VIP_Issue528Oct13.pdf

8/22/2019 VIP_Issue528Oct13.pdf

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COLUMBIABUSINESS SCHOOLSSTUDENTNEWSPAPER

FEATURES PEOPLE

EDITORIALS COMMUNITY

Issue 5: 28-O

The Value of ValueInvestingBy Roseanne Gerin (15)

Following up on AllyWeekBy Lindsay Pounder (15)

COLD CALLED: DavidJuran By Alena Chiang (14)

Alumni Spotlight: JeriFinardBy Alena Chiang (14)

5 Easy Ways to Be the

Most Annoying DinnerCompanion EverBy Jenny Wang

Sports SuperstitionsBy Steven Kofkoff (14)

OktoberFest 2013By Anne Kronschnabl (14)

Its Showtime, and Eveningwith Matt BlankBy Roseanne Gerin (15)

Startup Spotlight: YarlyBy Alena Chiang (14)


2/82 www.cbs-bottomline.com

The Value of Value InvestingBy Roseanne Gerin (15)

The program is a great experiencin my view, but its effect on recruiting is much more intangibland overestimated

CBS students hoping to land lucrative buy-side jobs will have a toughtime getting into the schools rigorous value investing program, a selec-

tive school within the business school.The program is not only a hallmark of CBS, but also one of its most de-manding areas of specialization. Of the more than 100 first-year studentswho apply each spring, only 40 are accepted. They submit a personalstatement, complete an evaluation and investment pitch for a company,and are interviewed by Louisa Serene Schneider, senior administrativedirector of the Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing, whichruns the program.

Those who have completed the program say the selective admissions areimportant to the programs success.Mike Chang (CBS 13) said keeping class sizes small helps in persuadinghedge-fund managers to teach them. It also prevents the program fromflooding the job market with more entry-level people than it can handle.Most importantly, I think the tougher admissions act as a screen to keepout students who aren't really motivated, he said. The harder it is to getin, the more you're committed to putting the work in and getting the mostout of your experience.The quality of the program's experience is directly related to the commit-

ment of all other participants, agreed Guilherme Espallarges (CBS 12).The Center looks at applicants investment activities, networking

and summer jobs, and their motivations for pursuing a career ininvestment management. The interview involves questions abouttheir favorite investing books and investor heroes, past participantssaid.Many students are curious about the program but are turned offwhen they learn of the heavy workload, Schneider said.A CBS graduate herself,Schneider said she regretsnot applying to the pro-gram. She found it daunt-ing because the studentswho were interested invalue investing were veryintense, and she believedmuch of the content

would be quants onsteroids.Led by professors BruceGreenwald and TanoSantos, the program isgeared toward true be-lievers in fundamental

analysis. Its based on the meth-odology for identifying under-valued securities developed byDavid Dodd and Benjamin Gra-ham, a Columbia professor whois considered the father of valueinvesting. Together, they wrotethe 1934 classic Security Analysis.

FE

ATURES

The Center is named for Robert Heilbrunn, a value investor and CBS alumIn 2001, he and his wife gave $5 million in Berkshire Hathaway stock to

ensure that value investing has a permanent place in the schools curricu-lum.Ultimately, students are attracted to the programs intense course work anexposure to experienced practitioners of the value investing approach. Thetake five of 13 courses, including a core course in applied value investingwhere they act as analysts who research and pitch ideas to a group of port-folio managers.Its a very pragmatic experience that develops the key skills necessary to ba successful long-term investor, said Espallarges, who works at TarponInvestimentos in Brazil. The value-oriented investment firm is one of thelargest equity investors in the country, with $4 billion in assets under management.Espallarges chose CBS specifically for the value investing program, butpoints out that those who complete it are not guaranteed buy-side jobs.There were many students who were not in the program who landed exc

lent buy-side jobs, and there were many who were in the program andstruggled to find something, Espallarges said. The program is a greatexperience in my view, but its effect on recruiting is much more intangibleand overestimated.Students find that the program consumes most of their free time. Schneidesaid each class can require up to 20 hours of supplemental work per week.In addition, participants visit local charter schools to talk about investing.Students must perform time-consuming, in-depth research and valuationexercises each week and learn about new industries and business models,Espallarges said.

Many students are curious aboutthe program but are turned offwhen they learn of the heavy

workload

Its neither easy to get into nor easy to do well in, said Chang, who wasinterested in the program because he found investing incredibly interesing and saw it as a rare opportunity to learn about value investing at avery high level. While my classmates spent their second years partyingand traveling, I was just as often in the library studying companies andpreparing pitches.Kate Peachway (CBS 12) compares the grueling weekly deliverables to anathlete going through training camp.Its not always fun at the time, but its rewarding at the end, said Peach-way. Shes an equity analyst at BlueMountain Capital Management, a $15billion equity and credit fund in New York.Peachway chose CBS specifically for the value investing program to maka pit stop during her career and build her investor toolkit. Although thprogram was not necessary for her to land her current job, Peachway saidshe greatly matured as an investor as a result of it.Vik Jindal (CBS 06) said coming up with investment ideas to discuss inclass each week was his major challenge.It wasnt easy, and sometimes searching for the right investment idea tooso much time that it was tough to find time to evaluate the investmentitself for presentation and submission for the class, said Jindal, who woras an investment banker and restructuring advisor. He added that alt-hough class time was collaborative, the atmosphere remained competitiveStudents try to outdo one another on investment ideas, and it leads tosome great results for you and the entire class, Jindal said. The market i

Louisa Serene Schneider, senior adminis-trative director of the HeilbrunnCenter for Graham & Dodd Investing


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The Value of Value Investing (Continued)By Roseanne Gerin (15)

sink or swim. So is the classroom.Many of those accepted into the program come from a finance or invest-

ment background, with a firm grasp of the lingo and quantitative concepts.The program admits a few students from other backgrounds if they candemonstrate a passion for value investing. Some of them find the programparticularly challenging.Chang, who has an undergraduate degree in computer science and spentthree years working in IT consulting and two years as a relationship man-ager/consultant in structured finance software before coming to CBS, saidhe initially had a difficult time keeping up with classes and classmates whoalready were well-versed in investing concepts, business models and vari-ous industries.I had a lot of catching up to do, and I really had to lean in for a long timeto get on the same page as everyone, said Chang, who now lives in Seoulwhere hes an internal consultant for Samsung. He said he puts to use whathe learned in the program by studying company financial reports in coffeeshops to make investments for his own portfolio.

Jeff Mueller (CBS 13) knew he wanted to study value investing after read-ing Benjamin Grahams The Intelligent Investorin 2006, between flight mis-sions as a Marine in Iraq. But when he came to CBS, he found getting up tospeed on the programs quantitative aspects a major hurdle.Fortunately, the program is so collaborative that I was able to lean on stu-

dents with exponentially more experience, said Mueller who now worksas a research analyst at Polen Capital Management, a U.S. equity invest-

ment manager. They were incredibly patient and helpful.Despite the value investing programs exclusivity, Schneider said the Center tries to accommodate students who want to take value investing courses without committing to the full program.That way, those who arent accepted to the full program can replicatemuch of the curriculum, Chang said.Not everything is available, but you can get almost all the really good

ones, he said.

Thank You CBS for a Successful Ally WeekBy Lindsay Pounder (15)

Members of Cluster Q were truly moved to see so many of you at AllyWeek events, which included Ask a Q Anything a powerful discussionwith Christine Quinn, Ally Training, CBS Matters, and a colorful edition ofRugby Happy Hour. The weeks events helped us raise $1690 for The AliForney Center and Athlete Ally!

I found the all-school CBS Matters presentations gripping. We got three differentperspectives on exclusion and acceptance. Peter Svensson 15

Ally Week is another outward expression of CBS dedication to the principles oftruth, integrity and respect. I appreciate that our community encourages everyonebe their best self. Audrey Iriberri 14

I never thought openly showing you were an ally mattered, but this week showedthat being an ally isn't about the friends who know you are one; it is about sup-

porting those who need to know allies are out there. Slava Druker '15

The student organizations below were represented at our first ever AllyTraining, led by Friendfactor, an organization that aims to activatestraight people to become visible and active allies in their communities.

We recognize that we didnt pick the best day for Ally Training and pledgeto be cognizant of exams and fall break next time we schedule the training.The Investment Banking Club sent out a recap of the training to its mem-bers that wed love to share with the school.

The Ally Challenge for the Investment Banking Club [and now to CBS]:Using gender neutral terms is a great way to signal that you are an ally. At

the meeting several people referenced that they notice and appreciatewhen allies make a point of using gender neutral references.



Challenge: This week eliminate the use of gender specific terms (boyfriend,girlfriend, husband, wife) and replace with gender neutral terms

(partner, spouse, significant other)

Some aspects of being a good Ally:

Be visible to show people within and outside of the LGBT community thatyou are a supporter (stickers, the bracelets they sold last week)

Ask questions and be open: this helps you to learn terms and use them cor-rectly

Stand up against harassment

We echo the words of Cluster Q Co-President Ted Kirby 14, Withoutyour dedication, support, and visibility, we would not be able to createsuch an inclusive community for LGBTQ individuals at CBSand boast

Thank You CBS for a Successful Ally Week (ContinuedBy Lindsay Pounder (15)

the largest number of Allies of any MBA program!

Lastly, please remember that your work as an Ally doesn't stop here! Youcan stay engaged and learn about upcoming events by signing up as anAlly.

Startup Spotlight: YarlyBy Alena Chiang (14)

Tell us about Yarly

Yarly is a company with a very simple mission to help people around theworld get the most out of the their memories. We are creating a photosmanagement platform that works the way people want it to. Weve done a

tremendous amount of customer research, and we have built a prod-uct that fits users needs. Weve learned that users are tired or shar-ing all photos with all Facebook friends. (Well, I guess this is an ob-vious one.) So, weve built Yarly to have tremendously easy sharingcapabilities with select family and friends. Users want a more inti-mate setting for sharing special memories with specific people. InYarly, specific people are selected to view specific albums, providingthe most intimate experience. Weve learned that people feel pres-sure to accept friend requests. So on Yarly, users and albums arecompletely private, not searchable by anyone. There is no such thingas a friend request on Yarly. Users want an easy way to print. Wewill be launching a one-tap printing solution with the highest qualityprinters in the US. Users want easy collaboration. Any member of aYarly album can easily add photos to that album. I can go on and on,but I think Ive made my point. We are building a platform that ourusers love. We have already seen success with this product develop-

ment mission. We have new downloads and Facebook followersevery day. We have done zero marketing weve simply started tobuild a product that our users love, and this positive world-of-mouthturns out to be quite a good marketing strategy!

Introduce us to you/the team, and give us the classic elevator pitch.

Yarly is a photo management platform that makes your life easier by work-ing the way you want it to. We love our users and listen to their everyneed. Feature-by-feature, we will be delivering the photo solution youalways hoped for.

Tell us about the team.

My name is Allison Strouse, and I am the founder and CEO of Yarly. I

PEOPLE

brought on three founding developers in June Joseph Rall, Kevin Prdente and Joshua Quintus. These guys are three of the best developers NYC, not to mention amazing people who I enjoy spending every day wiI was introduced to my team through a member of my learning team, Daiel Solomon. As Dan already knows, I will be forever indebted to him.

Where did you get the name?

Yarly was derived from the word yarely which means easy, agile, livelThis is how we want your experience to be on Yarly, so we felt that it wasfit!

Have you launched yet? If not, what are the launch plans?

We launched in September on all major mobile platforms. Every month, wwill be launching new features as well as launching on new platformYarly will eventually be wherever you are whether it is your mobphone, iPad, desktop, camera, TV, Google Glass, etc. Your photos a


5/8Issue 5: 28-Oct-13

Alumni Spotlight: JeriFinard (86) By Alena Chiang (14)

Name:Jeri Finard 86Hometown: ChicagoGraduating year: 1986

What is your current industry/What do you do now? President,Godiva North America

Where are you currently locat-ed? NYCHow has the economy impactedyour experience, both during yourtime at Columbia BusinessSchool and post-graduation? Nottoo badly. People always needchocolate!

What is the one thing that you didat Columbia Business School that

has impacted your current life themost? Put all my "points" on inter-viewing with General Foods (nowKraft) , where I secured a summerinternship leading to a job offerupon graduation, leading to 20years of great fun and accomplish-ment while leading brands, entirebusiness units and ultimately be-coming their first Global Chief Mar-keting Officer.Favorite Columbia BusinessSchool class? MacroeconomicsIf money wasnt an object, whatwould you like to see instituted at

Columbia Business School? Ithink you've done all the things Ihad wished for by adding morecommon space and rooms to workas a group. You've also added theSocial Enterprise program, which Iwould have loved. Good job!Any last words of advice? For thewomen at Columbia, stick in there,don't feel intimidated and justknow that you have so much tooffer business that is badly need-ed. You can't have it all but with alittle luck, you can have most of itat least some of the time, and it'swell worth it!

stored on the cloud and therefore synced to all of your devices.

Tell us a little more about who youre serving, and how youre reachingyour target consumer.

We are serving every single person who is looking for a better photo solu-tion.

Where did you get the idea for this?

My friend Rachel was visiting me in San Francisco, and I wanted to put ourphotos in an archived place for just the wo of us to enjoy. Facebook justwasnt special enough. I realized how poor my options were and then afterdoing more customer discovery, I realized that all of my friends felt thesame way. Most of the platforms that exist today are built do serve adver-tisers or a larger organization with ulterior motives. I realized that I want-ed to build a platform that was built for the user.

What are some of the big obstacles youre facing, or have faced?I am a first-time entrepreneur, so every new step of this journey comeswith a lot of learning and the guts to take it on full-force. At the end of the

day, every obstacle is a lot of fun and a huge learning experience.

Which resources have been most helpful to you?

David Lerner had some great words of wisdom for me during my fiweek at Columbia. CEL (Columbia Entrepreneurship Lab) and ColumbVenture Community have been a huge resource for me. I have foundwonderful mentor via the Entrepreneur in Residence Program. I hareached out to specific teachers, such as Professor Laurie Hodrick, for spcific feedback. I have to give a shout out to Cluster Z14 for being incredibsupportive and the best beta testers a girl could ask for. There are mamore resources that have been helpful. As they say, it takes a village

How can people contact you? (email address, website, blog, etc)Please reach out. My email is [email protected]. You can also ping me Twitter: @allisonTstrouse

Startup Spotlight: Yarly (Continued)By Alena Chiang (14)

COLD CALLED: DavidJuran By Alena Chiang (14)

Name:David JuranHometown:Redlands, California.Undergrad:UCLA (THE universi-ty of Southern California).Life before CBS: PhD student atCornell; before that operationsconsulting.Current NYC neighborhood:Upper, upper, east side (Milford,Connecticut).The world would be better offwithout:Violent religious zealots;innumeracy; quite so many Tro-

jans ... though Evan Fischer isactually not all that bad.Current super power/specialtalent: Bricklaying.I wish I was better at: Ex-plaining what degrees of free-dom are.Three goals for the semester:

(1) Figure out Excel 2013, (2)Hike the Appalachian Trailfrom Salisbury Connecticut toSheffield, Massachusetts, (3)Get my diastolic blood pres-sure down under 80.Best thing I've seen in NYC:The response to 9/11. In theface of unspeakable barbaricviolence, the people of the cityshowed the world how to becivilized and peaceful. Themost obvious heroes were thefiremen, first responders,ironworkers, and so forth, but realit was the whole city. I'm not a NeYorker, but New York made meproud. (The original question askefor "craziest", not "best", but the toseveral dozen answers to that areunprintable in a respectable publiction like this.)
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]



Three things I cannot live without: (1) Live music, (2) the Times crosswordpuzzle, (3) Preeti Bhattacharji.Favorite Columbia experience:Playing with the Follies Band for 7 years.I think it's hilarious when:The Dude says "It's down there somewhere; letme take another look."Second thing I'd buy if I won the lottery: I disagree with the premise of thequestion. I would never win, because I never play. (It's a tax on the igno-rant.)

Current business crush (favorite brand, business leader, retail concept,start up): I'm reading an autobiography of Charles Luckman ("Twice in aLifetime"); a great story of success in business and beyond. I like Diageo;I've always been on the "buy" side.

Any last words? Thank you, CBS! It's been a great ride.

When you read the email with the title Important:Oktoberfest STDyou were probably wondering,what the heck??? Kudos to you if the STD (=Savethe Date) didnt scare you off and you came down-town with us to the homey German restaurant andpub Lederhosen. Around 80 CBS students bravedthe commute downtown and quite a few came intheir lederhosen and dirndl much to the amusementof other subway riders that thought we were maybea bit too early for Halloween.But Oktoberfest has nothing to do with Halloween.The Oktoberfest, also called die Wiesn,is theworlds largest fair with around 6 million visitorsheld every year in Munich for 16 days. And guesswhat, although it is called Oktoberfest it actually isduring the last two weeks in September and thenthe first week of October (so much for us Germansbeing nitty-gritty and precise). The first festivalwas in 1810 for a royal wedding, and since we Ger-mans like to drink beer we made a tradition of it.Enough of the abbreviated history, but since we arein business school, here are a few fun facts for you:This year 6.7 million liters of beer were drunk, 2.7 million kWh were used(enough for 1110 house holds for a whole year) and approximately 510,000

roasted chickens were devoured. And in case you like German guys

and girls, the Oktoberfest is a good place to go scouting for matessince only 19% of visitors are not from Germany.At the CBS Oktoberfest people got a great snapshot of the actualOktoberfest: Unlimited beer and wine were flowing and super deli-cious German food was served while everyone was serenated by

Its Showtime, An Evening with Matt BlankBy Roseanne Gerin (14)

lovely German Oktoberfest music to which girls in dirndl and guys in le-derhosen danced. The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly our annal beer stein stemming competition. Twelve men entered the fierce battle,and this years champion was Trent Acuff with a recording-breaking time 4 minutes and 49 seconds!! Big congratulations to the strongest man in throom.As the night wore on, the dancing got looser and the photos more scandaous :)

CBS Oktoberfest Celebrating Our Most BelovedGerman Holiday By Anne Kronschnabl (14)

Over the past decade, Showtime Networks Inc. has become a leaderin the premium cable and satellite television network business, in-creasing its revenue and subscriber numbers substantially despiteintense competition from HBO.

Showtime now has about 23 million subscribers and an estimatedcash flow of roughly $900 million compared to $32 million in 1995, the yearwhen Matthew Blank became its chairman and chief executive officer.

Under Blank, Showtime Networks has grown from Showtime and its othertwo premium TV networks, The Movie Channel and Flix, to include 27digital channels. It is also the only premium TV network to have increasedits subscriber numbers annually for the past eight years, according to thecompany.

COMMUNITY

Blank told a nearly packed classroom of members of the Media Manage-ment Association on Oct. 22 that three factors accounted for Showtimesfinancial success over the past decadeits programming, brand and distrbution channels.

Much of Showtimes success has been driven by its award-winning origin

Were really not in the eyebabusiness, but the hearts and mindbusiness


7/8Issue 5: 28-Oct-13

Its Showtime, An Evening with Matt Blank(Continued)By Roseanne Gerin (15)

programing, Blank said. He pointed out that about five years ago the com-pany made what many in the business considered a risky move by decid-ing not to continue paying what it had been paying for big studio movies,and instead invested the money in original programming.

Showtime took a sequential approach to this programming with an atti-tude of lets kick ass with scripted programming first followed by pay-per-view sports events and sports documentaries and later documentariesabout culture changing individuals or groups, such as former Vice Presi-

dent Dick Cheney, late comedian Richard Pryor and rap music producerMarion Suge Knight, Jr., Blank said.

Then there are Showtimes original hour-long serial dramas whose charac-ters captivate viewers along with brilliant scripts and the right mix of ac-tors.

Blank cited the shows Dexter about a Miami forensics expert who is aserial killer by night, Weeds about a manipulative single mother whosells marijuana to her neighbors to pay the mortgage, and Homelandabout a CIA agent obsessed with tracking down an elusive terrorist.

If you look at our shows, the characters have a lot in common, whether[on] half-hour programs orserialized shows, Blank said. [They are] deeply subversive charactersexisting at or way over the line of respectability in themes that may bedifficult to do elsewhere on TV, executed by lead actors who are not hiredfor their names but hired because we think they can play these roles in away that these deeply subversive characters will be embraced by our audi-ences.

The second factor Blank cited for Showtimes success is the Showtimebrand, mainly attributable to its programming. Blank said Showtime was acrappy brand when he joined the company and fixing the brand with-

out a lot of money was like turning an oil tanker.

Because there is a big family thread to many of Showtimes serializedprograms, viewers find themselves rooting for the characters, Blank said,which keeps them coming back season after season.

Were really not in the eyeball business, but the hearts and minds busi-ness, Blank said. Thats the brand. Thats how you build the brand.

Showtimes powerful brand has given it considerable leverage with itsdistributorscable operators, satellite providers and telecom compa-niesthe third factor that has contributed to the companys success, Blansaid.

When satellite operators and telecoms began to aggressively push premi-um television, Showtimes approach was to string them out and try toimprove its distribution deals in exchange for letting them distribute

Showtime anytime, he said.

Plenty of new distribution opportunities will arise in the marketplace inthe future, which Showtime will take advantage of to keep growing, Blansaid.

There are a lot of new distributors out there potentially, he said. We

just want to be sure that we will be sold and marketed in a way that reall

puts money in our pocket, [and] we dont want to destroy the current eco

system where the weather has been very good for us in recent years. But

were going to keep growing, and to keep growing we need new distribu

tors.

Deeply subversive characters ex-

isting at or way over the line of re-spectability in themes may be diffi-cult to do elsewhere on TV

5 Easy Ways to be the Most Annoying Dinner

CompanionBy Jenny Wang

That obligatory Tuesday night dinner you mistakenly RSVP'ed to is com-ing up. Here are some tips to end that meal (and those friendships) in notime.

1. The Chef de Cuisine."I can't believe this beurre blanc is brown!* Andseriously its only November. How come there are no squash blossoms onthe menu?" wails this dinner partner who fancies him/herself Top Chefdespite being miserably unequipped for even a prep cook position givenhis/her inability to evenly dice a potato.

2. The Sommelier."What? But 1963 was the absolute hands-down best

year for wine known to the homo sapiens sapiens!" exclaims thisdiner in horror when the restaurant you both are currently patroniz-ing for the first time does not carry the exact bottle of wine tailored to hisher personal taste preferences.

3. The Michelin Critic."Well, I usually only dine at places with threeMichelin stars that also sacrifice small virgins in the morning," he/she saby way of a greeting. This fun friend will take your American Expressfrom the windows to the walls in the time span of just three courses.


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5 Easy Ways to be the Most Annoying DinnerCompanion (Continued)By Jenny Wang

4. The Wannabe Anorexic."I'm not very hungry," he/she (okay, let's faceit, she) declares, snapping her menu shut. "I ate an entire pumpkin muf-

fin at Le Pain Quotidien today and it was like 370 calories."** This diningcompanion will eat through your entire side into half your steak after yougraciously invite her to try it, seeing how ridiculously awkward you lookbeing the only person at the table with an entree.

5. The Contextually Allergic."Fortified wines are a no-no, but I'll startwith a glass of ros."*** Never mind the gentleman at table 1 with celiacor the lady at 26 with a life-threatening peanut allergy. This diner's latestfad diet is undoubtedly more important than having the servers pay at-tention where care is needed. And trust me, you don't want to knowwhat the kitchen is saying about you.

* For the curious, beurre blanc does have a darker sister aptly namedbeurre noisette. It is brown. Even stranger, beurre noisette is cousin to acertain beurre noir, which is black!

** As a full disclaimer I do indeed

work at Le Pain Quotidien and

frequently enjoy said pumpkinmuffin. However, I was informed

that of those dreadful 370 calories

300 are composed of a low-

glycemic healthy fatty acid named

"yummi" and when eaten, moves

swiftly through your body while

pointedly avoiding your thighs.

*** This is not an exaggeration,

unlike the rest of this article. I was

the one who processed this ticket order (roughly the length of a graduate

dissertation) when I worked as a cook.

The Sports Education a CBS Degree Cant Buy By Steven Kofkoff (14)

I believe the world is round. I believe that the earth revolves around theSun; that things that go up must come down; and that objects in motionstay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. So why is it that Ibelieve that my sports teams wont succeed unless I watch them on theedge of my seat or standing up; that I cant wear a T-shirt of the team Im

rooting for or else Ill jinx em; or that talking trash about my oppo-

nent will cause God to spite me with a vicious home team loss?Despite 28 years of life, a college degree, five years of real-worldwork experience and one and a half years of business school train-ing, when it comes to sports, all logic is thrown out the window.And Im not alone.

What is it about sports that can take an otherwise rational personand thrust them back 3,000 years to our pagan roots. We dont stillworship trees, or at least most of us dont, and weve long ago aban-doned the idea of human sacrifice (again, at least most of us). Butsomehow when it comes to your team, you can be thousands of milesfrom the field of play and still have an impact on the outcome. Imean, I can kind of understand when the athletes themselves createsome ritual as part of their work routine. They are the ones playingafter all. If a particular warm-up routine or wearing a gold thong

under your jersey (thanks Jason Giambi) makes you feel more com-fortable when youre swinging the bat or shooting baskets, by allmeans, thong it up.

But for bright businesses school students, at Columbia no less, to dothese things is probably worthy of a Columbia CaseWorks case.Whether its the guy who only drinks one type of beer until his team

loses the lead and then switches it up, or the clustermate who always eats aplain sesame bagel before a race to ensure a personal best (Ross FreilichA14), we have to admit, were a weird and surprising bunch. And eventhose of you that dont think you have a superstition, chances are yourenot looking hard enough. As one of my clustermates noted to me, he for-swore any superstitions long ago. You see, as he put it, his teams havedone so poorly over the years, any superstitions he had clearly werentworking. So, even the guy that says he doesnt have any superstitions says

ED

ITORIALS

that he stopped being superstitions because his rituals werent effectiveenough!

And so the world goes. We have gone to the moon and back, sent a satelliinto deep space and mapped the human genome. In the future we will

cure cancer and find a way to get cell phone service in the New York sub-ways, but we will always have our superstitions. So, the next time youresitting there (or standing there) watching your team playing ball, and youreach for that lucky rabbits foot or golden thong, just remember, you go tColumbia Business School, damn it! Youve earned a little break fromreality.

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