MMMnews - USC Marshall - University of Southern California

“mmm...marketing”
Continuing to Elevate the MMM Brand
Jeff Williams
Last year, our goal was to recruit 20 students to join
MMM’s Cohort 3. We succeeded. This year, we’ve set
our sights on 30, and I am confident that this goal too will
be achieved.
I am thrilled to be spearheading the marketing efforts for
our newest class, Cohort 4. I am working hard to define
and execute our marketing plan, basing my approach on
insights gathered from research, surveys and conversations
with many of you. And I have the luxury of marketing
a degree that is relevant, desired, and that keeps getting
better with every cohort!
Strategically, our focus will have a slight West Coast
bias, in order to better leverage our existing awareness
through name recognition, brand equity and regional relationships.
This is a short-term strategy that will help us to
build critical mass. Our national efforts will revolve
around creating awareness by tapping into the most relevant
medical organizations that have a pool of current or
likely physician executives. Tactically, we will rely on
local information sessions, industry events, trade publications
and direct mail.
As confident as we are in this marketing plan, its success
will depend on how effectively we leverage our greatest
marketing resource – You! No matter
how smart or relevant our marketing
plan is, ultimately you all are
the best marketers of this experience
for having gone through it. This
means that by being available to
speak with potential students about
the program’s benefits, you will
play a critical role in converting a
candidate’s interest into an application.
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
The Debate: MMM vs. MBA?
In your lifelong roles as marketers
of the MMM, whether speaking to a prospective student
or sharing what you learn at USC with your colleagues,
someone is bound to ask you about the difference between
an MMM and an MBA degree.
An MMM is a business degree in a healthcare context.
An MBA is a business degree in a business context. The
MMMnews
Editor’s Note
Sabine Lehmann
I am pleased to announce the launch
of the MMM Newsletter. The Master
of Medical Management Program came into existence at
USC almost two years ago to offer the tools of leadership,
vision, and strategy to physicians so they might
conquer the business of medicine. We view MMM students
and alumni as pioneers to lead change in the
healthcare system of today. The Marshall School of
Business is privileged to provide you with the education
to help you discover the responsibilities associated with
the role of the physician executive.
We are very excited to share with you the news and upcoming
events, faculty spotlights and articles, alumni
spotlights and articles, class notes, and the bookshelf
(books and articles recommended by the faculty) to enrich
your MMM experience. We hope that you will also
share more stories with us. We look forward to a long
and fulfilling relationship with all of you. Please enjoy
reading the first MMM Newsletter and let us know what
you think!
principles taught in an MBA program are the same taught
in the MMM program. The primary difference is that in
an MBA program, these principles are applied under the
assumption of a free market economy to firms generally
Average Salary By Degree for CMOs, VPs of Med. Affairs
and Medical Directors
$214,000
$207,000
$174,000
MMM MBA MPH
Source: Physician Executive Compensation, Cejka & Co. St. Louis, 1999
in mature industries that face
minimal government intervention
and relatively manageable
legal constraints. The MMM,
conversely, applies these principles
to the unique attributes of
health care, including constant
changes in industry structure,
intense government intervention
and severe liability exposure.
Another, and perhaps more tangible,
difference between an
MMM and an MBA is that on average, MMM graduates
earn more than MBA graduates in the healthcare industry.
(See graph.)
While being sensitive to your limited availability, I look
forward to working with you over the coming months in
the creation of Cohort 4. □
May 2003
ISSUE 1
NEWS
March Welcome Dinner
March Social Event
Cohort 2 Business Plans
FEATURES
MMM at ACPE New York
Farewell Katherine
DEPARTMENTS
Faculty Spotlights
Faculty Article
Alumni Spotlight
Alumni Article
Student Forum
Class Notes
Bookshelf
Upcoming Events
Event Calendar
CONTACT
Staff
Faculty
Students
Alumni
LINKS
BlackBoard
Job Postings
USC Bookstore
Marshall Mall
Trojan Family Magazine
HSC Weekly
USC Health
Prospective Students

MMM Welcomes Students and Alumni
Katherine Gfeller and Kristin Hartman
Master of Medical Management Cohort 3
The recent March residential session got off to a lively
start on Friday, March 14 th with a welcome dinner for
alumni and students of Cohorts 2 and 3. Guests first enjoyed
cocktails on the patio outside the Davidson Conference
Center and then dinner in the Conference Center’s
Vineyard Room.
MMM faculty and staff were happy to welcome back
more than half of the Cohort 1 class for Alumni Weekend:
Ash Gokli, Bill Mills and daughter Laura, Walt
Mills, Dick Morin, Kevin Ruggles and wife Sharon
Haessley, Marvin Stein, and Rich Wyderski. In addition
to students and alumni, several faculty members attended
the dinner, including Delores Conway, Merle Hopkins,
Rex Kovacevich, Dave Logan, and Bob Myrtle.
MMM Faculty Advisor, Bob Myrtle, kicked off the evening
by welcoming Cohort 3 and introducing alumnus
Dick Morin, who spoke
about implementing the
business plan he developed
as part of his
MMM degree: a hospitalist
service at Bryan
LGH Medical Center in
Lincoln, Nebraska.
Harris Levin and Dick Morin at the
MMM Welcome Dinner
Dave Logan, Associate
Dean and Executive Director
of the Office of Executive Development, welcomed
the incoming class and spoke about the future of MMM at
USC.
We all had a good laugh
when Dave presented Jim
Florey, a Cohort Two
student, with an award for
"unparalleled MMM
recruitment efforts while
under anesthesia,” which
referred to Jim highly
promoting the MMM
program to his surgeon
just before knee surgery. Thanks, again, Jim! □
Dave Logan speaking at the
Welcome Dinner
MMM at ACPE
Dave Logan
Sabine Lehmann, Michael Patmas, and I recently
attended the Spring New York Institute of the
American College of Physician Executives
(ACPE) to present the USC MMM program to
their members. We made two presentations, one
to many of the newer ACPE physicians, and one
to people who have almost completed their
ACPE courses.
I learned several things at this Institute. First,
the combination of an MMM housed in a business school
and with an entrepreneurial focus, like at USC, is very
compelling to doctors. They often exclaimed, “You mean
I leave with a business plan ready to go?!”
Second, I learned that hearing from one of our graduates
makes a real difference to current students and potential
applicants alike. In his presentation, Michael Patmas
(Cohort 1) didn’t emphasize what he learned. Instead, he
spoke of how the program changed him and how these
changes have resulted in significant career opportunities
for him.
Third, I discovered that successfully marketing this degree
to new students requires a partnership between faculty,
alumni, staff, and current students. Going forward,
I’m eagerly anticipating working with all of you to build
the brand equity of the MMM. □
Also, I included in my presentation a summary of the position
paper that Cohort 2 drafted. Stay tuned! We'll
send copies to each of you when it is finished.
Dave Logan is Associate Dean and Executive Director of the
Office of Executive Development at the Marshall School of
Business. He teaches in the Marshall MBA, the Master of Medical
Management, and in Executive Development programs.
Farewell
Katherine Gfeller
On May 9, I will be leaving the Office of Executive Development
to pursue a career in fund-raising with USC’s
College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. It has been an
honor to work with all of you in launching the USC Master
of Medical Management Program. Watching your
accomplishments as entrepreneurs and participating in
your learning process has been extremely gratifying. I
hope that our paths will cross again, and I wish you every
success in your role as physician executives. Thank you!
Return to Table of Contents

Cohorts 2 and 3 Socialize
Moroccan-Style
Kristin Hartman
The MMM March Social Event was held at the Figueroa Hotel
To round out the recent March residential session, students
from Cohorts 2 and 3 joined MMM faculty and
staff for some well-deserved fun. The Moroccan-style
festivities celebrated Cohort 2’s descent into graduation
and Cohort 3’s take off into the MMM program.
The event was held on Thursday, March 20 th at the historic
Hotel Figueroa. A well-known building in downtown
Los Angeles, the Hotel Figueroa mixes Moroccan
flavor with traditional 1920’s Spanish charm. An outdoor
deck and sparkling pool offered guests the perfect place
to enjoy the early evening breeze.
The revelry commenced with the serving of electric-blue
“Moroccan Margaritas” and the playing of live classical
Spanish guitar by the pool.
As students chatted with one another, enjoying a break
from classes, Flamenco dancers appeared and began the
rhythmic and passionate steps of traditional flamenco.
Their fiery movements and heated song enticed guests to
get up and join in the fun.
Following this performance, guests were ushered into an
elegant Moroccan inspired dining room, where costumed
waiters served a “family-style” Moroccan dinner. The
menu included a sweet chicken dish, Bastilla, with
chicken baked in filo dough and served with powdered
sugar and cinnamon. Marinated eggplant, lamb and couscous
followed. Dinner concluded with traditional tea and
a Moroccan honey pastry.
The students, flushed with drink and pride in their
achievements, received a special surprise on the bus ride
home. Each member of Cohort 2 received the traditional
MMM graduation gift, a golf shirt reading Doctors of
USC. Similarly, Cohort 3 members each received a USC
baseball cap, the traditional gift to welcome new students
to the MMM program.
As the night’s festivities faded into memory, the members
of Cohort 2 and Cohort 3, respectively, were one step
closer to achieving a long-sought goal and one step nearer
to making a new dream a reality. □
MS, MD, MMM, FACP, CPE, FACPE is a
board-certified internist, clinician-educator and
physician-executive with extensive clinical,
teaching, research and management experience.
He is the director of the Providence Ambulatory
Care and Education (PACE) Center in Oregon,
where he has practiced since June 2000. In addition
to his Medical Directorship at the PACE
Center, Michael is a Clinical Assistant Professor
at Oregon Health and Science University in the Department
of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine
and Geriatrics. He also serves on the Facilities Planning
Steering Committee at Providence Medical Center and is
actively involved with several committees at the Providence
Health Plan, including the Clinical Review Committee
and the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.
Michael has also taught at the University of Nevada
School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania
School of Medicine, and has run a successful private
practice.
Michael is an avid skier and recently completed the Professional
Ski Instructors of America Level 3 Alpine Certification
Exam at Mount Hood Meadows, Oregon. He is
happily married to his wife Elyssa and has three children:
Ariana, 14, Amanda, 9, and George, 7.
Continued on page 9
Michael A. Patmas
This article originally appeared in the spring 2003 issue
of The Professional Skier, published by the Professional
Ski Instructors of America.
Instructors—more than just about anyone else who provides
a customer service role—have a keen understanding
of behavioral science...the study of the vast landscape of
human action and reaction. With the publication of an
article in the prestigious Harvard Business Review (June
2001), it would seem that academia is now delving into
the connections between good customer service and what
makes people tick. The article “Want to Perfect Your
Company’s Service? Use Behavioral Science,” by Richard
Chase and Sriram Dasu of the University of Southern
California’s Marshall School of Business, carefully details
recent research that led the authors to draw storng
conclusions about how to leave people with positive, lasting
impresssions of a product or service.
Snowsports instructors have subscribed to a number of
these “memorable” principles for years, but ski schools
might want to think about formally incorporating some of
them into their customer service training. While PSIA-
AASI’s Core Concepts manual covers customer service
in great detail, I’d like to suggest that the information
passed along by Chase and Dasu.
Alumni Spotlight
Alumni Article
Return to Table of Contents

Cohort 2 Presents their Business Plans
Bill Crookston
Final Business Plan Presentations were made on the first
Sunday of the March
session; the docs got
ready to venture into
Professor Bill Crookston with entrepreneurial
protégé Marcos Iglesias
entrepreneurland by
presenting to faculty
judges and their peers.
It was thrilling to see
these students standing
on the bridge they had
built between MD and
MMM. Their medical
training was blossoming before our eyes, and students
and faculty alike eagerly anticipated the fruit it would
bear.
The array of subjects
and approaches presented
was as varied as
the doctors’ backgrounds.
Most students’
business plans
were viable and will be
realized outside of the
From left: Jeff Huser, Verni Jogaratnam,
Dave Civic, and Marcos Iglesias
classroom. I felt like a proud father or midwife at the
births of my students’ children.
A high note of the presentations came when Ash Gokli
spoke about the implementation of his business plan
within the real world. A student from our first class
(Cohort 1), Ash came back to Troy for the MMM program’s
first reunion and to inspire the students of Cohort
2 to make their business plans a successful reality.
Currently, Ash is updating and modernizing his ER and is
beginning to circulate smart cards, which store medical
histories, to seniors within his community to allow for
shorter admission wait times. People within Ash’s community
are amazed that wait times within the ER are now
even shorter than at a typical fast food restaurant. Ash
has successfully transformed his unit into a prominent
profit center of his hospital and continues to effectively
help the sick and injured to heal.
Ash’s presentation was inspiring and made the value of
each student’s MMM degree tangible. If any of the student’s
plans get to even p = .5 success, then we will all be
happy to share in Ash’s improvement in emergency delivery.
His good humor and smile indicated to the soon to
be graduates (Cohort 2), as well as the newcomers
(Cohort 3), that their ability to improve their lives, careers
and communities could be achieved through the entrepreneurial
landscape.
This is truly a wonderful journey that each student has
undertaken and I’m so happy to have helped guide them
through it. □
Delores A. Conway
is an Associate Professor of Information & Operations
Management specializing in statistics.
Her areas of focus include multivariate methods,
legal statistics, financial models and real
estate economics. Her most recent research
project, which measured the effects of green
space on property values, was featured in the
Spring 2002 Marshall Alumni Magazine. In
addition, Delores has published a series of articles on statistical
methods for legal cases involving employment
discrimination. She serves on two national committees of
the American Statistical Association and is an associate
editor for the Journal of the American Statistical Association.
She has consulted with companies on the application
of statistics for medical intensive care, college enrollments,
security options, health care systems and environmental
pollution.
In 1999, Delores received USC's highest honor, the University
Associates Award for Excellence in teaching. She
was also named a Faculty Fellow for USC's Center for
Excellence in Teaching.
Delores attended Stanford University where she received
her M.S. and Ph.D. She received her B.S. in mathematics
and B.S. in computer methods and statistics from the University
of Wisconsin.
Merle W. Hopkins
is a Professor of Clinical Accounting at the
Leventhal School of Accounting at the University
of Southern California (1995 to present),
where he also served as the Assistant Dean and
as an Assistant Professor.
Merle currently teaches financial accounting,
managerial accounting and entrepreneurial finance
in the USC Master of Medical Management
program. Former engagements include Amgen,
Security Pacific Bank, Union Bank, and several assignments
with the USC Office of Executive Development.
In 2002, he became the Regional Director of Beta Alpha
Psi (the national honor fraternity for financial information
professionals) for the Western and Northwestern Region.
Regional Directors sit on the national Board of Directors
and collectively set the course for the future development
for this organization. Merle is also on the USC Accounting
Circle Board of Directors.
Merle received his Ph. D. in Business Administration
(Accounting) from Michigan State University, his
M.S. in Accountancy from Western Michigan University,
and his B.A. in History from Western Michigan University.
Faculty Spotlights
Return to Table of Contents

The Physician Executive—The Emergence of New Leaders for New Times
Robert C. Myrtle and James Florey
In the words of Goffee and Jones, “Why should anyone
be led by you?” It might be easy to say that “based on the
performance of our healthcare organizations so far, perhaps
it is time for a new set of leaders, with a new vision
and a new set of values” (Goffee and Jones, HBR, Sept.
2000). But why is changing the leadership the answer?
How can the physician executive make a difference?
Weren’t physicians in charge not too many years ago? So
what is so new or different now that only a physician executive
can fill the void? What is his or her value proposition
to a healthcare
organization?
executives with the knowledge and abilities to design
learning organizations, to transform organizational cultures
and systems, to encourage and model entrepreneurial
behaviors, and to empower organizational participants
to respond to these transformational changes.
So how do physician executives add value to healthcare
organizations? Their training in medicine provides a deep
understanding of the processes underlying illnesses and
diseases. Their training and experience in management
provides a foundation
in the means and
methods of organizing
cost efficient, effective
processes. Their training
in leadership enhances
their capacity
to construct, convey,
and implement a passionately
held, compelling
shared vision with integrity. Their ability to lead and
inspire systems of health care providers is empowered by
the legitimacy of their MMM training and management
experience and by the credibility of their having practiced
medicine. Perhaps the greatest value added by physician
executives is their shared respect for the integrity of the
healthcare system as a whole, a respect for the needs of
all stakeholders, and a truly fiduciary perspective of being
the fortunate stewards of societal trust. The MMM degree
provides this framework for integrating medicine,
management, leadership, and entrepreneurship.
“[The physician executive] offers a unique set of
skills drawing from both medical expertise and
business savvy in order to confront the changing
nature of healthcare head on.”
While it may be an
overstatement to suggest
that the physician
executive is the only
one right for this job,
certainly he/she offers
a unique set of skills,
drawing from both medical expertise and business savvy
in order to confront the changing nature of health care
head on. The American healthcare environment is shifting
rapidly, requiring the transformation of the way we
approach health care. For example, fifty years ago we
unraveled the basic structure of DNA. A few days ago,
we essentially mapped the genetic code for humans. How
these events will shape health care is as of yet undetermined,
but surely the healthcare environment will be
emergent, transformational, evolutionary, and non-linear.
Exploiting these transformational events will require
leaders with novel insights, an entrepreneurial spirit, and
the adaptative learning to apply diverse leadership, management
and clinical skills to roles that we have yet to
envision. The physician executive certainly has these
skills and more to assist him/her in leading the efforts to
challenge and redefine America’s healthcare services,
organizations and policies.
One must acknowledge that health care is moving towards
an inflection point—a point beyond our current
“stable state,” which is in fact quite unstable and inefficient
in meeting the demands of the public. In his book,
Beyond the Stable State, Donald Schon points out that in
transformational times, the ability to critically reflect on
and challenge our “theories in use” is an essential factor
to understanding changes that test our “traditional view of
the world.” He also notes that creating learning organizations—developing
learning networks and learning systems—is
an integral part of this process. Dave Logan
extends this concept to learning-thinking-teaching organizations
at USC. The MMM degree provides physician
That last element of entrepreneurship may be the catalytic
ingredient that allows physician executives to recognize
the opportunities that reside within the complex and chaotic
inflection point that health care is moving toward.
Entrepreneurship may also provide these men and women
with the courage and skills to pursue these emerging opportunities—opportunities
that remain unrecognizable to
those outside the realm of the physician executive. □
Robert C. Myrtle is the Faculty Advisor for the Master of Medical
Management Program. His key research interests are interorganizational
relations, strategic decision making, and organizational
and management effectiveness. He holds a joint appointment
with the School of Policy, Planning, and Development
and the School of Gerontology.
James Florey is a MMM Cohort 2 Alumnus. He is Principal in
charge of marketing and strategic development for Healthcare
Receivable Solutions, Oakland, CA, and the former CFO for
Primary Pediatric Medical Group, Inc., where he still practices
general pediatrics and child behavior and development.
Faculty Article
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“[I will] transform my organization’s culture
and take my company from good to great.”
Sherif Abdou
Cohort 2
Colin Scher (Cohort 3) on MMM Session I
From talking to Cohort 3, the journey to USC and the
MMM program has been a very different experience for
each one of us. We have come from different countries,
“The infectious
energy and vital hope so
tangibly present in the
MMM cohort is
amazing”
different specialties and practice
across the entire spectrum of
U.S. Healthcare. What has
united us in a very real and immediate
fashion is a strong desire
to change from being reactive
to proactive. We all want to
change the healthcare system in
one way or another, for the overall betterment of the patients,
the physicians and the entire system. Most of us
feel rather frustrated with our loss of professional stature
and dignity, as well as the often meaninglessly bureaucratic
way in which our patients are forced to jump
through the hoops of administrative protocol.
My physician friends back home are disillusioned, angry
and bewildered when they compare their professional
goals in medical school with their actual medical practice
lives. They see very little upside for the future.
The infectious energy and vital hope so tangibly present
in the MMM cohort is amazing. We all feel that we are
choosing to be different, and will not accept the status
quo. This is wonderfully empowering. Our learning
curve has been very steep (perhaps because we started
with so little business knowledge!) thanks to the thirst for
information encouraged by the strong faculty. We have
found common ground and purpose, and we have already
changed. The next year promises to be an unforgettable
and life-changing experience.
“I feel that session one has met and exceeded
my expectations. Best of all, I feel
energized by the faculty and my fellow students.”
Jason White
Cohort 3
“I feel in the context of my organization,
the program has given me valuable tools to
excel as a leader. The program has helped
me grow new opportunities and has
changed how I view myself.”
Jeff Huser
Cohort 2
Student Forum
Suzana Makowski (Cohort 3)
on Physician Executives
I think that given a transition in medicine, incorporating
business education into medical “I think that given a
school education should be a necessity in the transition in medicine,
future. This does not mean that each physician
incorporating business
will become an executive. Instead it perhaps
will help foster a new career track: that of the
education into medical
physician executive, to round out the academic school education should
tracks of clinician-educators, physicianresearchers.
The time has come. It also does not future..”
be a necessity in the
mean that as soon as one has business training
that one is a physician executive. Just as an MBA does
not guarantee high level management and leadership
status. On the other hand, I am not certain that 10-20
years of clinical experience is needed.
I propose that this track is regarded and respected as are
the other tracks in medical education and professional
development, and rewarded accordingly. We need not
have leaders emerge from the most prolific lab-bound
physician researchers. Instead, those with vision for
teams, for the qualities we have learned about here,
should be identified and fostered in their development as
clinicians and physicians. Just as research mentors are
found for those interested in that track, physicianexecutive
mentors should help foster careers and experience
for younger physicians interested in leadership.
Also, these efforts should be rewarded.
Joe Hopkins (Cohort 3) on Leadership
The ideal leader is a visionary who effectively communicates
an organization’s mission and goals, and
motivates others to excel in serving these objectives.
S/he acquires power and respect
through competence, skill and effectiveness,
and then gives this power away to others by
developing their abilities and empowering them
to act. S/he is fair, gives constructive feedback,
celebrates victories, awards credit and recognition,
and insists on high performance. S/he attracts
a talented team and spurs them to greatness;
s/he generates excitement. S/he is well
informed about external trends, threats and opportunities,
as well as internal strengths and
weaknesses. S/he has a passion for learning; s/
he listens well. S/he foresees the larger sense of
the future and develops long range strategic plans. S/he
takes calculated risks with new ideas, but modifies these
promptly if they prove to be wrong. S/he is never entirely
satisfied, knowing that what works today will fall behind
tomorrow. S/he manages change effectively. S/he knows
her/his own strengths and weakness, exploits the former
and improves the latter. S/he develops a repertoire of
management skills and tailors those s/he uses to the situation.
S/he maintains balance in life, has fun, and protects
time for family, friends, personal growth and renewal,
and care of physical health.
“[The ideal leader]
acquires power and
respect through competence,
skill and effectiveness,
and then gives
this power away to
others by
developing their abilities
and
empowering them to
act.”
Return to Table of Contents

Class Notes
Cohort 1:
Michael Patmas
I'm currently a candidate for two really great jobs. One is an endowed department Chairmanship, the other is a CEO
position. I should know within a few months if I get one of these jobs. I would not be a candidate for either without
my USC MMM degree.
But for something really exciting, I just passed the Professional Ski Instructors of America Level 3 Alpine Certification
Exam on April 19, 2003 at Mount Hood Meadows, Oregon. This is the highest certification level given by PSIA
and it is a very rigorous and demanding exam with only about a 5-10% pass rate (so I'm told). It was particularly
gratifying for me because I'm 51 years old and have a bad knee. Also, I failed it 3 times before! So, I'm kinda like a
bad rash, I just keep coming back!
I’d like Dr. Dasu and Chase to know that they are now famous in ski school locker rooms (aka après ski bars). Maybe
I can cultivate some private lesson requests out of this? See, I learned a lot at USC-MMM – entrepreneurial thinking
at its best!
Do you have a personal or professional
announcement you would like to share?
Cohort 2:
Marilee Sipski and Tom Lammertse
Our daughter Meredith has decided to attend Johns Hopkins University; Katherine at MMM will be interested to know
that her hometown won out over USC. It was a very hard decision after all the wonderful things she heard about Marshall
from her mom and dad and the excellent opportunities available to her at Marshall. She has decided to be a Neuroscience
Major with the Entrepreneurial Studies Program at Hopkins as her minor. I guess the apples really don't fall
too far from the tree.
Since we returned, we completed our URAC Accreditation for one of the subsidiaries I [Marilee] manage quality for
(Network) and we are in the process for the on-site review of the other (UM and Workers' Compensation). I'll finally
be able to unwind a bit when this is over, I hope.
Tom and I and all the kids just returned from our Paris vacation on April 26th.
Then, I attended the ACPE Vanguard meeting in New York. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to attend an ACPE
meeting so close to home. USC was also represented by USC MMM Alumni, Sherif Abdou and Michael Patmas.
Cohort 3:
Colin Scher
Email us with your news at
mmmnews@marshall.usc.edu
Colin’s daughter is graduating this Spring from the University of Michigan. Congratulations!
Return to Table of Contents

Book Shelf
The Cycle of Leadership:
How Great Leaders Teach Their Companies to Win
Noel M. Tichy and Nancy Cardwell,
Harper Business; 1st edition (August 20, 2002)
ISBN: 0066620562
Noel Tichy shows how great companies and their leaders develop their business knowledge into "teachable
points of view," spend a great portion of their time giving their learnings to others, sharing best practices, and
how they in turn learn and receive business ideas/knowledge from the employees they are teaching.
Have you read a good book recently?
Preparing for Evil
Ian Mitroff and Murat C. Alpaslan
Harvard Business Review (April 2003)
Mitroff and Alpaslan describe their more than 20 years of
research into crisis management strategies. Their findings
are troubling--despite all of the attention on organizational
crises they find that organizations continue to be
unprepared. With healthcare organizations emerging as
one of the key elements in the "War Against Terrorism"
the lessons and insights from Mitroff and Alpaslan are
worth reflecting upon.
The Innovator's Dilemma: When New
Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail
Clayton M. Christensen
Harvard Business School Press; (June 1997)
ISBN: 0875845851
In this revolutionary bestseller, Harvard professor
Clayton M. Christensen says outstanding
companies can do everything right and still lose
their market leadership, or worse, disappear
completely. And he not only proves what he
says, he tells others how to avoid a similar fate.
Email us at
mmmnews@marshall.usc.edu
and tell us about it.
Want to Perfect Your Company's Service?
Use Behavioral Science.
Richard B. Chase and Sriram Dasu
Harvard Business Review (June 2001)
Chase and Dasu offer some very practical notions about
what service oriented organizations can do to satisfy their
customers. As health care becomes more "commoditylike"
one feature that can make one provider stand out
from another is "service quality". Becoming more
"service oriented" begins by asking some very basic questions.
Right from the Start
Dan Ciampa, Michael Watkins
Harvard Business School Press; (July 1999)
ISBN: 0875847501
Have you recently been handed a new leadership
challenge? Are you about to start a new
job, or are you expecting a big promotion? With
today's surge in start-ups, spin-offs, change initiatives,
and reorganizations, chances are that
you'll be in a position to accept a leadership role
sometime soon. Before you do, let Right from
the Start show you how to balance the tensions
and challenges inherent in any leadership transition.
It will prepare you for the often treacherous
task of navigating an organization's strategy,
politics, and culture so that you can
smoothly and effectively get to work on your
new agenda.
Return to Table of Contents

Patmas continued from page 3
Principle 1:
Stick the Landing
As someone who works in the service industry, you’ve
likely heard the old saw that first impressions count.
You’ve probably also been told that every moment is a
“moment of truth” when it comes to working with customers.
But are some moments truer – that is, more important
– than others? Business research has revealed
that customers tend to remember and judge experiences
most often by their final impression. While it certainly
doesn’t hurt to make a good first impression with your
class, Chase and Dasu argue that it’s even more important
to go out on a strong note. In combination with the notion
that the human mind tends to store memories as a series
of images (and replays them in a form that’s more akin to
snapshots than movies) this concept strongly supports the
idea that finishing a lesson on a high note will leave the
guest with a positive final impression.
The importance of the finale is something successful
filmmakers have understood for years: conclude the story
unceremoniously and people feel cheated out of the ending
they’ve been anticipating; craft a strong ending for
your work and you leave an indelible positive impression
burned into your audience’s memory. The same “big finish”
strategy work when you’re dealing with students on
the slopes. Because your students’ most vivid memory
will likely come from the final part of the lesson, be sure
to try something special at the end: stick the landing!
How many instructors do you know who finish a lesson
abruptly and rush off to the next lineup or the locker
room? As you can imagine, they’re missing a great opportunity
to really cinch the connection with the student.
Before parting ways with my students, I try to make to
last run really special by choosing terrain that will anchor
the skills my students have worked on throughout the lesson
and allow them to savor their progress. I also use
goodbyes as opportunities to connect with each student.
Handshakes and works of encouragement are a good
send-off for most, but sometimes hugs and high fives are
appropriate if the chemistry between your and your students
allows for this.
There are many ways to make the end of a lesson special,
and it’s just a matter of using your creativity. One thing
I’ve found that leaves a big impression is homework.
When clients are wrapping things up, I’ll write out some
tips on a little notepad and hand them out as an assignment.
With a class full of kids, I’ll finish up by asking
everyone to put their pole tips together and then raise
them high into the air for a Three Musketeers-style salute.
With their poles in the air I have the children say, “All for
one and all for me.”
Principle 2:
First things first
As with the tendency to clearly remember the last things
Continued Articles
that happen to them, people generally hold onto the negative
aspects of feedback if it is given at the end of the discussion.
The implication in the context of a snowsports
lesson is clear: if you need to point out something the
skier is dong wrong, be sure to conclude by emphasizing
the positive result of the changes you’re suggesting.
From the student’s perspective, discovering areas in need
of improvement and a lack of specific skills can be unnerving
at any time during the lesson. Considering this,
it’s preferable to deal with questions of improvement and
correction earlier rather than later. There is strong evidence
to suggest that customers recall experiences in a
more positive light if the “bad news” is delivered early.
A very vivid example of the wrong way to deliver criticism
comes from my own experience as a ski student.
Years before becoming an instructor, I took a group bump
lesson at a Colorado ski resort. Near the end of the lesson
I skied around a mogul, slammed hard into its trough, and
crashed. The instructor immediately pointed me out to
my fellow students and said, “You see that? That’s exactly
what I don’t want you to do.”
It was incredibly harsh and certainly beyond the pale with
regard to what most of the instructors I know would say,
but that incident is what I call a prime example of creating
a negative experience that a student can’t forget. In
fact, the embarrassment and pain I felt at that moment is
all I remember from that day.
People don’t want or need to be told that their skiing is
bad. They just want to know how to be better. Word
choice is very important to me, and during my lessons I
will typically say something along the lines of, “I see a lot
of things going well here, and there are a few things you
can do to improve on what you’re already accomplishing.”
Many people perceive criticism as a negative experience,
so why not simply turn your observations into
thoughtfully worded suggestions for positive change?
Think of constructive criticism as a necessary evil, like
broccoli, and the good news as something delectable, like
chocolate. If you’ve identified things to work on earlier
in the lesson, those bites of broccoli will be forgotten by
the time the student’s finishing up with a chocolate sundae.
Principle 3:
Criticism and Reward
Step metaphorically into your students’ boots by asking
yourself two questions: (1) Do you prefer criticism continually
throughout a lesson or just once? (2) Would you
rather receive a generous helping of positive reinforcement
multiple times over or just once? In an ideal world
you could give lessons in which you’d never have to dole
out any critiques, but that’s not a reasonable proposition.
To put things in perspective, think about how you feel
when you attend a clinic led by a hotshot examiner.
continued on page 10
Return to Table of Contents

Patmas continued from page 9
If you’re anything like me, you probably have some concerns
when you head out to a clinic or an exam. Whenever
I attend a clinic there’s more than a little trepidation
involved, and that’s only partly because I’m typically 20
years older than the average instructor. For me, there’s
always a concern in the back of my brain that I could end
up dying during the lesson. I often think to myself, does
the examiner know CPR? While they’re probably not
necessarily worried about the same things I am, your students
are likely to have concerns of their own. They’re
certainly going to expect, and perhaps dread, that some of
the feedback will center on areas where they need to improve.
The research cited in Chase and Dasu’s article suggests
that it’s better to make suggestions for improvement in
the beginning, rather than scatter it throughout the lesson.
Conversely (and not surprisingly), positive comments
from the instructor are a good thing when they’re sprinkled
throughout a lesson. While the article doesn’t discuss
the type of tone to use when you’re delivering input,
it’s obvious that speaking to the student in a calm, patient,
encouraging voice will help put him or her at ease. People
also have affirmative memories of experiences if the
positive reinforcement is dispensed frequently, so share
your insights early on and deliver compliments many
times along the way.
Principle 4:
Have it Your Way
Most folks like to have a choice. The simple act of allowing
students to decide on a lift or a run can immediately
create a favorable experience within their overall
memory of a lesson. Bear in mind, of course, that you
need to be sure that the specific lift or run will provide a
safe environment in light of your students’ abilities.
When leading a group, I typically ask them to let me
know what they’re up for. “What would you like to work
on?” “What kind of terrain would you like to see?” “Who
do you want to ride with on the chair?” “Tell me when
you want to take a break.” While Chase and Dasu talk
about giving some control over to the customer to build a
commitment to future experience, I’d say that it’s just as
important to forge the student’s commitment to simply
stay in the lesson and keep his or her mind on what’s going
on.
In your teaching experience you’ve probably learned just
how easy it is to “lose” a student. I’m not talking about
misplacing them geographically; I’m talking about just
holding someone’s attention. Sometimes a student will
feel that things aren’t going exactly as planned and will
mentally “check out” while waiting for the lesson to be
over. Giving choices is one way to keep the students
commitment and to keep his or her head in the lesson.
Beyond empowering the student with options, choice
builds self-confidence. A fascinating study cited in
Chase and Dasu’s article revealed that patients perceived
less pain when having blood drawn simply when allowed
Continued Articles
to choose the arm to be used for the draw! Therefore,
give your students some choices and chances are they’ll
enjoy the lesson even more.
Principle 5:
Rituals Count
Do you suppose there are any rituals your customers
might be anticipating during their lessons? According to
research, it turns out that the customer’s expectations
with regard to rituals can have a significant effect on how
they perceive their lessons. In case you haven’t given
any thought to such things, Chase and Dasu’s findings
(backed by research from others in the same field) in the
Harvard Business Review are irrefutable: ritual does matter.
The power of tradition bears this out. It’s why we
throw rice at the end of the wedding ceremony, why there
are closing ceremonies at the Olympics, and why we always
have a banquet the last night of PSIA’s National
Academy.
The discussion of rituals brings to mind something I experienced
many years ago before I started teaching skiing.
A marvelous teacher at Snowbird named Judy Fuller
has a couple of unique rituals that really stick with students.
The first ritual is her spot-on impression of the
Wicked Witch of the West’s cackle from The Wizard of
Oz, and she uses it to great effect. While leading a group
down a steep pitch in powder, she’ll eek out this spinetingling
sound and you suddenly have an irrepressible
urge to follow her. Without fail her students burst into
laughter and take off after her. The routine creates an
atmosphere of lightheartedness and celebration that’s impossible
to forget.
Her other ritual involves ceremoniously handing out ski
area pins to each student at the end of the class. Every
year I’d fly out from New Jersey to Utah to ski with her,
and I’d always look forward to the act of receiving my
pin. Only now does it make sense why it mattered so
much: Judy always finished the lesson with a very powerful
and positive rite of passage for her students. In fact, it
was the culmination of my experiences skiing with her
that inspired me to become an instructor myself. (And
it’s no surprise that the Snowbird Ski School recently
gave Judy an award for having the most repeat customers.)
Do you distinguish your lessons with one or two meaningful
rituals? If not, maybe it’s time to start.
Conclusion
It doesn’t take a controlled study to recognize the basics
of human behavior or the merits of customer service, particularly
in the realm of snowsports. Even so, it’s gratifying
to hear others confirm what we’ve known all along:
that keeping guests happy and helping them develop good
memories of their time with us will encourage them to
come back for more. As we know (and this particular
study confirms), good customer service is simply
academic. □
Return to Table of Contents

Cohort 2 Graduation
Upcoming Events
Cohort 2 will participate in Commencement activities on Friday, May 16, 2003.
The University Commencement Ceremony will take place at the USC Alumni Memorial Park at 9:00 am. Ruth J. Simmons,
President of Brown University, and former President of Smith College, is the 2003 Keynote speaker.
Following the University Commencement, MMM graduates are invited to the MMM Commencement Luncheon and
Marshall School Graduation Reception.
MMM graduates will be awarded with their diplomas at the Marshall School Graduate Commencement Ceremony to
be held in the Shrine Auditorium at 6:00 pm. Kent Kresa, Chairman and CEO, Northrop Grumman Corp. will be the
Keynote Speaker.
Cohort 3 Session II
Cohort 3 will return to the USC campus July 11-19, 2003 for Session II: Managing Operations. We look forward to
seeing them soon!
Event Calendar
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
May
2003
11 12 13
Research Seminar
DNA damage
responses in human
cells
323.669.4110
14
IGM 7 th Annual
Symposium
The role of genes in the
physiology of heart
disease
323.442.2766
15 16 17
COHORT 2
COMMENCEMENT
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Matt Ridley discusses
his book Nature via
Nurture: Genes,
Experience, & What
Makes Us Human
323.442.2766
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
See June & July
Return to Table of Contents

Event Calendar
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2
Demographics
Workshop:
How Balanced is
California’s Growth
3 4 5 6 7
213.821.1576
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
June
2003
22
Louise Reichlin &
Dancers
Bing Theater
4pm-5:30pm
213.385.1171
29 30
23 24
Fannie Flagg reads and
signs Standing in the
Rainbow
Doheney Library
213.740.3270
25 26 27 28
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Cohort 3 Session II
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Cohort 3 Session II
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
July
2003
27 28 29 30 31
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