Enter the 3rd Door of Stanford GSB: LEAD (online, MBA-lite)

I just completed my "Virtual Graduation" with the class of 2022-2023.

Here are my impressions and brain dump from completing Stanford LEAD for almost two years with 4+ overlapping cohort classes. FAQ takeaways at the end.

Yes, I could repost only the positives, selectively filter for the rainbow moments, and cherry-pick only the unicorns. But my readers want and deserve the truth.

• Top Half: my own Stanford GSB Journey - why I dove head first during COVID

• Bottom Half: How to maximize the Pros and minimize the Cons of LEAD.

Free LEAD Preview course (1 week) to sample classes such as Negotiation

Main Takeaways

• Pay for the business network, not the fancy capital letters (5 vs. 6-figures)

• "Just in Time" Learning - delivering timely insights for work projects.

• To cook the meal, read the recipe, not the whole book!

• I can draw you my map - but you must be ready to walk the path.

As Ed Soo Hoo (Worldwide CTO from Lenovo, our closing Keynote Speaker) suggested - one person must remain behind as a truth-teller. Be the 10th man.

I am picking Radical Candor. Speaking Truth to Power. Braving the Wilderness.

Stanford LEAD's "Design your own MBA" concept

It was Spring 2021. COVID had closed campuses and most of the World.

Not enough time to take the GMAT. Yet I still I knew I needed - a business education as a guidebook to a better 2nd career.

With a software engineering background of 15+ years, education is the compass and Stanford would be the treasure map to reach my next career journey. To find in the 2nd half of my life - a 2nd Summit.

Stanford was my dream school. Always was.

I could think of no better place in all of California - the bridge of Business and Tech. I was a fresh VC investor riding on the rapids of private equity. Years ago I was told it's often a better value to go through Stanford as a postgrad.

I was locked down. So was Palo Alto was locked down. I had to get creative.

Being the persistent "never take no for an answer" hustler, I did. Through a friend, I discovered a small loophole in the system. A shorter GSB path through Stanford!

The Goldilocks Dilemma of Business Degrees

Debating pros and cons of a business program to take at Stanford...

The normal MBA front door was too full. The MSx Executive backdoor for VIPs was too exclusive. The secret hidden "3rd Door" into the Stanford GSB Club: the LEAD Program. A side door.

For a fraction of the cost of a traditional full-time Stanford MBA, an engineer my whole life like me could cherry-pick the top GSB electives and business professors.

Getting the wisdom was my goal, not just sitting in Palo Alto (although the 'Me2We week' was definitely worth it). I gravitated to the idea that could do all this while completing it part-time online!

LEAD is Stanford's "Flagship online business program."

The "Camino" Pilgrimage - a Journey to Business School.

You can take your time and stop to rest. Or sprint right through in 12 months. Start at the 100km mark or trek the whole way. There's no right or wrong way to find your Path. What you discover is yourself.

"A sea in which a gnat may drink and an elephant may bathe"

A quote attributed to Chess - which I find equally applicable to Stanford LEAD.

A Bumpy Road with a Happy Ending

In Spring 2021, along with joining Stanford LEAD, I simultaneously became part-owner and ambassador advisor of TopCourt.com (an EdTech startup). Only after a lot of due diligence and vetting did I double down my stake.

I sprinkled in my small contributions to the startup from each of my nine executive business courses, growing gradually from seed to sun.

Company acquisition and featured on Pickleball.com

This multi-sport platform teaches the fastest-growing sport in America.

Now part of the 2024 merged MLP / PPA pro league as "Pickleball TopCo."

In the past 12 months, I've met 30+ LEADers in person from 3 continents at four separate conventions simply through this program. I've met industry execs, signed VC deals, and spawned new verticals through the LEAD ecosystem.

• The ROI value of an MBA is primarily through its network.

• So I asked, "Why am I spending six figures"?

• It's about the People, not the Textbook.

Re-tooling for Change: from Engineer to Business

“In times of change, learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world which no longer exists.”

- Eric Hoffer, American moral philosopher

• In the age of AI and Automation - new jobs will require re-training

• "Knowledge, Networks, and Nuance" - 3 keys to leveraged learning

Apply here for a full Stanford LEAD preview (by referral: Jacky Cheong)

Please send me a LinkedIn Message (or leave a comment below) if you have any specific questions or topics I did not touch upon in this article. Feedback helps improve the quality of the product (LEAD) for future cohorts.

• Don't just take MY word for it...view more reviews from other alums

Part 1: How do you get selected for Stanford?

Spring 2021:

Jacky has his own 'Come to Jesus' moment.

Almost burned out from work during COVID. I had all those monumental projects tabled for years. Extensive aspirational bucket lists, never enough time.

I always needed more to tackle them - more time, more money, and more staff.

Next week, quarter, next cycle.

Another way of saying 'maybe never'. In the heart of the COVID lockdown, it became abundantly clear: Time became the one commodity we had in spades.

If not now, then when would I get another chance?

What else am I going to do during a worldwide pandemic isolation?

With a NetFlix subscription wearing thin, I had to leap in.

Finances: I cash out my VA real estate rental property

• Rule #1: Always Invest in yourself First. Education is always valuable.

• "Better to be 6 months too early than 6 months too late" - truth of exits

• When to pull your career's mini-parachute - read: 'Strength to Strength'

Selling my real estate investment in 2021 was a creative leverage hack

I managed it as an FSBO project. With help from family in the business, a photographer friend within proximity, and some social media leverage - I repositioned my assets to fuel my education and VC ambitions.

Now with enough tuition money from the boot, I was ready. With this real estate investment cash-out and re-buy into education, I fabricated enough built-in psychological sunk cost to forge ahead. Being a landlord was never my life's goal. Nor did it ever resonate with my personal identity in life.

Attempt something with your life that your younger self would be proud of 10 years ago. Even if you fail, you will not regret trying.

Career Mid-Point: a look back on my half-way point

• Discovering my Mid-Life Renaissance after two decades working in Tech

• Part of my profits funded my tuition and a small Tennis EdTech startup.

• Diversification and self-improvement purposes? Check and check.

• Survey the outlook and job landscape *before* a market recession casualty or the next Corporate crater.

Subscription Model of Progress: Sunk Cost in your favor as 'unspent credits.'

The a la carte approach to MOOC education does not work for me. Why?

One could sign up and pay for one course at a time @ $2K each. But this way, I would have hesitated much more and likely have stopped midway through earning it in full.

Annual memberships at a gym make you feel like being "all-in" meant enrollment into nine courses and electives. It encourages me to use my remaining credits deliberately (and spread out over two years).

Training up correctly from the start usually beats rough starts with great coaching. Weeding out bad habits and mastering fundamentals must be a goal from the beginning of any great venture.

Showing up at the Start-Up Line: first step of any marathon

Getting to the starting line was the tipping point. I could overwhelm my petty excuses. Showing up and being at the excitement of orientation was the jet fuel to make my leap over procrastination. Creating change with courage.

• Researched it online extensively

• Attended an open office Q&A session with La'Ban

• Sourced Quora and Reddit for pros/cons

Finally, after much soul-searching...I pulled the trigger and signed up

The application form is a relative breeze compared to the GMAT or GRE. A few video interviews are helping to prepare you for remote learning. If you are tech-savvy, this is an easy choice.

The 360 interviews are requested from your managers and direct reports to help gauge your weak points. I recommend that you ask for critical feedback here.

LEAD is most potent when you're in a position to amplify or disrupt your career vector. Your time there is limited, so there's no point in wasting your Stanford education credits on skills you already possess. Explore a field you seek to master.

At Stanford, you become part of the conversation with the World Changers.

"Skin in the Game": the Mindset of an Owner > Employee

Embracing the Ownership Mentality

Working for others in the first decade and a half of my life was helpful in preparation for entrepreneurship. I made steady progress in the startup and 2 courses per semester.

However, tedious meetings, administrative minutia, shifts in new personnel, and hiring issues slowed me to a crawl on the other fronts.

When you should jump, if you should jump...

After a few initial road bumps, I saw the progress at the startup. I was now becoming even more confident and committed that I could make it full-time on my own. "Freedom" is very hard to define until you face its lack.

I knew deep down inside I should focus on the new journey and startup. It would keep me challenged rather than just comfortable and stagnant. That feeling of hunger (artificial or not) is an important motivator - ask any garage startup founder.

I spoke with my LEAD advisor 1on1 and informed him of my executive decision...

Yep, Jacky is a 'cowboy' who jumps off perfectly good Swiss Mountains...

(A cashier at one ALDI in Germany gave me the nickname "cowboy" - it stuck)

Crossing the Rubicon - "Burning My Boat"

I held the torch. Gave the command. She was my first boat too.

Then and there, I decided: 'I shall not return home this way again'.

First, I knew the risks and then measured my options.

Not taking the jump could have been more damaging in the long run.

An all-in book I highly recommend by Matt Higgins "Burn the Boats" is a very motivating entrepreneurial story of this rags-to-riches journey.

During the Great Resignation - I went all in...

I formally quit my full-time job after 2 years. Despite earning my CISSP in Cybersecurity, steady income working with a Fortune 500 company (AT&T), and a recent big promotion with a healthy annual bonus - I still cashed it all in.

No golden parachute. No cushy pension. Just the open road ahead.

I calculated my burn rate, my savings, and the opportunity cost.

After some discussions with my VP, I gave my 3-week notice.

I would pay for the tuition on my own, here on in - bootstrapping it.

'Life is either a great adventure or it's nothing.' - Helen Keller

I would officially prioritize learning and my vision of a valuable startup (a hybrid of my 3 T's: Tech, Tennis, and Teaching).

Finally, I struck it out on my own. Going full-time. Just like one of those crazy entrepreneurs (AirBnB) I kept hearing about on YouTube.

"Kids who don't fall, also won't learn how to back get up to grow."

Issac Newton's "Year of Wonders" - "Annus Mirabilis" (1665-1666)

Cambridge University was forced to shut down during the Great Plague. Newton was a student at the time and forced to retreat to isolate. It was also this year in isolation that he made some of the most important scientific discoveries of the 20th century. Formulating his laws of motion, developing calculus, and making advancements in optics with his experiments on light and color.

My Greatest Opportunity was taking LEAD during COVID

Read about my 18-month "TopCourt" experimental project and my inner reflections about the final victory lap after the LEAD journey. It was during COVID that this challenge and the biggest leverage opportunities arose.

Executive Courses: Nine Tools in my GSB Business Toolbelt

Each of my nine business courses and electives was chosen specifically for what we needed and when we would need it. I rotated rapidly between product, customer experience, and marketing teams. They were with me as my academia guinea pigs while I was on the LEAD ride.

Employing scalpels, not hacksaws, towards Change.

Most of these courses have current, relevant events incorporated from the business world as real-time case studies. This is a true sign of adaptation.

Finance and Critical Analytical Thinking (CAT) are the first 2 courses and showcase fresh, unique, and relevant topics each semester. In our CAT debates, many teams looked at the hybrid vs non-hybrid workspace arrangements in transforming the IT landscape and culture. Each assignment's originality and quality always feature current business events during the 1st-semester orientation.

Me2We - a Collective Victory Lap for LEAD

Attending Me2We in March 2023, Professor Peter Demarzo gave a special talk about the collapse of SVB in an impromptu lecture on Finance. Matt Abrams hosted a live podcast of "Think Fast, Talk Smart" with a GSB panel with our standing-room-only crowd.

Graduation and Giant Class Reunions on Campus

I highly encourage Alums to attend the annual Me2We event at least once to get the full Stanford GSB in-person experience. Silicon Valley company visits, special lectures by GSB celebs, and a chance to present on the CEMEX stage.

My 9 GSB Courses (Professors) - How each helped my startup:

• Critical Analytical Thinking (Haim Mendelson): Evaluating case studies of AirBnB. Weighing tough decisions: Google in China. Being aware of groupthink. How to debate both sides properly - based on reason and references.

• Financing Innovations (Peter DeMarzo): Building Financial Models, reading balance sheets, calculating and creating the DCF, and multiple valuations for fundamentals of companies (like Netflix). Weighing the go or no go. In the end, I doubled down on my EdTech.

• Persuasion: (Zakary Tormala) to attract a critical mass for my startup and get more followers at our big Summer launch. Understanding the message and the audience. Building credibility and rapport with Business Development in my industry.

• Customer Experience with Neuroscience (Baba Shiv): to improve the quality of UX and lower subscriber churn by the end of the free trial period.

• Values-based Leadership (Neil Malhotra): morality and values are personal. Taking the other's perspective with the "Veil of Ignorance". There are No bad people, just bad decisions.

• Life of Consequence (Roderick Kramer): reflecting on my 10K foot view life view - the bigger picture goal of EdTech and Sports. Meta and Macro.

• Negotiations (Margaret Neale): helped me to understand the leverage angles from the sell side of M&A. The Simulation of the "Turbo/United" underdog alliance. Having the confidence to bargain for anything. Packaging deals with decision-makers.

• Business Models Analysis and Design (Prof. Haim, again) to understand product-market fit, design MVPs, bridge the chasm (Tennis to Pickleball), and understand the power of network effects with sponsorships.

• Honorable mention book: Connect (Carole Robin) - I've always been in the "touchy-feely" camp, even though the vocal proponents at LEAD will advocate taking Power to Lead with Jeffrey Pfeffer.

Carole's analogy of "Staying on your side of the net" has helped me tremendously in connecting and relating to others.

Plus she speaks tennis, my language. I recommend her audiobook - narrated in alternating chapters with David - "Connect: Building Exception Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues".

LEAD only gives back what you can afford to put in

Some LEADers want to dip their toes into many different subjects as generalists. Others create their mini-track as entrepreneurs or corporate managers.

You can stay on the fixed ropes and manicured paths or go through the deep jungle, down each rabbit hole, and deep dive into discussion topics. The choices are part of this "make your own adventure" story.

Short-circuiting the business school entry process

With this path, I knew I could still gain the key knowledge, network with much smarter people and better ideas than me, yet gain all the same 'force-multiplier' effects from sitting in those classrooms. Plus, expect to get all the illustrious LinkedIn prestige of colorful digital emoji approvals one could handle.

It is taught by a select group of the GSB facility but only those that can do so at a much more concise and deliberate pace.

Weekly Bite-sized nuggets of wisdom applied directly

LEAD cherry-picks the best material and topics. Selected business subjects could be reduced to a few shortened sprint of just under three months.

The weekly assignments are straight to the point with a clear purpose. Each one leads to a culmination of knowledge in a very specific domain.

Chefs of Stanford GSB: Best Recipes of Proven Business Cases

Each course felt more like a single recipe rather than a whole cookbook. It gives you the ingredients but allows room for experimentation and customization. Try on of the top weekly GSB podcasts as a sample.

In Systems Engineering, we have a concept of "Just in Time" Delivery.

Not building excess inventory (or sprinting a 2-year program straight through). Only then trying to get freshly minted MBAs in the real workforce with lots of theory but no bruises. Companies now prefer timing outputs and training for maximum impact on the most relevant pain points with less "knowledge inventory". Can you remember your own undergrad lessons in your 30s or 40s?

"Completing their production so that a minimal inventory can satisfy demand and delivery can take place with immediate effect in order that consumers receive what they want precisely when they want."

Interestingly, what may not work for manufacturing and warehousing at the physical goods world of post-COVID supply shock, the world of streaming thrives with this "just in time" approach for digital consumers.

Modern attention spans are shrinking

Focus is pulled in multiple directions. LEAD offers to address this by delivering applicable educational lessons worldwide. It targets the course domain knowledge level for seasoned postgrads.

This microlearning is an enhanced hands-on version of Lydna (now LinkedIn Learning). That precision to reference specific parts of the chapters you need help with instead of assigning an entire textbook to read.

LEAD's Stanford Alumni Network - always growing bigger

The icing on any MBA cake. Over 4,500 global members, from FAANG C-suite to freelancers, have joined the Stanford LEAD community. Amazing access to speakers and private deals not available to the general public.

It's a network of talented minds and fearless hearts. Most are open to actively helping each other get to their next step. This is a community of heroes and volunteers who give back to LEAD more than they ask from it.

These freed souls are still willing to walk back into Plato's cave to illuminate the proverbial shadows for the rest. They are angels who light the way.

LEAD's Unsung Heroes: Course Facilitators (CFs) and Advisors

Some, like my orientation advisor, who stuck with me from first class (orientation) to the last course (business models) were rockstars. In terms of preparation and one-on-one sessions, they were always on point.

Harald Nuhn, Cassa Hanon, Ghyslain Berger, were my top 3 favorites.

You'll be lucky if you can enroll and get assigned to them.

Poornima Gopi is one of those rare, selfless heroes who stays in touch with the community and presents what true leadership looks like at Me2We 2023.

My referral and endorsement as Stanford LEAD Alumni

When you apply, please feel free to reference me:

(Jacky Cheong, Voyager Cohort).

Apply here for a full Stanford LEAD preview

Send me a message when you get to the other side of Stanford. I'll be waiting.

I sincerely hope that it has helped you either save your career or save you the money for a different journey if this is not the right one for you

Part 2: Microcosm of the SF Vally Culture

Given the embedded group projects, would you want to work within this culture of Silicon Valley?

You'll inevitably encounter teammates with different priorities, career goals, and LEAD outcomes. A very diverse and international crowd. After a few group projects and discussions, I better understood the Silicon Valley work culture and how it's changed since COVID.

The other benefit of LEAD is that you get a mini-internship during your classes. The work-life expectations you imagined and the reality might be quite different. Dealing with remote colleagues on a final project is the best example.

The Chisim of Tech Employment Culture: Pre-vs-Post-2020

Google (or Alphabet), like many of the FAANGs in the 2000-2020 era, is vastly different in character than after 2021. Employees who have worked in both eras remark about SF's radical divide.

There has been a shift in the 1st-order economics, HR, culture, and philosophy stemming from the post-exodus in the Bay area. Destabilizing and splintering core 'loyalty' values. The post-OpenAI environment has also radically shifted Big Tech's hiring and retention priorities.

Taking Stanford LEAD's perspective (Arts vs STEM)

I rank soft skills as more important intangibles that differentiate organizational cohesion. Much more than the hard skills of CS programming and engineering efficiency, which were immediately hirable traits in the wake of the post-dot-com bubble. It is worth double-downing on the humanities and arts once you have had decades of saturation in STEM.

The currency of Trust is a lasting determinator of success.

With easy access to AI-generated content and Zoom meetings, our relationships built from authentic connections stand at a much greater risk of being commoditized or counterfeited. "Character is Fate." - one of my favorite quotes.

Post limit reached...I've truncated this LinkedIn article for conciseness.

To read more of my ideas, please Like / Follow / PM me.

For LEAD candidates, I will continue to update and answer questions. My 2023-2024 perspective of the post-ChatGPT era on the online learning environment.

Topics covered include:

• Interview and Application Tips

• Designing the perfect course load per semester (Summer, Fall cycles)

• Picking good groups and partners

• Selecting a smart sequence of courses to cluster together

• How much time is required for each? (what was voted the most demanding)

• Stanford affiliate membership perks; Tuition payment option benefits

• Bonus: Communication Tools to stay connected and stay ahead of deadlines

Time to jumpstart your postgrad business journey?

Do it for yourself. Do it for your future. JUST DO IT!

Remember: even putting down my name as 'your referral' will only get you as far as Stanford's door...only you can choose to walk the path inside.