I think it means you have achieved a few things. Perhaps it signifies you have achieved a nerd level that could cause eyes to roll. More importantly, it probably means that those faculty relationships and lessons were lasting and useful in how you think differently with the MBA.
Here is a story from last week, when I caught up with EMBA 2009 graduate Justin Calhoun, who is a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch in Memphis, helping ERISA administrators customize compliant DV/DB plans. In an information session, we were making the point that your faculty and class peers in the EMBA program become the voices in your head. Justin said he could underscore that point in an unusual way, and that he’d send me a picture of his car license plate. Here it is, and let’s see if you get it (answer at bottom, but don’t cheat!):
Justin is referring to the four fundamental components of a sustainable competitive advantage, which are:
Valuable
Rare
Inimitable
Organized
Next time you see Justin in Memphis, honk once if you remember VRIO and twice if you want him to stop and tell you how he uses this invaluable lesson from his strategy class at Vanderbilt to help his clients every day.
