Thursday, October 7, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
INTERVIEW: Joey Chung on his book about life at Harvard Business School
Interview with Joey Chung, author “The Lessons Towards Success That I
Learned at Harvard Business School” (Chinese edition); “An Education: The World through Harvard Business School Eyes" (working title for English edition)
[ webposted October 1, 2010]
BOOK COVER LINK
http://blog.eslite.com/ntu/archives/2572
Joey Chung works for a Japanese media company in Los Angeles. Born in Taiwan, he was raised in the USA from age 2 and spent the first 11 years of his life there, before moving back to Taipei with his parents in 1993. After attending National Taiwan University in Taipei, Chung did a two-year MBA program at the Harvard Business School in
Boston. After graduation, he decided to write a book about his experiences there, and the book is now available in a Chinese-language edition, with an English edition due out soon.
In a recent email interview, we asked him a few question about the genesis of the book, its reception so far in its Chinese-language edition and the possibility of a Hollywood movie coming later.
GENESIS
Mr Chung said the idea for the book was born during a long 25-hour flight from Boston to Taipei.
"It was early June 2009," he said, adding: "The original intention for the book was simple enough. Every year during winter or summer breaks,
Harvard Business School alumni chapters in each region often plan HBS Panel Seminars for the public. These forums are meant as a
more official way to introduce the Harvard brand to each corner of the world and to encourage
interested students from all backgrounds to learn more about the school and maybe even one day apply. In my own case, these forums
were were enormously helpful to me as a prospective student, too. So by the time I graduated
from Harvard Business School in 2009, I had attended four of these HBS panels, 2 of them as a
potential applicant and the other 2 as a student ambassador sitting on stage and answering questions.
After participating in HBS panels for four consecutive years, I gradually came to realize that
each year, most of the questions from the public about Harvard and its MBA program
were very similar.
One evening after my most recent HBS panel, as we were taking down the HSB school banners
and cleaning the conference room as the attendees walked out, a fellow HBS student casually
suggested that since I used to be a writer before business school, maybe I was in a good position to
write about the HBS experience and truly make available to the public what life within the Harvard walls was like.
At first, I casually waved her idea off. I was about to graduate in a few months and start my own career as
a business manager. Writing and possibly spending months refining and later knocking on doors
of agents and publishers seemed like another lifetime ago, and not a process I wanted to repeat
again. To me, it was “been there, done that” and time to move on.
Yet months later, as I sunk down into my seat and prepared myself for the long 25-hour
journey back to Taiwan see my family before my job in San Francisco started, I thought about the book idea again.
My classmate was right, her suggestion was a good one. To outsiders, almost everyone had the same questions about Harvard Business
School. What makes accepted HBS applicants stand out, what seemed to make Harvard unique,
and just what exactly went on in 2 years within Ivy League classrooms that made graduates
move on to seemingly envied careers and successful lifestyles? What were the myths and what were
the facts?
During my 3 weeks last summer in Taiwan, I pitched the idea to 3 major publishers and
eventually, Business Weekly Asia bought the rights right there based just on my pitch! Since I grew
up in the U.S.A. before moving back to Taiwan at the age of 12, my English writing is still better than my
Chinese writing skills so my book editor, Ms. Mei Huang, had someone translated it my English text into Mandarin for release in Asian
territories. The literal translation of the Mandarin title is: The Lessons Towards Success That I
Learned at Harvard Business School.
When asked what the goal of the book is, Chung replied: "From a technical standpoint, I aim to answer the very questions asked from those numerous
panels that gave birth to this very book. This is not a “how-to” manual on the secrets to getting
in and excelling in business school. Instead, by focusing more on the emotional journey, I
hoped to describe, as vividly as possible, the everyday life of 2 years at Harvard Business School,
and to a certain degree, similar MBA programs around the world.
From this angle, young
professionals, prospective students or even family members with relatives thinking of applying
or currently engaged in MBA programs can hopefully find useful descriptions of the lifestyle,
the mindset, and the day to day teachings that are ingrained in us that gradually play a pivotal
role in the kind of person we one day become. Though the current version released in Taiwan,
Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and in a few more weeks, China is more geared towards the
Asian audience with more analysis and comparisons between Asian culture, education systems
and student mindsets and that of other countries, this original intent is the same for all markets.
From a personal standpoint, the book was meant to be a diary of some sorts, chronicling the
two definitive years at Harvard and the impact it has had on me since. As one of the younger
students in my year and among those with substantially less work experience and business
exposure, I often felt that each HBS experience that was thrown at me was seen through more
observant, almost sentimental eyes. To me, my time at HBS was definitely a rite of passage and
even at this very moment as I type this word, a year after my graduation, and fully immersed in
the business world, I still often ponder exactly what the many encounters and lessons I learned at
HBS mean to me on a personal level."
There are plans for an English-language edition of the book, too, Chung said, adding: "Yes, at least that’s the plan. My publisher in Asia sent the original English manuscript to a
prominent US book agent, and to my surprise she saw potential in it, called me and after
a nice chat, flew me over to New York for another whole day-long meeting and then signed
me. She wanted it revised and lengthened for US and international audiences and then found
a professional editor for me and together we’ve been revising the book chapter by chapter.
The goal is to present it to major US publishers early next year. The current working title in English
is: “An Education: The World through Harvard Business School Eyes.” My guess is the English version will
be about 50 percent different from its Chinese-language edition, and will ahve more fleshed-out characters,
descriptions of the school environment and overall a much deeper and richer emotional narrative.
The Taiwan publicity and promotion for the Chinese-language edition of Chung's book involved interviews
with some magazines in Taipei and some radio interviews, too.
In addition, Business Weekly Magazine in Taiwan, a Chinese-language magazine, also excerpted several
chapters of the book, Chung said.
When asked how long it took the write the book, Chung said: "I started writing the book a few weeks after graduation, right after I had moved and settled down in San
Francisco. I write pretty fast, I enjoy writing, and I had 10 days between the time I was done moving
to California before work started at my job, so I would write for about five hours a day during the first few days and by
the time I started my job, I had written down about 60 percent of what would become, eventually, the 140 pages in Microsoft Word.
"All in all, what with work and then finding time to complete the book in my spare time, it took me about 3 months.
Since the subject of Chung's book is life at Harvard Business School, and since Hollywood is always looking for
good stories to tell about life in the Ivy League, from Legally Blonde to Paper Chase, there is a chance the book could
be turned into a Hollywood film. When asked about this, Chung said:
"You know, it's a funny thing, but about six months ago I was sent by my company, which is based in San Francisco, to a branch office in Los Angeles where I’ll be
for the next year or two, and one night I dared myself to send a letter introducing myself
and my book to a prominent Hollywood producer who happens to have offices
a few blocks from where I live. He’s Asian-American and coincidentally is also an HBS alumnus, so I thought my story might intrigue him. To my surprise, he replied back immediately and
said he would love to read the manuscript. We’ve been in touch since. At the current time, I can't say much, but its currently going
through people in his office to see what everyone else thinks, so I guess I'll just have to be patient and wait
and see. It's too early to tell what, if anything, will happen. Hollywood works slowly on things like this. But it’s been fun and a real learning
experience.
Who knows if a film will ever be deveoped from the book, but it's fun to think about it. I jokingly asked one of my office co-workers who he would want to play him, and he
immediately replied: Johnny Depp. Everyone loves Johnny Depp, he has such universal appeal.
But the real casting would be very interesting, if it ever gets to that. Since the story deliberately
introduces classmates from almost every country, we would get a very dynamic mix of young
faces from every race and continent. And I really think to make it more real and believable, and
for the audience to really immerse in following the characters journey, they should be relatively
unknowns. But again, I'm just wondering out loud here. Let's wait and see.
When asked what kind of feedback he's received so far from readers of the Chinese edition of the book, Chung said:
"I have, in fact, received some very feedback from readers, and you know, in this day and age of the Internet, the funniest and perhaps most initially alarming
thing is that some readers have simply found me and messaged me via Facebook! I’ve started
conversations with some readers this way. I would say the majority of the readers who can
relate most to the book and would actually go out and try to contact the author would be young
professionals around my age or college seniors or grad students who are still thinking about their
future. I am very interested in getting feedback from readers.
Chung is working for a Japanese media company now in Los
Angeles. When asked if he still keeps in touch with his HBS classmates, he replied: "Of course. One thing I learned during the first few months after graduation is that for Harvard
and to a certain extent, all private schools, the experience is an experience of a lifetime. In Los Angeles, where I am now, on average there
are 2 Harvard alumni events every month. There are things like the L.A. Charter Harvard Business School
mixer, the Harvard young alumni mixer, the monthly Asian-American Happy Hour, and even sign-up
trips for alumni to take trips to Napa for a weekend of wine tasting or a “Harvard evening at the
Opera," things like that.
I am in touch with those HBS classmates who became my good friends during those two years in Boston, of course. But if I ever need to get in some answers on something or someone at, say Apple, I can call up a HBS contact at Apple. In fact, many deals that I initiate for my
firm are done by first contacting HBS contacts.
We asked Mr Chung a final question, after thanking him taking the time to answer our questions and wishing him luck with
the English-languade edition and the possible Hollywood film, which was what was the most important thing that he learned at HBS.
"Humility," he said. "No matter how good you are, or how smart we might be, or how good our grades were
rin school, there will always be someone smarter, someone better. And yet if we take
a step back from this Harvard bubble, we’ll all see that all of us, the few that were fortunate
enough to be inheritors of its many traditions and resources, were extremely fortunate and
blessed. And therefore it is never too late to try and make a difference in the world, in whatever way we can, and give back to causes we
believe in or to help those less fortunate than us."
-- 30 -
Learned at Harvard Business School” (Chinese edition); “An Education: The World through Harvard Business School Eyes" (working title for English edition)
[ webposted October 1, 2010]
BOOK COVER LINK
http://blog.eslite.com/ntu/archives/2572
Joey Chung works for a Japanese media company in Los Angeles. Born in Taiwan, he was raised in the USA from age 2 and spent the first 11 years of his life there, before moving back to Taipei with his parents in 1993. After attending National Taiwan University in Taipei, Chung did a two-year MBA program at the Harvard Business School in
Boston. After graduation, he decided to write a book about his experiences there, and the book is now available in a Chinese-language edition, with an English edition due out soon.
In a recent email interview, we asked him a few question about the genesis of the book, its reception so far in its Chinese-language edition and the possibility of a Hollywood movie coming later.
GENESIS
Mr Chung said the idea for the book was born during a long 25-hour flight from Boston to Taipei.
"It was early June 2009," he said, adding: "The original intention for the book was simple enough. Every year during winter or summer breaks,
Harvard Business School alumni chapters in each region often plan HBS Panel Seminars for the public. These forums are meant as a
more official way to introduce the Harvard brand to each corner of the world and to encourage
interested students from all backgrounds to learn more about the school and maybe even one day apply. In my own case, these forums
were were enormously helpful to me as a prospective student, too. So by the time I graduated
from Harvard Business School in 2009, I had attended four of these HBS panels, 2 of them as a
potential applicant and the other 2 as a student ambassador sitting on stage and answering questions.
After participating in HBS panels for four consecutive years, I gradually came to realize that
each year, most of the questions from the public about Harvard and its MBA program
were very similar.
One evening after my most recent HBS panel, as we were taking down the HSB school banners
and cleaning the conference room as the attendees walked out, a fellow HBS student casually
suggested that since I used to be a writer before business school, maybe I was in a good position to
write about the HBS experience and truly make available to the public what life within the Harvard walls was like.
At first, I casually waved her idea off. I was about to graduate in a few months and start my own career as
a business manager. Writing and possibly spending months refining and later knocking on doors
of agents and publishers seemed like another lifetime ago, and not a process I wanted to repeat
again. To me, it was “been there, done that” and time to move on.
Yet months later, as I sunk down into my seat and prepared myself for the long 25-hour
journey back to Taiwan see my family before my job in San Francisco started, I thought about the book idea again.
My classmate was right, her suggestion was a good one. To outsiders, almost everyone had the same questions about Harvard Business
School. What makes accepted HBS applicants stand out, what seemed to make Harvard unique,
and just what exactly went on in 2 years within Ivy League classrooms that made graduates
move on to seemingly envied careers and successful lifestyles? What were the myths and what were
the facts?
During my 3 weeks last summer in Taiwan, I pitched the idea to 3 major publishers and
eventually, Business Weekly Asia bought the rights right there based just on my pitch! Since I grew
up in the U.S.A. before moving back to Taiwan at the age of 12, my English writing is still better than my
Chinese writing skills so my book editor, Ms. Mei Huang, had someone translated it my English text into Mandarin for release in Asian
territories. The literal translation of the Mandarin title is: The Lessons Towards Success That I
Learned at Harvard Business School.
When asked what the goal of the book is, Chung replied: "From a technical standpoint, I aim to answer the very questions asked from those numerous
panels that gave birth to this very book. This is not a “how-to” manual on the secrets to getting
in and excelling in business school. Instead, by focusing more on the emotional journey, I
hoped to describe, as vividly as possible, the everyday life of 2 years at Harvard Business School,
and to a certain degree, similar MBA programs around the world.
From this angle, young
professionals, prospective students or even family members with relatives thinking of applying
or currently engaged in MBA programs can hopefully find useful descriptions of the lifestyle,
the mindset, and the day to day teachings that are ingrained in us that gradually play a pivotal
role in the kind of person we one day become. Though the current version released in Taiwan,
Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and in a few more weeks, China is more geared towards the
Asian audience with more analysis and comparisons between Asian culture, education systems
and student mindsets and that of other countries, this original intent is the same for all markets.
From a personal standpoint, the book was meant to be a diary of some sorts, chronicling the
two definitive years at Harvard and the impact it has had on me since. As one of the younger
students in my year and among those with substantially less work experience and business
exposure, I often felt that each HBS experience that was thrown at me was seen through more
observant, almost sentimental eyes. To me, my time at HBS was definitely a rite of passage and
even at this very moment as I type this word, a year after my graduation, and fully immersed in
the business world, I still often ponder exactly what the many encounters and lessons I learned at
HBS mean to me on a personal level."
There are plans for an English-language edition of the book, too, Chung said, adding: "Yes, at least that’s the plan. My publisher in Asia sent the original English manuscript to a
prominent US book agent, and to my surprise she saw potential in it, called me and after
a nice chat, flew me over to New York for another whole day-long meeting and then signed
me. She wanted it revised and lengthened for US and international audiences and then found
a professional editor for me and together we’ve been revising the book chapter by chapter.
The goal is to present it to major US publishers early next year. The current working title in English
is: “An Education: The World through Harvard Business School Eyes.” My guess is the English version will
be about 50 percent different from its Chinese-language edition, and will ahve more fleshed-out characters,
descriptions of the school environment and overall a much deeper and richer emotional narrative.
The Taiwan publicity and promotion for the Chinese-language edition of Chung's book involved interviews
with some magazines in Taipei and some radio interviews, too.
In addition, Business Weekly Magazine in Taiwan, a Chinese-language magazine, also excerpted several
chapters of the book, Chung said.
When asked how long it took the write the book, Chung said: "I started writing the book a few weeks after graduation, right after I had moved and settled down in San
Francisco. I write pretty fast, I enjoy writing, and I had 10 days between the time I was done moving
to California before work started at my job, so I would write for about five hours a day during the first few days and by
the time I started my job, I had written down about 60 percent of what would become, eventually, the 140 pages in Microsoft Word.
"All in all, what with work and then finding time to complete the book in my spare time, it took me about 3 months.
Since the subject of Chung's book is life at Harvard Business School, and since Hollywood is always looking for
good stories to tell about life in the Ivy League, from Legally Blonde to Paper Chase, there is a chance the book could
be turned into a Hollywood film. When asked about this, Chung said:
"You know, it's a funny thing, but about six months ago I was sent by my company, which is based in San Francisco, to a branch office in Los Angeles where I’ll be
for the next year or two, and one night I dared myself to send a letter introducing myself
and my book to a prominent Hollywood producer who happens to have offices
a few blocks from where I live. He’s Asian-American and coincidentally is also an HBS alumnus, so I thought my story might intrigue him. To my surprise, he replied back immediately and
said he would love to read the manuscript. We’ve been in touch since. At the current time, I can't say much, but its currently going
through people in his office to see what everyone else thinks, so I guess I'll just have to be patient and wait
and see. It's too early to tell what, if anything, will happen. Hollywood works slowly on things like this. But it’s been fun and a real learning
experience.
Who knows if a film will ever be deveoped from the book, but it's fun to think about it. I jokingly asked one of my office co-workers who he would want to play him, and he
immediately replied: Johnny Depp. Everyone loves Johnny Depp, he has such universal appeal.
But the real casting would be very interesting, if it ever gets to that. Since the story deliberately
introduces classmates from almost every country, we would get a very dynamic mix of young
faces from every race and continent. And I really think to make it more real and believable, and
for the audience to really immerse in following the characters journey, they should be relatively
unknowns. But again, I'm just wondering out loud here. Let's wait and see.
When asked what kind of feedback he's received so far from readers of the Chinese edition of the book, Chung said:
"I have, in fact, received some very feedback from readers, and you know, in this day and age of the Internet, the funniest and perhaps most initially alarming
thing is that some readers have simply found me and messaged me via Facebook! I’ve started
conversations with some readers this way. I would say the majority of the readers who can
relate most to the book and would actually go out and try to contact the author would be young
professionals around my age or college seniors or grad students who are still thinking about their
future. I am very interested in getting feedback from readers.
Chung is working for a Japanese media company now in Los
Angeles. When asked if he still keeps in touch with his HBS classmates, he replied: "Of course. One thing I learned during the first few months after graduation is that for Harvard
and to a certain extent, all private schools, the experience is an experience of a lifetime. In Los Angeles, where I am now, on average there
are 2 Harvard alumni events every month. There are things like the L.A. Charter Harvard Business School
mixer, the Harvard young alumni mixer, the monthly Asian-American Happy Hour, and even sign-up
trips for alumni to take trips to Napa for a weekend of wine tasting or a “Harvard evening at the
Opera," things like that.
I am in touch with those HBS classmates who became my good friends during those two years in Boston, of course. But if I ever need to get in some answers on something or someone at, say Apple, I can call up a HBS contact at Apple. In fact, many deals that I initiate for my
firm are done by first contacting HBS contacts.
We asked Mr Chung a final question, after thanking him taking the time to answer our questions and wishing him luck with
the English-languade edition and the possible Hollywood film, which was what was the most important thing that he learned at HBS.
"Humility," he said. "No matter how good you are, or how smart we might be, or how good our grades were
rin school, there will always be someone smarter, someone better. And yet if we take
a step back from this Harvard bubble, we’ll all see that all of us, the few that were fortunate
enough to be inheritors of its many traditions and resources, were extremely fortunate and
blessed. And therefore it is never too late to try and make a difference in the world, in whatever way we can, and give back to causes we
believe in or to help those less fortunate than us."
-- 30 -