Update from the Chancellor – How many tennis balls fit in a Boeing 747?

Sascha’s Summer Summary :

• Guilty Pleasures
• Member’s Only
• Tennis Balls and 747s
• The MUST Read

For me, summer vacation is the time I can finally catch up on my reading list.

Please don’t get me wrong; I also read during the working months. If it’s not for work, it’s fiction—space operas, necromancers & zombies, and meta-humans—a temporary escape from the challenges of the workday, without resorting to dumbing myself down through TV binging or Instagramming all night.

Before you condemn me for pointing out that too much TV and social media is bad for you, trust me, I love binge-watching and slipping down the social media rabbit hole, too. But knowing it’s bad for you has instilled a control mechanism in me. Both are guilty pleasures, so when I do indulge, I enjoy it even more. (PM me for binge recommendations and tips on how to control it.)

So, what does this all have to do with the number of tennis balls that fit into a Boeing 747? Well, the first book I read this summer was Money and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World by William D. Cohan.

Since my university days, I’ve been curious about Goldman Sachs, and although I had already read a lot of newspaper and magazine articles about them, it was time to tackle this book.

On a side note, it’s a good read, and despite its 600+ pages, it’s a real page-turner. Goldman Sachs is a clever company (no worries, they don’t rule the world) with a fascinating history and an incredibly effective marketing strategy and myth-building ability.

The book does a great job of highlighting the clever decisions made by Goldman’s management as well as the stupid ones. (Oh, and they did some stupid and criminal stuff too.)

Part of their marketing strategy involves communicating that they hire only the best of the best. It’s not a bad strategy, but the important part is to reinforce this message in their communication with existing and potential clients.

Just as I finished the book, Forbes Magazine published an article about how hard it is to get an internship at Goldman Sachs. In 2024, 315,126 internship applications were submitted, and 2,600 interns were hired—only 0.9% of all applicants. Nice marketing and myth-building; after all, accepting less than 1% of applicants is a bit like running the world’s most exclusive nightclub.

The article lists some of the interview questions. One that made me laugh out loud was, “How many tennis balls fit into a Boeing 747?” Why did I laugh? Well, a classmate of mine applied for an internship in 1998 (36 years ago), and the question back then was, “How many razor blades are used daily worldwide?” Both are beautiful problem-solving tests for interviewing candidates.

Spoiler Alert! I asked ChatGPT to solve them, and the answers are approximately 7.9 million tennis balls and 243 million razor blades.

My favorite quote from this book is, “You can never learn anything when you are talking.”

Before you go into panic mode, don’t worry; I won’t review all the books I read this summer.

But for those studying business, running a business, or working in business, the biography of Phil Knight, the founder of Nike, is a spectacular read. It gives deep insight into what an entrepreneurial life entails, the challenges entrepreneurially minded people face, and it reads like a thriller.

The book is called Shoe Dog, and you wouldn’t believe how many zombies (bankers), necromancers (competitors), meta-humans (athletes), and idiots (read-it-yourself) Phil Knight had to deal with.

As I wrap up my summer reading, I’m reminded of the valuable lessons and insights that literature can offer, whether it’s about the intricacies of global finance or the relentless journey of entrepreneurship.

I hope these reflections inspire you to explore new ideas and perspectives, just as they have for me.

For those still enjoying their summer break, I wish you a restful and rejuvenating vacation—may it be filled with good books, relaxation, and memorable moments.

For all NEC students – please don’t forget – classes start on the 2nd of September.

Sunny regards,
Sascha Liebhardt