practical ground for trying "new" business skills without "fear factor".

4. Access and notification for skill-based workshops.

5. Access to a global network of talented management professionals & entrepreneurs.

6. Improved confidence & leadership skills through participation in group initiatives.

A NOTE ON CRITICAL SKILL-GAPS!

After much “business soul searching”, I finally had transitioned from my finance-heavy employment career to my dream-aligned entrepreneurial venture – an upscale tea lounge in Manhattan with ambition to scale globally. I had taken number of business courses & programs only to get more confused and overwhelmed. Wondered why we spent so much time, money, and energy for achieving so much less! On an average, most end up with huge amounts of debt, second-choice careers, and still struggling to demonstrate competency of core general business management skills. Several graduates wondered as to what kind of investment was that for an MBA and what would they need to do to expedite the recovery & rebuilding!

Think for a second - what is the true origin of cross-functional issues in corporation? would you not say "cross-course" issues from our education days!?#

For the past year, I have been running various forums to further my business as well as to help those who are in need along the way. This particular “gap” unaddressed by seemingly outdated MBA curriculum was identified on numerous occasions by MBAs themselves. So, I created this forum with the intention to create a platform for “refueling” individuals’ growth towards their respective aspirations.

KEY ISSUES & SOME QUESTIONS TO REFLECT UPON

*Are managerial professionals able to transition across functions in their mid-career?

*What % of MBA graduates find their first-choice career (top schools included)?

*Do part-time MBA pursuers truly receive that "managerial push"?

*Are the unique needs of "minority" professionals, international students, etc. addressed at all?

*Most importantly, do MBAs really graduate with skills or paper after such huge investment?

*Do professors have skills to empower on a general management career?

*Are corporations, universities, banks, and government aligned towards students interests?

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES TO ADDRESS GAPS

Some of the “post-MBA" or "manager-level” hands-on learning activities of this group that a group of us could see helping us all in the near-term include:

*General social and idea sharing,

*Skill-focused workshops & meetings,

*MBA-skills recaps of critical business skills, “MBA Boot-camp”,

*Practical hands-on initiatives as a reinforcement of the critical cross-functional skills

*Consulting & banking workshops, strategic skill-set development,

*Industry-focused seminars,

*Hard skills such as advanced financial modeling, campaign design, marketing plans,

*Consulting & banking job support, etc.

Most of these workshops will be led by experienced managers & consultants with MBAs from top schools. Members are encouraged to volunteer as well.

LET US DRIVE THE CHANGE TOGETHER!

We shall together “refine” this initial vision of the group as the new information about future unfolds! For now, let us strive together to improve our general management & entrepreneurial acumen!

We will try to host events on weekday evenings and weekend afternoons at a “real-world” venue in Manhattan. Hopefully, we can all take advantage of this unique learning opportunity.

Many MBAs, mid-career managers, and entrepreneurial-minded individuals will find meetings & forums to be invaluable. Join this group for an adventurous business ride! Together, we shall make it fun!

Warm Regards,

J. Johnson