AOM 2011 and Trending to a PhD

"If others would think as hard as I did, then they would get similar results.'' - Sir Isaac Newton

I have just arrived into hot and muggy San Antonio for the 2011 Academy of Management annual meeting. For "manglement" scholars, it's a big deal where most of the big names in management research come together and nerd out on fantsy pants jargon and various statistical methods.

How exactly I got here has been an unexpected path, but the gist of it goes like this:

I know a guy.
This guy asked me to help on a research project with a looming, near impossible deadline.
I say "Maybe".
He says "How about $1000?"
I say "Works for me."
Two weeks of sleepless nights later he presents the stuff (I get an invite, not common for data monkeys).
Everyone loves it, he and his boss give me a personal shout out (also not common).
They ask me to do more projects.
We eventually have a conversation about getting a PhD after my undergrad.
I think it's a neat idea (researching complex ideas is pretty fun).
I somehow convince the University it's a good idea to fly me to AOM.

So that's about it. I thought really hard during a series of punctuated efforts. Did my best to produce good work and now I'm here largely because some people who are in charge of stuff thought that I was good enough to keep around and let me do things not a lot of people my age get to do.

It's transformed my undergraduate experience and I am forever thankful to the University of Utah to have me involved as much as I have been and underwrite some of the opportunities to let me do what I love doing.

But I'm not a PhD student yet. First, I have to finish my undergrad (this December), I also have to apply with a 700 or higher GMAT score.

Other than that, it's possible that I might be entering the 2012-13 school year as a PhD student at the University of Utah. I'll keep everyone updated as the situation progresses.

But here I am in San Antonio. Eating food, sweating a lot and using my best media training (thanks Foundry). So while I'm here, I'll be updating the blog with the sessions that I am attending and my thoughts about what's interesting about them as they relate to the "real world" and the research I'd eventually like to contribute to the conversation.

So far I've split my time between three themes: entrepreneurial theory, neuroscience and strategy, building and incorporating robust empirics into your research.

Needless to say I have plenty of time and people to get all nerdy with. But since I try to make sure that what I am doing in life has some generalized practical application, the point of being here is to think really hard about what problems I could work on so that my work (and Foundry experience) might simultaneously achieve many subtle aims like touching the next generation of entrepreneurs (mine).

So with that, I hope you stay tuned to hear some of the stuff I'll be participating in. And if you happen to be here at AOM, feel free to connect via Facebook or email to collude session schedules... I'll be in the back sitting quietly, NOT making a scene.