TEDESCO NOTES – August 2016
Dear Colleagues, Friends, and Mentors,
I'm excited to share a few updates with you now that we've passed the halfway mark of 2016.
Business School
I got in! I’m lucky to be joining the Columbia Business School MBA class of 2018. In my 2015 annual letter, I quoted Michael Jordan on failure. He said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” After rejection from target MBA programs last year, I got up and took a few more shots. It’s always been a dream to live in New York City, and the business education that CBS offers aligns perfectly with my career goals. I will move to New York in January and look forward to seeing many of you in the U.S. Thank you for your constant support and encouragement, a critical boost that gave me the confidence to make this dream a reality.
A New Role
Working full-time with Dyad since last year, I have learned immensely about business development, startups, and the rising Chinese middle class. I’ll stay involved in the venture as a shareholder and adviser, and I look forward to more great things from Greg and the team. For the six months before starting school I’ve joined building materials group CRH plc, helping drive a variety of business development and strategy projects with their China team. With annual revenues of $27 billion, CRH is Ireland’s largest company, producing millions of tons of cement and other ingredients for the buildings we live in and transportation networks that move people and goods around the world. In recent years, the group made several strategic investments in China and is developing a strong presence across Asia. I am thrilled to learn about this new industry and even had the opportunity to visit one of our cement plants in Changchun (more on that later).
Nonprofit Work
The World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community remains a major volunteer interest, and I have been honored to be elected by my peers to lead a chapter Beijing. With events every month, such as a recent panel on inclusiveness in the digital economy hosted at the Yale Center Beijing, the organization is already quite active. I look forward to working with Shapers and the broader community to increase our impact in the second half of 2016. Additionally, I will complete my chair term for the Global China Connection board of trustees this year. We're excited to bring on a new crop of leaders to drive the organization forward, and I am more confident than ever in the future of the nonprofit we’ve built. I will look forward to attending many great GCC activities while in New York.
It's been a politically tumultuous year in my country, the United States. With a presidential election that will likely be one of the most divisive in modern American history, the second half of the year will be no less eventful than the first. Individuals (especially expats) cannot control many of the politically-charged events that occur, but we can control how news of those events affects us. So I ask a favor. The next time you have the urge to click an article about the U.S. presidential election or a new polemic on guns/immigration/policing/etc., pause for a moment. Consider, 'Will reading this article help? Will it teach me something valuable, challenge me to see the world in a new way, or otherwise bring meaning to life?' When the answer is no, take a deep breath and get back to work that does. If this technique brings you 5 minutes of additional productivity or happiness today, I'll be much obliged.
Best,
Daniel