Why do Asian women prefer white men? Seriously… why?

June 27, 2009 – 3:39 pm

“Why do Asian women prefer white men? Seriously… why?”

The Harvard MBA says:

Ah yes, this is an oft-observed but seldom-analyzed phenomenon!  The key is to focus on a market-driven analysis.  The inevitable conclusion is that Asian women prefer white men because white men prefer Asian women.

The concept of market segmentation is both basic and powerful.  Businesses succeed by identifying the market segments with the greatest willingness to pay, and then catering to them.  There’s no value judgment involved–if young people want to watch trashy reality television, let there be “The Hills”!

In the case of Asian women, over the past several decades, they discovered an important fact: Most white guys have an Asian fetish. Heck, pretty much all (non-Asian) American males do.  For example, take the Outkast song “Hey Ya“.  In it, the African-American recording artists sing, “Now all Beyonces, and Lucy Lius, and baby dolls, get on the floor,” implying an equivalent level of attractiveness between Beyonce and Lucy Liu.  I consider myself an connoisseur of female beauty, and I can tell you that Lucy Liu would not be considered hot if she weren’t Asian.  Beyonce is way hotter than Lucy Liu (though neither can hold a candle to Jessica Alba or Megan Fox).

Lest you think this is a unique phenomenon, let me point out that many white girls have similar fetishes for British, French, Spanish, and Italian accents (This is most entertainingly demonstrated in “Love Actually“, where a British loser decides to travel to America, where all the women love English accents; he ends up in Milwaukee, and within a few hours, is engaged in group sex with three American girls, including Elisha Cuthbert.  See also, “Banderas, Antonio”.)

These fetishes represent a market inefficiency; the British loser in “Love Actually” would have no chance at bedding a single attractive woman in his native England, let alone three.  Thanks to the White Guy Asian Fetish (”WGAF”), even unattractive Asian women have a chance to score a significant other or mate.

And remember, race isn’t even the only factor.  The millieu also matters.  One of my friends once taught Economics at UC Berkeley; he told me about the time he heard two Asian undergrads in his class talking about their frustration with the Asian chicks who went the Berkeley.  What really offended them wasn’t the exploitation of the WGAF, but rather that the Asian chicks at Berkeley weren’t even that hot, because “all the really hot ones went to UCLA.”

Put yourself in the typtical Asian woman’s shoes.  Let’s say that you have your choice of two guys.  The first guy is average-looking, of average intelligence, and has an average career.  The second guy is good-looking, smart, and has a good career.  Which one are you going to choose?  If the only difference is that Guy #1 is Asian and Guy #2 is white, my guess is you’re choosing Guy#2.  That’s not racism, that’s smart market segmentation.

P.S. The logical follow-up question is, what should I do if I’m an Asian guy?  My advice:  Try to exploit market inefficiencies and go for chicks who dig martial arts movies.  Do you think Jackie Chan or Jet Li ever lacks for babes?

UPDATE: OkCupid published a blog post in March 2011 that provides some empirical data on this topic.

It turns out that the main reason for white popularity (in terms of number of messages received) is the fact that there are simply more white people.  Statistical analysis allowed OkCupid to filter out this effect.

It turns out that 1) Asians are more desirable messaging partners than any other race, and 2) Asians have a stronger preference for their own race than any other race. (Asians are 11.5X as likely to message another Asian as they are someone of a different race; the same number for whites is 2.9X)

Sadly, the data is not broken out by gender, so we can’t say for certain that the effects are the same for Asian woman and men, but the data is so stark that the key conclusion that’s relevant to this thread wouldn’t change: Asians prefer other Asians, but because they are vastly outnumbered by white people, many Asian women probably turn to white men.  It’s a numbers game.

By admin | Posted in answer, marketing, relationships | Comments (382)

Heeeee’s Back!

June 27, 2009 – 2:19 pm

Jack!

Loyal readers:

As you’ve probably noticed, it’s been about two months since my last post.   Things have been insanely busy for me (for a sample, check out this post on my personal blog) and I haven’t kept up.

To make it up to you, I’ll be answering one question per day for the next week.  I’ve got enough questions in the backlog to fill several decades worth of posts, but if you think you’ve got a good one, now is the time to send it in.

By admin | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Question For My Readers: GMAT Prep Via iPhone

June 15, 2009 – 11:24 pm

Hey guys, do you know of any iPhone apps for GMAT preparation?  I’m looking for such an application to pass on to my readers.  Let me know if you’ve used one!

By admin | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (3)

How should I market myself to tier-1 schools (if I have a poor undergrad GPA)?

April 20, 2009 – 5:13 am

My goal is to attend an Ivy League (or equivalent) school to get a JD, MDiv, or MPA/MPP.

I graduated from the US Air Force Academy with a 2.4 GPA. Not so great, I know, but I then went on to get both an MM and MBA from a low-Tier school with a 3.9 GPA. I’m currently on a 1-year tour in Iraq, too.

At the same time, I’m very much a Caucasian from the Midwest so I struggle with how I can best present myself to an admissions board.

My question to you, as an Ivy post-grad alum, is how should I market myself to these Tier-1 schools?  Or does my poor undergrad academic performance eliminate me right off the bat?

The Harvard MBA Says:

First of all, Lieutenant, my thanks to you for serving our country.  Your dedication is appreciated by your fellow Americans.

I can’t speak for Law, Divinity, or Public Policy schools, but I can tell you that your undergraduate academic performance wouldn’t have precluded you from attending HBS.  Many of my HBS classmates, including a number of former academy graduates and other officers, will freely admit to relatively poor academic performance at the undergrad level. (They will also freely admit to being Caucasian as well)

HBS lists three criteria for admissions:

  1. A habit of leadership
  2. Capacity for intellectual growth
  3. Engaged community citizenship

Your undergrad GPA is only relevant to one of those three, and the dedication you’ve shown since then should help allay concerns about your previous record.

This is not to say that superior undergraduate academics don’t help; more HBS students went to Harvard as undergrads than any other university, and all other things being equal, HBS will always choose the superior academic performer.

Therein lies the key to getting admitted to elite schools–if you aren’t a superstar academically, focus on being a superstar in other ways, so that all other things are decidedly unequal.

How can you be a superstar?  This deserves a blog unto itself.  Fortunately, my friend Cal Newport has done just that, with Study Hacks.

By admin | Posted in admissions | Comments (3)

How do you deal with failure, even when you tried your very hardest?

April 13, 2009 – 4:28 am

I’m currently a senior in high school about to go into college.  The thing is, I’ve worked my butt off in high school and I thought I did everything right to get into the most elite colleges.  When college decisions came back, I was rejected at the four universities that I really wanted to go to.  Now I will be attending UC Berkeley next year.

My question is, how do I avoid getting this same sort of situation to happen to me once I finish college?  I’m pretty sure I can get superb GPAs and GMAT scores, along with a variety of extracurriculars but I keep having this nagging feeling that even if I “do” everything “right”, I will come up short once again in the end.

So I guess my real question is, how do you deal with failure, even when you tried your very hardest for a very long time?

The Harvard MBA says:

First of all, getting into UC Berkeley isn’t a failure, even if it isn’t as good as getting into Stanford (Go Cardinal!).  Indeed, many of my friends went to Cal, and managed to do pretty well for themselves despite this “handicap.”

More seriously, Berkeley is an elite educational institution, especially in this part of the country, and you shouldn’t beat yourself up.  I can tell you that I’m more likely to hire a Cal grad than a Columbia or Brown grad (sorry guys!).

A bigger issue is your current attitude towards failure.

Failure is an inevitable fact of life.  Everyone fails, which is to say, everyone experiences times when reality fails to meet their expectations.

You can decide that failure indicates a fundamental unworthiness, or you can decide that failure simply helps you uncover opportunities for improvement.  The former represents what Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck calls the “fixed” mindset, while the latter represents the “growth” mindset.

Dweck’s work shows that the growth mindset is consistently associated with both greater happiness and higher levels of achievement.

Right now, your question shows a fixed mindset; for the sake of your long-term happiness and success, I suggest that you work on developing a growth mindset, where failure is not the devastating evidence of incompetence, but a valuable signal of where to focus one’s efforts.

For more on mindsets, check out this blog post:

http://chrisyeh.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-makes-ambition-good-or-evil-is.html

For more on failure, check out the notes from the Silicon Valley Junto that I co-hosted on this topic:

http://svjunto.wikispaces.com/failure

By admin | Posted in college, self-awareness, success | Comments (2)

What do you wish someone had told you before starting HBS?

April 12, 2009 – 3:18 pm

“I was recently accepted to HBS. Is there anything that you know now that you wish some one had told you before you started?”

The Harvard MBA says:

First of all, congratulations.  In tough times, it becomes even harder to get into HBS.  It also takes a strong constitution to ignore the (largely undeserved) flogging that our alma mater has been taking in the media.

You ask an excellent question.  Many people view acceptance to HBS as an end, but like any other education, an HBS MBA is merely a means to greater ends.  Your time at HBS represents a phenomenal opportunity, but you must do your part to take advantage of it.

Rather than overburden you with too many points, I’ll focus on the three most important things I wish I’d heard:

1) Don’t sweat the schoolwork.

It’s almost impossible to fail, but the biggest thing that I saw affect people was worrying about their academic performance and how they’d keep up with their talented classmates.

It can be intimidating to compete for airtime with experienced management consultants and bankers, some of whom may have taken portions of the curriculum as undergraduates.  For example, one of my classmates actually helped write the textbook on valuing companies when he was at McKinsey…before HBS.

Take heart–the real world isn’t about solving academic problems.  It’s about getting things done.  And in my experience, the ability and willingness to ask the simple questions and persist until you get a satisfactory answer is more important than the ability to rattle off the “right” answer to specialized problem that is unlikely to ever present itself in such a clear manner during your career.

Moreover, the professors recognize this. They need to teach the course by conveying knowledge and providing experiences to people of all different experience levels, so the neophyte who’s willing to ask the simple questions may be more valuable than the ennui-filled expert who can’t express him or herself in a way that others can understand.  I had zero finance and accounting experience before HBS, but I got top marks in both subjects because I focused less on the minutiae and more on the broader implications of the financial or accounting situation.

2. Focus on relationships

I may sound like a broken record on this, but it’s a broken record that’s always correct.  The single most valuable resource you’ll get out of your time at HBS is a group of fellow alumni whom you can call on for knowledge, introductions, and counsel when you really need it.  It’s like having your own management consultancy, investment bank, and advisory board, all rolled into one.

With that end state in mind, you can work backwards to figure out what you should do while in school.  There are many ways to build relationships, but some are more lasting than others.  If you’re simply a good-time pal who’s good for a round of drinks, that’s nice but insufficient.  Would you recommend your drinking buddies for CEO jobs?  Would you look to your drinking buddies for advice on critical business decisions?

I’m not saying to eschew parties.  Good times, bachelor parties, debauched trips to Caribbean nations, all of these are fun activities that can help you get to know your classmates.  But you need to go beyond these surface activities and engage with your classmates in a way that conveys a positive long-term impression.  They may be grateful that you helped them to the toilet while they were alcohol poisoned, but that isn’t something they can cite to the President when she’s trying to decide whether or not to appoint you to her cabinet.

For more on developing relationships, check out this popular post on my other blog, Adventures in Capitalism:
The Secret, Foolproof, 4-Step Way To Get To Know The Important And Influential

3. Do something memorable

In a class of 880 people, it’s hard to stand out.  But standing out when you’re in school delivers disproportionate returns.  For example, I was elected one of the three co-presidents of the High Tech and New Media Club.  The position came with some fun perks, but it doesn’t have much long-term impact once you graduate (when’s the last time an employer asked about your student club activities)…with one key exception.

All the members of my class will always remember Chris Yeh as “the tech guy” or “the startup guy” for the rest of their careers.  It’s impossible to develop a personal relationship with all 879 classmates, but you can develop a reputation that allows you to reach all of them.

Investing a lot of your time and energy into doing something also has a major impact on building relationships (Point #2 above).  Whether it’s running a club, organizing a conference, or even working on a musical (all of which I did), it gives you a chance to demonstrate to others what you’re capable of, as well as helping you determine what they’re capable of.  Sure beats Scorpion Bowls at the Hong Kong for long-term value.

Conclusion:

All of this advice may sound simple, but it can have a major impact on your time at HBS.  Far too many people spend their time worrying about their schoolwork, dissipating their nights and weekends with shallow good times, and being content with the generic brand value of being a Harvard MBA.

Not that this approach precludes success; someday it might even help you become President.

Yet you’re most likely to maximize your time at HBS if you reallocate your time from academic worries and debauchery, and focus instead on a few memorable projects and activites that will give your classmates a chance to conclude, “He/she really knows how to get things done, and I like working with him/her.”

By admin | Posted in mba, relationships, social skills, success | Comments (0)

How should I prepare for my HBS interview?

March 18, 2009 – 12:10 am

I have got interview invitation from HBS. I would appreciate any sharing/experience from you on how best to prepare for this interview? Many thanks in advance.

The Harvard MBA says:

First of all, congratulations.  The numbers say that if you get an interview, you’ve got nearly a 50% chance of getting accepted.

Second, there are two things you should do to prepare for your interview.  This is a sales opportunity, and you should treat it as such.

1) Research the prospect (interviewer) and really understand their needs.

If you know who’s going to be interviewing you, really research them.  Google them.  Look them up on LinkedIn.  Check and see what others have written about them.  You should walk into your interview with a good sense of who that person is.

2) Understand your product (you), its unique selling proposition, and how it meets the needs of the prospect.

You need to take a long, deep, and honest look at yourself and figure out what you’re really about.  When I did my interview with HBS, I positioned myself as a true start-up guy, someone with a very different background from the typical consultants and bankers.  I emphasized that I could bring a different perspective to the classroom, including rare things like Internet experience (this was 1998) and the fact that I was a Creative Writing major in college, and had taught public speaking at Stanford.

Remember, what the school is looking for are people who will make the HBS experience more interesting and productive for their fellow students, and who will make loyal and generous alumni that build the school’s brand and contribute money to its coffers.

Figure out how you can help the school and your fellow students, and emphasize those points.  Getting into HBS isn’t about being worthy or winning some kind of “check off the box” contest–it’s about convincing your interviewer that HBS gets something unique and useful by admitting you.

By admin | Posted in interviews, mba, self-awareness | Comments (2)

Call-in Show #2, 3/13 at 5:30 PM Pacific (00:30 GMT/UTC)

March 13, 2009 – 2:50 pm

In honor of Friday the 13th, I’m holding another call-in show tonight at 5:30 PM Pacific (00:30 GMT/UTC).

To participate, call (218) 936-1100, code 94291.

To get the 5-minute warning Twitter, follow me here:
http://twitter.com/chrisyeh

By admin | Posted in conversation | Comments (0)

Ask the Harvard MBA…by telephone

March 9, 2009 – 5:52 am


image courtesy of vidiot

If you’ve ever wanted to talk with “The Harvard MBA”, now’s your chance.

I’m going to experiment with my own call-in show. Basically, I’ll dial into a free conference service while I’m driving, and chat with anyone who wants to call in.

Rather than picking any set dates, I’ll use Twitter to let folks know when they should dial in. Since I still haven’t figured out how to send timely tweets from my plain old dumb T-Mobile phone (the tweets seem to take about 5 hours to make it from SMS to Twitter), I’ll probably send out a tweet like this:

“Chris Yeh office hours start at 5:30 (5 minutes from now), and run for 30 minutes until 6 PM. Dial in now: 218-936-1100, code 94291″

If you want to participate, you should follow me on Twitter to make sure you get the notice about the next call-in session.  Unfortunately, this will also expose you to frequent updates about my life, but hey, no system is perfect.

If it goes well, I’d love to find a service that will combine free conference calling with automated recording and posting of the session as a podcast.

So if you’re tired of waiting for your question to be chosen, call me up during office hours and ask away!

By admin | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)

How can a small business owner attend HBS?

March 8, 2009 – 3:48 pm

“I am a small business owner who wants to attend HBS. How can I achieve this dream? How do I stand out from all the Wall Street people and what can I do about recommendations?”

The Harvard MBA says:

The good news is that all other things being equal, HBS loves to admit small business owners.  You help bring diversity and a different set of experiences than the army of consultants and bankers that make up the bulk of the class.

That being said, small business owners have a number of challenges to overcome.

1) As you’ve indicated, getting recommendations can be an issue.  The ideal recommendation is a direct manager who is also an HBS alum.  As a small business owner, you don’t have a direct manager.  On the other hand, you do have customers.  If you have any customers who are HBS alums, they would be a good choice.  Failing that, any customers who have a credible MBA can also serve.  You might also consider partners, mentors, and even employees (if you have older, more experienced people working for you).

2) A second major problem is what to do with your business while you’re in school.  As you know, owning a business is a pretty big time sink, as is business school.  If you end up burning the candle at both ends to do both, you’ll likely miss out on the networking and relationship building that is at the heart of the value of the Harvard MBA.

If you’re thinking about running your business while in school, I’d advise you to try an alternative instead.  HBS offers a number of executive education programs, including one specifically for small business owners (the OPM or Owner/President/Manager program).  This will let you get a taste of HBS in a concentrated period of time, rather than forcing you into a long-term commitment.  That way you can decide if you want to make the leap to the full-time MBA program.

By admin | Posted in answer, mba | Comments (0)