Thoughts on MBA + Long Letter from "Senior"

Having completed one year of MBA successfully, I think I have attained sufficient age to begin philosophizing about the whole system of Management Education in India. While this one-year in a B-School has been an eye-opener, drastically changing my perspective towards the World, thanks to several interesting people I met throughout the year, I have also begun to wonder on the uncomfortable existential question asked by Educationists and other bunch of intelligentsia: Is MBA education really necessary for anyone? While government is mulling over creating IIMs in every city, not to forget the slew of foreign universities waiting to descend the shores, it might look like a joke to ask the question of whether a B-School is really necessary. While I was an MBA aspirant, I vividly remember reading articles from various philosophers who advised me not to take MBA program as they felt It doesnt really add value to one 's career. Now, having spent a year, I understand why they mentioned so. After spending considerable period of time in a B-School, one begins to realize that it is actually not necessary. Allow me to indulge a bit of philosophizing. MBA is often like those vicious cycle of Samskaras: You need them as long you realize you dont need them. You need B-School education to experientially realize the obvious thing you were meant to do in your life. Prior to B-School Education, one tends to think along the traditional lines, blurring the individual identity amongst the hordes. B-School is important only if it lets you find what you really wanted to do in life. Although I have been wanting to make my career in Business, I never had my personal choice on the sector where my heart yearned to work. This can be verified easily in India: Ask anyone who aspires to do MBA: Where do you want to work? Almost 80% is expected to answer FMCG Sector. Remaining percentage is reserved for Consulting.

These are bunch of incoherent thoughts, I shall put it coherently some time later. Meanwhile, having become a senior in my college, I decided to write an endearing letter to my B-School juniors. I felt like sharing it in in the Web. It can do with little bit of editing. However, I leave it untouched.

Hello Folks,

Few might have met me in the class. Let me make my introductions, nevertheless, I am Venky, SIIB 09-11 Marketing student. I hate this word "Senior", as it makes the stupid assumption that I know more things than you. I happened to join SIIB a year earlier and had a ball of a time during my first year. I did few mistakes here and there and learnt few things on the way. Also, there were few things I wished somebody told me earlier while I finished my first year. ! While this might come unasked, I felt I needed to share few things with you, so that you could also have more fun during the most precious time of your career.

This time is very precious because 1) you are in the last leg of your student life, something which is never gonna come back 2) you are free from the pesterings of your parents/boy-friends/girl-friends. I dont want to talk bad of them. I love them. However most of the times, they often make decisions for our lives. Now, it is the best time to shape your career as per your dreams and desires, without their influences whatsoever. You might might want to take their opinions. However, you are free to chisel how you want your career is gonna be from here on.

I am sure, most of you might be lost in the break-neck speed of things happening around you, with incomprehensible Harvard Case studies and assignments and non stop lectures and what not. While the college folks have one mission to make you busy with a whole lotta things, often they really dont look beyond: What is that you are busy about?

Time runs faster than Usain Bolt, especially during first year. So, there are chances, that you might get lost in the thick of things and wonder at the end: What the hell did I do in my first year: Let me come to the point without much philosophizing:

Life in MBA is not about these lectures and endless supply of assignments. Its all about finding your voice and finding your pathway. Its more like the Lakshya movie, if I can draw some parallels. So How do you find out your "lakshya"? Simple: Explore the world: Get out of the campus: Go for competitions, meet other B-School Students, see whats happening around. Its a cruel joke played in the campus that our campus is set in scenic hills, distant from the grimy business reality. Business happens there. So go out and explore around..

Few Checklists you could check out

1) Get yourself a LinkedIn Profile and start building your profile and your networks. The whole world is in..Arent you in??

2) Start Blogging. FInd your voice. Express your opinions and thoughts. All books you are asked to read by faculty members are simply their thoughts on business: what are yours?

3) Build brand equity for college. It helps you in million ways

4) Start building rapport with faculty, seniors, alumni. Everyone is networked. You never know who could be of help at any point of time

Thanks for reading my patient mail. You can mail me your thoughts/comments/queries whatever you have on life here to my id, instead of floating it around the group

Cheers
Venky

270 Days

That is how many days I have left before I step out of SIIB (as per the Academic Manual given out recently, 18 March 2011 is the Stepping Out day for the batch of 09-11).

I guess I should get started then.

Internship Time

Hey folks,
I am sure most of us must be so relieved after the one month long tiring exams saga. While most of us might have cosily settled into their hometowns, few mus be xplorin new towns where they've landed up for the next interesting phase of MBA life..INTERNSHIP phase. Let us use this forum to share our Internship experiences and other interesting learnings gained during this phase. Looking forward for a meaningful discussion

Cheers
venky

Secret behind the Amazing Dabbawalas

I recently attended a lecture by the popular Dabbawalas in my college. I was initially apprehensive about this whole lecture thing, as somehow I felt that Dabbawalas had received too much of attention from the media that most of the popular folk could think only of Dabbawalas when they thought of innovation. However my apprehensions and inhibitions withered away in the after glow of the brilliant speech by the third generation family which runs the Nutan Bombay Tiffin Box Suppliers Association. The brilliant speech gave me some amazing insights regarding the secret which makes them so efficient and amazing. Although the founders mentioned the secret so casually that hardly few could have noticed it, it somehow struck a huge chord with me.
Let me come straight to the point without belaboring further.
Dabbawalas belong to a Varakari Sampradaya ( tradition) and the entire 4000 strong work force belong to this sampradaya. This tradition unites them and make them work as organism as compared to an organization. White caps worn by every dabbawalas symbolizes this tradition. Bono makes this point in some interview where he mentions that teams should work as one organism together. U2 is another amazing example which works as an organism
So what makes this tradition so unique and what drives them to work at unbelievable 6-sigma efficient levels? Every member of dabbawala is a passionate devotee of Lord Panduranga((Another avatar of Lord Krishna)

They consider their work as a form of worship to their Lord and they do it so religiously. My friends in Mumbai pointed out that they can be often seen doing kirtans of Lord Panduranga while coming to work. Their passion and devotion towards their work was so evident when the speaker spoke of their jobs in such high esteem during the lecture. Their reverence towards their duty was filled with such fervor that I suddenly felt a sense of gratitude and devotion when I was taking my food in my mess after the session. Most of us, in our fast track lives, do our work so mundanely that such things become a routine mechanical task to us. The secret to do amazing work lies in this reverence. The moment we revere an activity, it takes the entire attention of our mind. We begin to do it with utmost sincerity and dedication. Remember those good ol' days when our parents used to do the preparations for rituals or functions in house. Or think of moments when devout christians prepare the christmas tree or the manger. Or think of the moments when you decorated the room for the birthday party of your beloved. Such work is done immaculately because of the love that emanates from doing the work. I know what you are thinking at. How can I begin to revere my daily mundane work of copying codes in one server or say, testing codes ? Well, with the way the world shaping up these days, it is impossible to be good in the work we do, unless we begin to love it. Any amount of breaks, vacations, trekking arranged by desperate HR folks wont help either. The best part is, the world has shaped to such extent, that the job we would love to do, isn't tucked in fables written by evangelists who live in make-believe world, it is just a click away..
So to put it simply, we have two choices. Choice 1: Love the work we are doing. Choice 2: Find work which we love..
HR folks can really take some lessons on motivation through reverence from these amazing dabbawalas. When work turns into what we really love, work turns into a piece of beautiful art. If you are still sceptical, look at the way Dabbawalas work!!
Another interesting thing which came out during the lecture was the fact that all the workers, irrespective of how many years they worked, get the same share of money from the total share of profits they make. When each and every member is a part of one organism, how can anyone get more than other?.. Looking at the mess we've created in the wake of financial crisis, thanks to all the popular carrot and stick approaches of compensation, one cannot but notice the gem of wisdom that lies behind this.
The best part of the lecture was during the end, when the president ended his speech by letting them do the work they have been doing for centuries and urging us, the future managers of India, not to force or adapt them to the conventional ways of management, we've borrowed from the west.
However what he didnt say was this...
"Its high time you guys embrace our ways of working if you are really serious about getting good results!"

Stepping Out [ from SIIB ] Stepping in [ new world ]

April 2, 2010 - Stepping Out for the batch of 2008-10.
It's a college "formal" farewell. :)


We didn't realize that it was time. Two years were over. We have learned our share of learning’s and now it was time to make them into use.


Gosh!! Time never stops. It never takes a break. These two years have been enriching in all ways.


The first year was tough. With its fair share of internals,externals,AMR presentations and a whole lot of group studies- it was indeed a time when we worked our a** off.


The second year was a bit more relaxed. With core specialization subjects being flown in people now were split up not into Div A and Div B but Mktg / Fin / SCM / HR .


SIC has always been rocking .Where else you would find a "sweety/rangoli" buzzing with people. Life would have been hell had the “Xerox" shop closed down. From laudries to juice bar to our very own cafeteria - SIC had it all.


The hostels were simply superb. Room cleaning was a regular ritual. And what if anything needed a "repair" the register was at your service and "shoot" it was done.


The view from all around, the three campuses always buzzing with activities. It was all so amazing.


The late night walks around the campus, having coffee , people going to 5th & 6th floor to catch all the unused broadband for downloading , calling up D hostel @ 1 am and telling him an order no less than a birthday party.......I am gonna miss all this :(


We did study. And that too well. Spanish was a clincher and only I know how I managed to clear it in the third semester. We almost did our Ph.D's in Spanish. :P


The faculty, the visiting faculties, the GL’s, the events everything has been so special that you can't picture -this is all over.

People cried, hugged like babies when they were leaving. This is what we call as bonding.And believe me; though we are still doing PG's we still have a child in us.

Well as they say "all good things have to end" - so it be.As all of us embark on a new journey we take these good rememberings with us so that at times we can cherish them.

Also,in life at some point when we meet , it actually brings up a smile on our face.


This is SIIB.This is Symbiosis.

PS-The second semester exams are on for the juniors.And after that they move for summers.So ,the blog would be a little less informed.