3rd Semester

Wow, it's already May! The first four months of this year went with lighting speed and so did my second Semester. I learned how to use the TI Plus financial calculator, and I can see how it was helpful to understand the concept by using a calculator vs. Excel sheets. The second Semester I had just so much homework and a lot of reading. Very stressful, but as a result, I learned a lot and think I am smarter than four months ago. I quiz some of our company's Capital Markets leaders on Bonds, yield curve, valuation, etc., and they patiently listen to me and answer my questions. Sometimes I show off if I know something and they don't. Thank you, Jeff Cancelliere and your team!

Grade-wise, I did well in finance, good in Marketing, and okay in Decision Modeling and Operational Management. I studied with more discipline in Second Semester than in the first and smartly chose where I wanted to spend most of my time.

At work, my teams and I have been spending more time than ever building the right tech, understanding what brings the most value to our customers, and innovating to stretch the dollar more to create greater value. I'm fortunate to be well supported by my teams, our leadership, and co-workers across departments. One of the remarkable things about people and leaders at Newrez is their willingness to help my personal goals. I could ask the head of departments or Sr. Leaders a rudimentary question about their area unrelated to my work function. They would patiently listen to me, understand why I am asking, and find various ways to explain. It helps me relate what I am learning in the classroom to how our businesses use it in real-time. Thank you, Neil Merritt , Cristian Correa, Tony Kottenbrock and your teams.

And just like that, I'm in 3rd Semester now. The semesters keep getting more challenging, and the amount of pre and post-work keeps increasing, but learning new things is very self-rewarding. So, what's 3rd Semester all about?

Macroeconomics

The subject is fascinating and taught by the former Research Director of the Dallas Fed. My many years of reading The Economist is helping me comprehend the subject better. I want to say I understand the Fed rate hike, inflation, 10-year yield curve, etc., better than before. In other words, I now know why the economy works the way it does, and I enjoy listening to Merle Hazard.

If you want free data on the economy, I highly recommend St. Louis Fed's website. If you want to get the data regularly, they have some very well-defined APIs at St. Louis Fed Web Services: FRED? API (stlouisfed.org)

Applied Corporate Finance 

Extension to Business Finance, Applied Corporate Finance seems more practical, learning and applying the finance concept using real-world case studies. I'll write more about this as I learn. The first class was exciting, partially because I spent decent time on pre-work. The theme is the same throughout the semesters: complete pre-work before the class to enjoy the four-hour sessions and complete the post-study work to improve and do well in exams. 

Leadership

I loved the first class. Tony Bridwell, teaches it with amazing energy and breaks big ideas into small conceptual units. A lot of focus is on the power of story. Some of the good points from the first class were:

• Have clarity to get results. 
• Follow the structure to deliver on strategy. 
• Steps to increase psychological safety.
• Be curious.
• Take a few technology-free breaks and do nothing to relax the brain. Nothing is more important than staying Healthy. Staying healthy includes mental health.

When I used to do pre-studies for my OB classes, I would think, I already know this, and then I would be surprised by the learning experience in the class. By the end of the course, I had learned so much about the business world that I had no idea about. What I like about this leadership class is the focus on a deliberate effort to improve. I've started to work on my Executive Leadership & Followership workbook consciously, take notes and track progress. 

Readings

If you are looking for a new book to read, in the last four months, other than the textbooks, I enjoyed reading the following books:

• "The Goal" by Eliyahu Goldratt and Jeff Cox
• "The One Thing" by Gary Keller
• "Saturday Morning Tea" by Tony Bridwell

One thing that I regret is not reading The Economist as often as I would like. I've started reading the Wall Street Journal because of its extensive coverage of business.

Thank you for staying in touch with me via this blog.