Lessons Learned in MBA Life

As the "1-year-10-month-course" (Prof CDG's words) comes to an end, I finally got some time to reflect on my journey here at NM in particular and Mumbai in general. There are a few things I will share, which I thought would be helpful for others who are embarking their MBA journey this year and in the forthcoming years. And some of you could reminisce on the past few years too! Needless to say, these are my personal views - take it or leave it. Take the good things and leave those you don't like.
p.s. This is not a Scoopwhoop post!

Lesson 1 - Read books

I wish someone was there to tell me this earlier. More often than not, this habit will keep you sane, from the hustle and bustle of MBA life. MBA life was mostly busy, and this helped me relax.

Lesson 2 - Invest in friendships
This is not like school days where you automatically become friends. You need to spend time with people. Time is a luxury good in these two years, meaning it's not easily available.
I have been fortunate to meet a few good men (and women) over the past two years, and they have made my life special. Also, some old friends have come of age - life's looking good now. To make best use of this lesson, take time out to make a list of 15 people who matter to you the most - and stick to that list. For more on this, read 'Busy' by Tony Crabbe.

Lesson 3 - Have a strong value system
Values are simple - honesty, integrity. Old school stuff, but important nevertheless. Easy to talk about, easier to forget in real life - especially at the pace of life we lead here.

Lesson 4 - Be ethical
In one of our discussions, the dean, quoting some research, mentioned that MBAs are one of the most unethical people in the world. I don't disagree totally with him. I have seen things personally as well.
Ethics, according to me is simple - use common sense and do the right thing. Remember this great man, next time you face a conflict of ethics:

Lesson 5 - Less is more
One of my biggest lessons from first year at a B-school. Doing more things, accepting everything that came my way, took me no where. As a blessing in disguise, I was not in any committees in the second year and that helped me realize what is important to me in the long term.
Do a few things that will be of value to you in the long run, say 'No' to everything else. That does not mean being selfish though. There's a difference between being immersed in something you like and being submerged in a sea of mess!

Lesson 6 - Let go
There are many things that seemed unfair to me in first year. Later on I realized there was nothing that could be done to things not under my control. So I let go of those stuff. In the process, the clarity I attained was unbelievable.

Keep doing good things and forget the rest, it always worked for me. After all, self-actualization is more important than instant gratification on Facebook!

Lesson 7 - Sleep well
Some friends and faculties have often said that sacrificing on sleep is okay. On hindsight, I can tell with some amount of conviction that it is not okay. I tried sleeping on time and waking up early for a few weeks - those weeks I was more productive in the classroom, more attentive and felt more energetic throughout the day.
I maintain my stance as I write today!

Lesson 8 - Eat three meals
Skipping breakfast isn't cool, it is just sad! Manage time well. On the rare days I skipped breakfast, I was found thinking about food at 11 AM while the lecture was going on - it's not a good feeling.

Lesson 9 - Punctuality is cool
Murphy's law will work here - you never know when the faculty will close the door at 9 AM for a 9 AM lecture. But it will surely happen when you are late [happened to me!]
Punctuality is a good thing, even if there's no one to appreciate it. Over time, I have picked up the habit of carrying something in PDF format to read in waiting time. Five years down the line, I am sure a culture of punctuality will make difference in organizations.

I've made a list of these people!

Lesson 10 - Pursue hobbies
I have seen people with a wide spectrum of hobbies - travel, painting, reading fiction, working on fitness, music, chess... the list is endless. These folks seemed to have a better balance on life, a calming presence and a better head compared to those who didn't have or pursue hobbies relentlessly.

That's about it. Ten is a good number to round off!

In between this hectic life, I have managed to play chess in some beautiful campuses across India - XLRI, SIBM Pune, NITIE, SP Jain, NMIMS and KJ Somaiya. I also managed to visit IIT-Bombay and IIM Indore for other competitions. Overall, this has been a great learning experience.

On a lighter note, I could well be the strongest Indian chess player ever to have an MBA degree from an elite B-school in India :P (For once, let me blow my own trumpet, why not!) So somewhat qualified to give some gyaan!

Thanks to the few great people who made this journey memorable!
ak

Outsourcing the spouse-finding: Climax

To all those who have missed the prequel to this, click here
"If something is not your core competency, outsource it and save time and money"... and heartbreaks!

அனைவருக்கும் வணக்கம்!
Straight ah matterku போவோம்...
Let's say the hero was just doing his business from stage one. ("மூடிட்டு அவன் வேலைய மட்டும் பாத்து இருந்தா...") His parents find him an alliance.

Resources and Capabilities: He would have had a lot of time to explore his personality, build his career and become better. Not much costs and time involved prior to marriage or engagement, except for the sourcing cost. Your resources (parents and relatives) are fully capable of finding a good match. You don't have to build any capabilities. It is an asset-light strategy.

Competitive advantage: Easy (சப்ப மேட்டர்!) He would have got into the best colleges / universities and/or started his own business and/or other stuff! May be he may not have some advantage over others, may be he has changed his game altogether. It's so much easier to focus on one thing at a time than having some nagging text messages all the time.

Yada yada yada... Superior happiness!
"There's always more than one way to reach the destination. Look around."

There's been an interesting video doing the rounds in YouTube recently. Well, arranged marriages are cool. No big fuss. Parents decide - 11 times out  of 10, they are right. And they do know what's best.
And this is not to say they are marrying you against your wish. Assuming you accept and then it is a proper arranged marriage.

Benefits:
1) Straight to the finish line without much hurdles
2) Strong support system - doesn't break often
3) "If you can fall IN love, you can fall OUT of love. No guarantee in that. 'Arranged' is a safer option"
You don't want to find one more thing you suck at, right? Leave this to parents! :P

Tradeoffs:
1) It's not going to be a lowwwwve marriage. That's alright. Strategy is all about deciding what to do and what not to do. There's got to be some tradeoff - you can't have everything in life. Look at what happened to Continental Airlines when they tried to emulate South West.
 நான் என்ன சொல்ல வரேன்னா "ஆணிய புடுங்க வேணாம்!" (What I'm trying to say is, don't pluck the nail)
2) There are people who say "How can I marry someone without knowing him/her at all?"
Hey, come understand me, you have 5 years time. I know people who have said "ஐயோ T.Nagarல ரெண்டு வீடு போச்சே!" after a breakup. Think again! There's no such thing as loyalty, faithfulness in this world anymore. Broken glasses are always replaced with new ones, mostly without much crying over them :)

If you are of the adventurous type, try living with someone in arranged marriage. It's worth it. Our previous generations have done it extremely well. Sure you can do the same. Our generation is better in everything right? Better them if you can!

There's a traditional aspect worth enjoying - all the mantras (if you are a Hindu, others please imagine something I don't know what happens in other weddings) and everything - it's an experience in itself. And the food, relatives, friends, musical instruments. If you can't enjoy 'that' music you are struggling in life!

Coming to the I-am-a-very-modern-person types. Some 'stuff' for you
1) You don't care about the past right? Everyone has a past. Accept it. Still, this strategy works
2) You don't believe in dowry system and other traditions? Men: Stand up and say No. Women: Do the same. Still, this strategy works
3) Bored of dates and fooling around? Try this. Thank me later.

Coming to the traditional types...
1) Soup boy / girl? This is your only resort
2) Waiting for someone special? உனக்கு straight ஆ 60ம் கல்யாணம் தான்! அப்பா அம்மா சொல்றத கேளு! நல்ல வருவ!
3) Fell in love by mistake? Never too late. Escape or face facts! :P
And yeah, do MBA!

Like sarcasm, 'bro'?
"In a love marriage, you marry your own girlfriend. In arranged marriage, you marry someone else's! Sounds hot, right?"

Yeah, deep. [Same for women. Not being sexist]

In B-School you don't learn management alone, you learn a lot more. Putting it in a different way, it teaches you management only, but you can learn a lot of other things, starting from philosophy! And you understand people better. May be it's got something to do with age, doesn't matter. Whatever it is, I have never had so much clarity about many things in life than I have now. Hence this post!
Yeah, it's a little brutal and more realistic than usual. But then, you know...

மீண்டும் சந்திப்போம்!
Au revoir!

___ing the spouse-finding: A strategic viewpoint (Part 1)

"Wow what a cute couple!!!"
"Made for each other"
"Awesome" [ with 'N' number of hashtags ]
If you are one of those people admiring facebook posts like that one and wishing fervently that it happens to you some day in the near future, I am here to throw some cold water on your face. And for those people who are double (my favourite term for those who are not single) right now, I don't give a damn. Love, dating, relationships... are way too overrated in this digital world. And social networking websites, Whatsapp, Snapchat and other communication monsters have convincingly sold this point to the larger population that it's the 'in' thing to find that special some one during college days or school days for posterity.

These buildups (a South Indian slang word which means building a mountain out of a mole hill) are usually followed up with some home-cooked stories about arranged marriage, all of them showing arranged marriages in bad light. Now that I am nearing 'that' age inevitably and interacting to some extent on those lines, the time has come to give some enlightenment to the world.
Now that the context is set, get ready for some gyaan!

Home, People!

After a long time, I made it a point to visit my hometown. Going home is one thing, going to hometown is something else. அது வேறு இது வேறு! You can go and settle down in some city or the other; build a house there, rent, beg, borrow, steal, stay... but hometown is something different! You feel you 'belong' there.

Chennai is big, cool and awesome; but it's not home!

IT's so gOOd!

p.s. This post is for college freshers only!

Hello Everyone!
Of late, I haven't been so active here! I will give some reasons for it, that's what every one does when he/she (damn you, CAT Grammar!) fails to do something
Getting admission into a premier B-School in India is not so easy. It takes a lot out of you, especially the weekend holidays, Yes, been there. Done that, or not done that, in this case. A weekend in an IT company is a blessing in itself, after all that slogging during the week. But then, I had to go through volumes of English and Math sitting at home or TIME class, all for getting into a top B-school. It's all worth it I guess, after you do get into one!

And that means I will invariably have to leave my current job in this India's most admired company. True. I will miss this. People will say all sorts of things about IT industry, I have not heard them :) I can only share what I have gone through! I don't believe in rumours. You shall not read further if IT field is in no way related to your life, but you may read on just for fun :P

1. I didn't enjoy bench!
It's just a whole waste of time. Reporting every day to the Resource Management Group and not learning anything at all. That too, catching a bus in the hot sun... enough said.
If at all you land up here for more than 60 days, prepare for CAT / GRE / GMAT. The situation is tailor made for this.

Anyway, I was in bench for just 45 days. Then, project!

2. Get into Development!
Let's face it. Developers enjoy the most. Not because it gives lot of onsite opportunities or more challenging; but because you get to work in general shift. You will have life after office! You can travel one hour to home. Sleep well. Just the best life you can get as a fresher in the industry.
Having said that, getting into testing or maintenance or prod support is not the end of the world. Get a house nearby to office and work for 10 hours or night shifts or second shifts.
"Life is all about adjustments - divide and rule!"

Do coding!

3. Life's fantastic in IT
If some one tells you IT is boring, don't believe them. What isn't boring in life anyway?
Performance in the beginning matters. Then you can get things in control. 9 to 6 job in one week, 8 to 5 in the next, 10 or 11 to 8... mix it up. Don't do the same things. It's up to us to make it lively, don't blame the system like you-know-who!
Don't bunk Fridays - they are the best days in office. Some people make the best use of it to make life entertaining for us ;)
Get some nice team-mates.

4. Appraisal season - become a theist
You can dig the rivers and drain the ponds, but you cannot get a good appraisal rating or band or bucket or whatever metric your company follows. Employees hate it; employers hate it. But it exists. Don't facebook it, face fact. Just pray.

If satisfaction = true
     stay
Else
     leave
End If

Yes, I worked in Visual Basic .NET!

5. Training period - College life upgraded!
Of course you learn a lot. But this is the best period you can get. At least in a few CMM Level 5 companies. After training, you get a lot of responsibilities, but here you are treated just like a student so it's just fAWESOME!
You get to meet schoolmates and collegemates all in one place. Well, IT companies are well populated and India is over populated. Surely you will bump into people.

6. KT
Abbreviates to Knowledge Transfer. It blesseth him that gives and her that takes!
Be all ears. "Thozil kathukonga!"

Okay, tell me more!

7. Get allocation
If you are not allocated, fight for allocation. If nothing happening, leave the project. Don't sit and work for free.

8. Follow your company timings
Work for 9 hours only (or whatever hours your company pays you for). Not a little more, not a little less.
"Companies are good, rules are good,
it's the people that make them good or bad"
 We were fortunate to get a wonderful trainer in our training period. He said these words which I will remember for a long long time "Who gave you permission to sit after work hours?"
Indeed! Coming on time to work is important, leaving on time is even more important. Don't bend your work hours like Beckham, and tweet about your organization.

Have fun!

9. Use company transport if applicable to you
This is where you meet people who can, well, you know... Just go for it. Could be life-changing!

10. Live SEVEN days a week!
I say it again. One week has seven days, not two.

Sorry about the huge dose of textbook stuff. Yeah, I heard a lot of noise, so this was my time to make some! You say something about IT once more, I am here for you!

Until next time,
Happy Summer!

ak

Carlsen thambi...

"For entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to anything other than Carlsen is purely intentional. Don't mistake me when I make mistakes. Jai Hind"

p.s. Carlsen is a Tamil name in this story. ;)

--- Age 12 to 13 ---
Grandma calling... "Peraandi, cycle test mudinjudhaa?" (cycle tests over?)
"Paati, naan Aeroflot poitu vandhen. Title theriyumaa?!"
"Dei, olaraadha, ippo dhaan 7th standard padikra nee! Annual exam mukiyama cheks mukiyamaa?"
"adhu cheks illa chess"
"paati ya ethirthu pesariyaa? ellam unga amma va sollanum. adichu valakkala!"

Paati calls daughter "Nee pora vazhiye sari illa dee..."

Carlsen flunks the model exam. Class teacher puts him in coaching class and 'advices' him to attend school.
Carlsen's parents complain he won't be able to attend, as he has to attend a few invitational events. When Carlsen comes to school the following day, the Principal arrives in his class... "Ask your parents to meet me!" His fellow classmates are shell-shocked as these words are easily the most feared, in school parlance. Carlsen coolly goes home and tells the matter to his parents. Carlsen's dad meets the school Principal, the next day.
"Enna Sir, unga payan 'activities' seri illayae..."
"Enna aachu sir"
"Ozhunga school varala, marks kammi ya iruku. Society la enga schoolku nu oru paer iruku. Next year board exam vera varudu, we won't be able to promote him if this performance continues."
"Avan tournament la 'performance' panna mattum paper la news podreengale"
Principal cleans his glasses and says, "Oh really, I will look into it. This is a special child. We eagerly look forward to encourage and motivate these kind of children. We will help them come out with flying colours. Anyway, ask him to study well too, Sir!"
"Sure. Thank you!"
Carlsen passes tenth with 61%, ten days of preparation
-----
 11th standard. Day 1 of school. Principaaal comes to Carlsen's class.
"I know you won't be attending classes regularly. And I am sure you will pass eleventh. But as the Principal of this school, I have to say a few things to you. It's my duty too.
Next year unaku 12th board exam. Idhu 10th maadhiri illa thambi... Life-u! Board exam nalla ezhuthina dhaan nalla college la seat kidaikum; enga college la seat kedaikardhu avlo easy illa! Only outstanding students get into..."
(Classmates giggling)
"SILENCE PLEASE! ...our college. All the best Carlsen"
That was the last day Carlsen attended 11th.
Common exam of 11th standard was not conducted due to the 'professional' practise of starting 12th standard portions in the middle of 11th grade!
-----
Due to family pressure, Carlsen studies till 12th and finishes board exams. Applies to Anna University under sports quota.
-- Review panel ---
Wijk Ann Zee, Tata Steel, Nordic Challenge, Qualifiers, Blitz Championship, Kasparov Training... What's all this? Are these authorized by government of India?
No
Are these official world championships?
No
Continental?
No
Selected through Tamil Nadu / India ?
No
Where is SGFI? This guy is so irresponsible! He doesn't play State events, national events. How can he afford to miss SGFI Nationals? Even if he is state board, they have a nationals too, right?
Yes sir.

Carlsen's mom tries to persuade: "Sir, Madam, he's GM sir! Super GM"
"GM naa?"
"Grandmaster"
"So?"
"SIRRRR!"
"Inna maa, summa koovada, (eating a Good Day dipped in chai...) padu bejaara pochu unnoda. Inga paaru maa, GM o HM o. Rules iruku la! We are government officials. PLEASE don't waste our time!"

Carlsen scored '0' under sports quota, after completing his GM title.
---
Exam results arrive. Carlsen pass. Anna Univ dumps him.
Where does he go?

His paati still calls him...

"En peraandi oru nalla college la Computer o Doctor ko padichu irundha, oorla perumaya solluven; ippo graamathula thalaya kaata mudiyala, oru paya madhika maatengaraan! Idhu enga poi mudiyumo theriliyae! Ivanukku yaaru ponnu tharuvaa!"

"Avalum ava dressum... eeshwaraaa! Enna usuroda podhachurvaan pola irukke! Idha en oorla paatha oora vittu 16 varusham thalli vechuruvaanga!"


Meendum sandhippom! :)

Jillu nu oru sandhippu!

ஹாய் !

I often say this! When ever I travel down south of my state, I always get this ‘feeling of belonging’!

Recently I went to தஞ்சாவூர் (Tanjore) with my CSE A (and E) classmates for a wedding. Mr.A___ (yeah, "Mr." from now onwards; well and truly!) tied ‘the knot’ on February 14 – no no, it was an arranged marriage!

The function was fun in the sense that we classmates all got to meet once again - possibly the beginning of many similar events! Also had a chance to catch a glimpse of the “Big” temple in the centre of the city amidst heavy rain! Yeah real rain, not like the ones in Madrasapattinam.

What is always impressive to my monitor-looking, bus-sleeping eyes is the unhurried pace of lives in the not-so glamourous towns of the south.

True, Tanjore is not yet ready, it just looks foot-in-mouth for the oddly placed Maruti Swifts, Taveras and SX4s – the roads are too tiny to accommodate the huge cars. Strangely, there are a surplus number of buses on roads – the buses are mostly half-filled or empty. The vehicles never cross 3^rd gear and I am sure of this – when our car went above 3^rd and 4^th, it was chased by dogs! Proof enough, the animals were not used to such speeds! And then there is the more-than-convincing pleasant-looking ‘Vegetarian’ restaurants; something that I am personally very happy about! Being a veggie and finding a good place to eat in any street is always a good thing!

நாங்கள் கல்யாணம் கண்டு களித்து விட்டு பெரிய கோவில் சென்றோம். Nature started blessing us with water-drops, progressively becoming heavier.
"என்ன டா பசங்களா! என்ன feeling-U?" (வாய்ஸ் from heaven)
 We were running a little behind schedule. We had to reach Chennai on 14th night to catch up for office the next day. You see, 'Leaves' are worth more than gold in the Corporate world. They will be available but you cannot use them.
"Lay-offs are easy;
day-offs aren't so!"

 We weren't prepared to leave without visiting the shrine! And we did just that.
Most of us were thinking what to do in the next 5 years or so with our lives... It wasn't easy. Some of us had jobs, some of us didn't, some wanted, some didn't; it's harder than semester exams to decide...
On the way back to our hotel rooms, we got the 'privilege' of getting this guy's auto.
ஸோ far ஸோ குட்!
And திஸ் is what happened... (we were three of us in the auto, with the driver in front)
Autoguy (AG): "எந்த ஊர் தம்பிங்களா?"
"சென்னை "
"படிக்கறீங்களா ?"
"வேலை ல இருக்கோம் "
(2 minutes silence)
AG: "இன்னிக்கு பெப்ரவரி 14. தனியா வந்து இருக்கீங்க?" (chuckles. He looked to be around 60-70)
"friend கல்யாணத்துக்கு வந்தோம் "
"ம்ம் ஹ்ம்ம் ... நானும் டிப்ளோமா படிச்சிருக்கேன்! வெல்டிங் வொர்க் பண்ணிருக்கேன், ஒரு 3 வருஷம்! ரொம்ப புழிஞ்சு எடுத்தாங்க. வேலை ய விட்டுட்டேன்! பிச்சை எடுத்திருக்கிறேன். accident ல கால் damage ஆய்டுச்சு! அதனால பிச்சை எடுக்க முடியல . ஏதோ இந்த ஆட்டோ வ வாங்கிட்டேன்!"
(எனக்கு வயிறு கலக்க ஆரம்பித்தது! "who is this guy???")
He continued...
"எல்லாரும் நைட் தான் தண்ணி போடுவாங்க! நான் காலை ல கூட போடுவேன்! full  தண்ணி தான்! எப்பவுமே தண்ணி ல தான் இருப்பேன்!"
 (Dude! Watch the road!)
My friend intervened... "அண்ணே! steady ஆ  தானே ஓட்றீங்க , அப்றோம் என்ன!"
"அதெல்லாம் ஓடும் பா! அவ்ளோ ஏன் இந்த ஆட்டோக்கு RC book, registration கூட கிடையாது!  "
(That's ok!)

"எனக்கு லைசென்ஸ் um இல்லை! "

(what??? I started to analyze... No license, no RC, no insurance, PLUS watered! Will I reach home alive? Forget home, atleast our hotel room??? It was raining; clouds dim; vehicles whizzing past... it all seemed so 'perfect'! :D)
"போலீஸ் கேக்க மாட்டாங்களா?"
"யார் தம்பி இதெல்லாம் கேக்கறா! இது என்ன சென்னை யா???" (smiles, all along!)
-----
After we got down, he asked "5 ரூபா எக்ஸ்ட்ரா தாங்க பா!"
Yeah, right! Value addition for our lives! :)
This man doesn't really portray my sense of belonging, but definitely, the 'takeaway' from this,
"Life goes on"

 இப்படிப் பட்ட மனிதர்களும் வாழ்கின்றனர் ! போராடு! "தொங்காதே"!
Yeah, that was heavy!

வாழ்க வளமுடன்!
"Proud to be a தமிழன்!"


ak

Why I avoid conversation with kids! :P

Conversation with kids are always fun! But then, sometimes it gets to you! Here is one such incident!

I had some important detail to check in the Internet and I was outside, travelling in a bus (I think results or something, I don't remember exactly now!) and I asked my friend, a 17 year old (YEAH SEVENTEEN!) to do the job. He said he was just about five minutes

Why India has no Olympic Medals!

The title itself is a big debatable topic. I present here just my view why! Some reasons are always obvious!
It's a big argument! Yes! I agree! But then, there is something really wrong with India and the system!
As a common man, any one watching