Getting My MBA at 48

After a Long Flight from Maui

I just got back a few hours ago from flying all night from Maui. It has been the first time I have gotten back to San Francisco early and though I have the afternoon off and tomorrow morning I am still tired.

I have only had 1 day off this month, actually I have only 1 day off since the 25th of December and I pretty much worked the whole of December.

I AM TIRED, exhausted.

I studied yesterday in Maui, but only got a few hours in, today I just haven’t been able to concentrate. I got everything else done so tomorrow all I have to do is exercise, study and iron my shirt.

I feel bad because I haven’t even had the energy to write here on the blog it has been 6 days since my last entry and I didn’t even finish it.

I know life happens but I am having to work too much to compensate and that is wearing on me and cutting into my study time.

I have been trying to keep up with the news that has been going on and before I go on

Please go to the

American Red Cross to donate the Hati Relief Fund

They need our donations, and prayers.

It has been a big week for the American Automotive industry, this is the opening of the North American International Auto Show, I was hoping to be there but I decided to work instead, I have to friends that work in the industry. One at GM the other at Chrysler’s I wish them the best we need to be back on top of this industry.

I was reading in Business Week magazine edition about how some of the for profit school are going after the military members, giving them degrees according to the article that are not quite up to standards for better job placement.

It is all about the business of making money not the business of education. Seems that is always the deal, money.

Though I have always said it is what you get out of the education that matters, but the schools have to have meat and potatoes (good curriculum) for you to be able to learn.

I am going to sleep so I can get up early tomorrow, exercise and study then a little nap  before flying the redeye San Francisco to Charlotte.

Tags: accounting, American Red Cross, books, business week, cancelation, chrysler, delays, education, flight attendant, flights, flying, gm, Hati Relief Fund, hawaii, life, management, maui, mba, North American International Auto Show, online university, san francisco, schedule, sleep, strategy, studying, success, wall street journal, wgu

Busy Year End Days

It has been a long day, instead of going home this afternoon I get tagged for another night so I am here in Denver, Colorado. I will only get 5 hours sleep how nice for a glamourous life.

So no time for anything today except flying, which is a bummer. I have so much I need to get done and so much to read, there are at least 4 articles that I want to read in the Wall Street Journal.

It will be interesting what is going to happen the next few days, there are more trips in open time on the 1st than I have ever seen. I can’t wait till the morning to see what they want to do with me, I just need to get back home first before I start flying again.

I was reading on CNN that GM was having a fire sale for it Saturn and Pontiac, it would be interesting to see how much they are cutting on the price of the models. If I ever get some time I might check it out.

Sorry this is short but my time for sleep is fast become very short.

More if I get a chance later at 4am when I have to get up.

Tags: accounting, books, business week, cnn, delays, denver colorado, education, flight attendant, flights, flying, gm, management, mba, online university, phoenix, pontiac, saturn, schedule, strategy, studying, success, wall street journal, wsj

Morning Chores, Afternoon Studying

I spent the morning doing chores that needed getting done and the afternoon I have spent studying.

I was reading in the Wall Street Journal, about how Ford was in talks to sell Volvo to the largest automotive maker in China, Zhejiang Geely Holding Co. and is expected to be in talks till the beginning of 2010.

GM, as of now has totally given up on Saab, both Ford and GM have said that both Volvo and Saab have been losing money for awhile.

Now I for one really don’t get it. There had to have been something there for either car company to purchase into the Swedish car companies. Some quality they were looking at, yet since the good old boys in Detroit couldn’t and haven’t figured out how to sell quality cars like there counter parts in Germany or Japan, so they are dumping the lines, blaming poor sales and no profits.

The Big 3, for years have made cars the way they wanted, sure they marketed those car to us, but it wasn’t for the betterment of the masses instead it was for the lining of corporate bank accounts.They have been using a variation of Henry Ford’s theme “They can have any color they want as long as it was black” So we will give them what we want, not what they need.

Sure America has been the largest cash cow of excess for the automotive industry worldwide for years. Americans have been eating up the marketing campaigns, telling them to have the biggest badest, vehicle on the block. Show your status, Tell people, I am in the Upper Class, that I have 3 vehicles in my driveway that cost more a month than others make. But where has that gotten us.

For years car companies have been making billions, and where is it all. Gone. Like the lottery winner who wins the jackpot, instant millionaire only to be flat broke the next year. They haven’t learned.

I still believe in the Human Spirit, and that you can take both Volvo and Saab, combine them under one Swedish roof and make exceptional cars, ones that people want to buy, ones that are fun, stylish, fuel efficient, and in doing so make a profit for the company. Isn’t making a 1 million dollar profit every year for the life of the company better than a fluctuating profit and loss year after year? To me the first one is a better value and a better company.

But you have to have vision, and have to be in the position to put that vision into place.

There are lots of companies that completely turn around from Bankruptcy to Industry Leaders.

Apple is one of them, on the verge of Bankruptcy it borrowed $200 million from Microsoft, now look at what it has become. One of the most value companies in America, the Virgin brand is another company who has changed and become bigger and better in the process.

To many corporations cut and slash, CEO see this as a way to winning. Trimming the fat is always a good thing but vision and passion is a better bet. Most top executives know the financials, yet few know their people, the employees and the customers, and forget that those people are the number 1 and number 2 assets for a company.

In my Accounting, it shows the books must balance, straight numbers yet I see too many CEO’s use straight numbers to run their companies. Which is narrow minded thinking, because numbers like conspiracy theories can say anything you want them to say. You have to be creative, your top executives have to be creative. I also believe that is what is missing in MBA programs, classes being creative.

There are few leaders that use the vision and passion along with the numbers to grow a company.

It is late in the evening and I am still on stand-by today, the trips in open time have been crazy. They have been going in an out continuously, so many calling in sick for the Christmas Holiday, now the scheduling department is asking for Volunteer Fly.

After I get this done, back to reading my Accounting book and maybe becoming creative with scheduling to get a better trip.

Tags: apple, bankruptcy, big 3, books, cash cow, china, detroit, education, flight attendant, flying, ford, germany, gm, Henry Ford, industry leaders, japan, management, mba, strategy, studying, success, virgin, volvo, wall street journal, wsj

2 days left of November

There only today and tomorrow left of November, Wow. Time has been cruising by in this year.

Though I don’t want to slow down with my studies it is nice not to have the pressure to finish the Accounting class by December 31st. I had to order the book, to save my eyes from extreme tiredness.

I was reading the internet news sites, CNN, NYTimes, WallStreet Journal, and Business Week, though this is always news on the wire there didn’t seem much that was related to MBA’s or education.

Sitting at the for 5 hours today, may people are upset with the lack of action of our union. We were discussing the fact that our union should be made to a corporation. Not in the sense of a poorly run corporation, but have the elected officials have the knowledge and education on par with that of executive management. I know that is the only way to secure a better union, the problem is that our fellow union members choose to not participate.

A Weak house will not be able to stand.

and that is sad, that our union will never live up to its full potential to itself or its members.

I have been in leu of the recent actions of our union, started looking at other possibilities for “Career Security” As of now I have been thinking in 3 different areas, Internet/Computer companies, Airlines companies or the Automotive industry.

I am not ready to commit to paper which I am thinking because I am in the process of working out my decisions.

As to my plan with Saab, I need  figure out how to talk to the CEO’s of GM and Ford.

I know that I can make a go of it, The name would be Svensk Bil Fabrikationen Grupp or Swedish Car Manufacturing Group. I will go look here at the GM website to see if I can find an email for him to send off my ideal.

If there is anyone out there that has an ideal of how I can approach him, pass it along to me. I think I just found a way the Detroit Auto Show, other wise know as North American International Auto Show.

So I now have a cool project write up the proposal for both GM and Ford convince them to let me take control of Saab and Volvo under the new company Swedish Car Manufacturing Group. Get financial backing from the Swedish government and banks and turn the brands into a must have car.

So I have a lot of plans ahead and some sleep to get.

Tags: accounting, books, business week, cnn, detroit, detroit auto show, education, flights, flying, ford, gm, management, mba, nytimes, saab, studying, success, sweden, technology, union, university, us airways, volvo, wall street journal, wsj

Busy 2 days

After a Great Thanksgiving with Family and Friends, all the food turned out great.

Got up Friday morning, and hopped a flight to Detroit on NWA (now Delta) for my 30th class (29 1/2) reunion. I was hoping that a friend I hadn’t seen in 30 years would be there, he wasn’t but his brother was which was good so I got his contract information.

Seeing all my old class which I haven’t seen in 30 years, is funny because most everyone is still the same, the same clicks, only a few had changed. Most still playing the same childish games as they did back in high school.

But I did get to see a couple of people, it was definitely worth it the travel. After I went for a drive and got some White Castle hamburgers, they were so good, hot and fresh. But then again I haven’t ate them in years maybe that is why they taste so good.

Then back to the airport to catch the 7:30 a.m. flight back to Phoenix on US Airways. In a little over 26 hours I went from San Francisco, to Detroit, went to a class reunion back to the airport and landed in Phoenix around 10:30 a.m.

I swung by the friend of mines new restaurant FnB, helped him do some last minute touches since opening night was just a few hours ago. I wish Pavle the best, I know he will do good.

I got news I passed my Marketing Management, Yeah!! Since I am working on my Accounting class I will be able to get a head. But I still need to see about getting the book.

Tags: accounting, chrysler, fnb, gm, nwa, pavle milic, us airways, white castle