Term 2 Begins.. The papers this time looks to be much more interesting.. Hope things will remain that way as it unfolds over the next 5 weeks.. We have paper on Competitive Strategy, Marketing Decision Making, Decision Models and Global Economics. Profs. look great going by the profiles.. Mostly Whartons and some from UNC, Mich, etc

 Another realization that happened today is that I am completing 2 months at most (or starting my journey for ISB). Time just flies by.. A lot to achieve in this one year, just no time to waste.. Got to achieve much more this term, though its a very cramped term..

Let the journey begin! 

We are finally done with 1 term or lets say 12.5% MBA. Had a nice 5 day break, more so since the LDP for our section got cancelled at the last moment.. Made most use of the time.. Ate, slept a lot, watched 7-8 movies, did some of my pending jobs..

So, what are the takeaways/learnings from Term 1? Can’t talk about others, but for a person like, I guess, I was trying to learn to swim in the first term, thankfully, have done decent enough in that.. Now ready for taking bigger strides.. lets put it that way..

Term 2 starts tomorrow.. A lot more ground to cover in this term and not just academically.. Also, seems like this is the toughest term in ISB… But, I am not really too worried.. No, I don’t want to sound complacent or over confident, its just that the 6.5 years at Infosys has taught me one thing for sure.. After a certain level, you get immuned to the work stress and pressure and it doesn’t bother you any more.. the moment you start thinking like that, you end up with a cool head and you are bound to do better… As somebody said.."A symptom for nervous breakdown is that you are too engrossed and worried about your work"..

So, I bank on my learnings and declare.. "Bring it on!" Hope I don’t have too many surprises

Cheers! 

So, we are almost at the end of Term 1.. one more day and 2 more exams to go.. 1 down, 7 more to go.. and promises to be full of activities in the coming days.. Not sure how exactly it feels to be 12.5% complete MBA.. may be still not the right time to think.. had 2 papers today - Accounting and Eco.. faired well, much better than the mid-terms.. lets see how things go..

2 more to go tomorrow - Stats (thats the big one!) and Marketing (story writing time).. All right back to studies now.. 

Tuned into Radio ISB sometime back and was listening to Prof. Piyush’s interview. Found something very interesting in his interview so just couldn’t keep off writing this blog.

When asked what’s his message to ISB students, this is what he says:

Make sure you use this one year to become a do-er and not really a know-er. Once you go to the industry people hire you because they want to see you as a do-er and know-er may study a lot and know a lot, but they may not necessarily be good do-er.. So, you should ask yourself what is it in me that the industry will like to have me, why should somebody be willing to work in my team, and ofcourse you should have a thick skin.. Be very clear, forceful and articulate

And lastly, this was the punchline from Prof..

Be a do-er because they are the ones who hire know-er and you want to be the one to hire and not hired. Be the one people will work for and not the one who work for others!

Take that! 

Ah! missed to mention this one.. Many of us are going through a reality check since the grades have started coming out..

So, there’s a lot of buzz about grades in the campus.. Like one of my classmates said yesterday.. there are only two questions if you meet somebody on campus nowadays — kaisi chal rahi hai padai? AND grades kaisa aaye?? - Can’t be anymore true..

But I strongly believe there’s more in life at ISB beyond grades.. and yes, the sooner people realize that the better it becomes for folks..

There are lot of strong sentiments going around when you talk to ppl around - Some believe grades are not that important and only Top 5-10 companies look at them, others think they have come here to study or get into Consulting/I Banking, so grades are the most important thing..

Lot of perspective, its just a matter of every individual finding out what his/her priorities and goals are and aligning your thoughts that way..

Oh btw, got dunked last week.. don’t know to swim, but the pool is 5′ deep, so its just a matter of secs before you stand up on your feet.. rest of it is great fun!

So, we are at the end of the Term 1. Had our last classes today - Mark Finn for Accounting.. He is a great guy.. The section presented him with a ISB jacket and a standing ovation!! wow.. we really meant it!

I never realised accounting can be more than book keeping and can actually be so interesting. 80% of the job is done if you concentrate in his class.. Doesn’t matter how much marks we get, but he is one such professor, who leaves an impression in your mind.. it’ll be hard to forget…

We also had Prof. Piyush Kumar from Univ. of Georgia Tech (Terry) teaching us marketing. Quite guy but lot of insight.. He really helped the students in a great way.. I have never seen a Prof. taking a class in an auditorium for 400+ students..

 Anyways.. Term 1 exams on Monday/Tuesday.. so, that explains why I am writing the blog at 3:32 AM in the morning.. Time to hit the bed!

Cheers 

A lot has been written about ISB and the diversity that the student body brings.. I guess, this year has been very successful in this regard.. One good change, the % of people taken from Tech (mostly IT) background has gone down significantly… which adds more diversity and also helps poor souls like me (hoping it’ll create a demand supply gap during the placements)

Other than the usual stuff of Engineers, CAs, BComs… we have quite a few Merchant Navy guys, Couple of beauty pageant participants/finalists, an Army Colonel, an IRS, IFS and a IPS.. Talk of diversity!! Surely, such guys add a lot of variety to the batch..

Rest of the gyaan you can find in any newspaper that talks about ISB..

Its 3:18AM now.. time to hit the bed…

Cheers! 

Guess, its a little late for this blog.. but, I guess, its better late than never..

We had a change of professors for Stats and Eco classes right before the mid-term, so thought of writing a few words about the two professors and my experience in their classes..

1. Bob Stine - Prof. of Statistics, Wharton

Absolutely genious guy.. has a great sense of humour.. and can definitely make his class very interesting.. most of the teaching is example/application based, hence its easier to relate.. and not monotonous with a lot of formulaes like old maths classes.. He surely makes you think for the reasons and justifications.. Great guy to have as a professor.. The only flip side, I guess thats more to do with the duration of the course.. A huge lot of curriculum is covered in a very small time.. so, at times, he may seem to go a little fast.. unless you are smart enough (which I am not ) to recollect quickly from his previous classes, you may start lagging behind him..

Overall, great lecturer who is really passionate about his teaching

2. Amit Bubna - Prof of Economics, ISB

 Amit’s classes have been quite interesting, Eco is all about concepts (btw, which can be quite confusing).. His approach to teaching is quite simple –> try to explain the basics in a manner as simple as possible.. I would say he has been mostly successful.. Again, another guy with a great sense of humour.. He is Stanford PhD, but looks very young.. its very easy to mistake him as another fellow student, unless you really know him….Only flip side.. his exams are damn tough (well atleast to majority of the folks including yours truly).. and thats when you actually realise eco is more confusing than you think about it

Mid-terms were over last week and the results have started coming in.. Age of instant gratification I would say.. Scored decently in Eco.. Above Average and way above my expectations! Now gearing up for the Term 1 finals (that’s 9 days away)..

On the way to becoming 12.5% MBA.. Enjoying the journey so far.. Hope it becomes more enjoyable as time goes by and I get some decent grades which boosts my confidence..

 Amen!

So, I am completing a month at ISB.. 1 down, 11 more to go.. and hopefully this journey will change me and my career in a big way…

Quite a lot of hectic activities so far.. net result/output till now –> Nothing too much substantial but I guess I am get used to the culture @ ISB which I should be able to encash upon in the next 11 months

Things are finally falling in place slowly but steadily.. My study group discussions are more constructive and timely nowadays.. last week it was much more unorganised.. guess ppl are starting to realise that time is essence, so there are a lot of effort to streamline discussions in order to have better time management..

 Late nights are the order of the day.. the LRC is almost full till 2 in the morning..

I am done with my eco assignment and half of the accounting assignment.. will need to study stats tomorrow and consolidate the assignments by tomorrow evening.. getting ready for another grueling week and then mid-terms on Friday.. Ready to have fun! 

Cheers! 

We had our first speaker series talk at ISB as part of the BTC. We had Kaushik Bhaumick from CTS - San Ramon, CA giving a presentation on the "Trends in Outsourcing".. While this is not a new topic for me but its very good to know that my thoughts are not very different from that of an industry leader

Key takeaways:

 1. The IT outsourcing industry will continue to grow for atleast another decade and a half

2. Next big thing is BPO — Guess, BPO revenue may soon overtake ITO

3. Lot of potential market coming up in Western Europe though US still remains as the main supplier

4. The industry may see some major consolidations in near future ( already happening.. Capgemini took over Kanbay and CSC took over Covansys).. As expected, we may end up with 5-7 major companies pitted against each other on a more level ground

5. The Indian IT industry surely needs to consolidate its position to move up the value chain..

Good learnings for sure!

Allright, now back to Stats!