Grey Matters

What do Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former president of India, Mr. J J Irani, Director, Tata Sons, Prof. Harrick Vin, Vice President and Chief Scientist, TCS, Mr. Murali Sivaraman, CEO Philips India, Karumuttu Kannan, MD, Thiagarajar Mills and Member – TamilNadu State Planning Commission, Mr. Chirag Doshi, Managing Director, Walchandnagar Industries Ltd, Mr. Chender Baljee, CMD, Royal Orchid Hotels, Mr. Shambhu Das, CEO, Torrence Capital, Mr. Sandip Tarkas, President, Customer Strategy, Future Group, Mr. Ravi Krishnan, Managing Director and Sr Vice President, IMG South Asia, Mr. Rajgopal Nogja, President, Lavasa Corporation Limited and HCC Real Estate have in common? They were all present at the IIMA PGPX event called CONNEXION last weekend sharing their insightful ideas and experiences with a group of students, professors and alumni. The event that was started only last year by PGPX students has already grown to be probably the most intellectual gathering at IIMA in the most condensed form.

The event was aptly kick started by the first ever 5 km run on campus - again organised by PGPX community. The run saw a host of students, professors and exchange students participating with unprecedented enthusiasm. The run was probably a preparation of the body to take on the rigors that the mind was to be exposed to in the next three days.

The next day started with the formal inauguration by Dr. Kalam in a hall packed with an eager audience. This was followed by an informal interaction with the former president and Mr. Murali. Various interesting subjects such as the role of government in industry, integrity for sustainable growth etc. were discussed at great length. This followed by an invigorating session on marketing by the CEO of Philips, India, Mr. Murali. For many, Mr. Murali's contagious enthusiasm was the take of the day probably. This followed by dinner where a sizable number of PGPX alumni interacted with the current batch sharing valuable insights from their experiences after PGPX.

The second day started with a seminar on renewable energy where a diverse panel shared their view of the role of corporates in the sustenance of environment. The very relevant diversity of the panel composed of the head of Royal Orchids hotel, representation of Wipro's eco-energy department, president of Lavasa, CEO of torrence capital and an ex-Mckinsey consultant. The intense discussion was followed by presentation by PGPX students. The afternoon session started with a formal inauguration of the alumni interaction session by Dr. Ferzaan Engineer, CEO of Quintiles India, a leading pharmaceutical company. After a fruitful interaction with alumni, a cultural event followed - probably preparing us for another intense day.

The next day's topic was marketing innovation where marketing wizards like the MD of IMG sports, head of idea cellular, strategy head of future capital and head of innovation lab of TCS shared the dias. They shared their diverse takes on marketing and ways to tap customer potential. This followed by the director's speech where he highlighted the vision of IIMA to project PGPX as the flagship program of IIMA in the near future.

Overall, the last three days were probably the greatest learning for most of PGPX students both in terms of organizing a large event as well as listening to top notch professionals in the business world. Once the benchmark has been set, the next big vision for CONNEXION can only be to grow into one of India's most influential business event in the field of business education.

Job Half Done

The last three weeks or so, I have been sighing. Really! And my arms and legs are almost paralyzed with the long sigh of relief. I was itching to say a lot on my blog since the last week of last month but a relaxed state of mind and body forbade me from doing so. MBA is half done! And guess what, apparently the tougher part is over. After the nightmarish first term and the relatively equally torturous second one, most of us have garnered enough confidence that the rest will sail through.

We did have our bit of fun in second term though. T-nite is a particularly memorable part. Most of us participated in some way or the other in this energizing cultural festival. Starting from the pub run, the practice sessions, section video preparation, dances, songs and of course a skit mimicking MBA students in Akbar's "durbar" were very well enjoyed by everyone. T-nite will probably also be a key contributor in making life difficult when we leave this place for good in another six months or so.

Third term started in a slightly relaxed tempo. The high point so far has been an entire course being taught by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, former president of India. Having classroom sessions by one of India's most respected public personality was some experience in itself. Add to it the simplicity of the way in which he delivers his lectures and the live exchange of ideas with the student community in the theme of nation building and you have your money's worth.

Next high point on the agenda is the international immersion program. Most are planning to visit Asian business schools with a few going to Europe. After that trip, it will be all downhill - preparation for reality after the one year of roller coaster ride called PGPX.

T Nite

PGPX is spending sleepless nights once again - but for a different cause these days. The first IIMA-wide cultural fest is round the corner and most of the classmates are giving their best to make the event a super success. In the process we have got to witness some unexpected hidden talent amongst us.

By the way, some new travel search engine coming up called spotizy 

Cases, quizzes and football nights can wait - it is time to prove the PGPX mettle to the rest of IIMA! Right from the logo committee to the fashion show gang to the ones who are penning a hilarious skit are doing what they do best - burn midnight oil to achieve perfection. In the process we have discovered a handful of hands-down rock stars who are just too good at creative talent to be hanging around at IIMA. The spouses themselves are taking the lead in most of the activities. The overall experience is a joy!

The studious kinds are doing their extra bit in covering for the active participants by completing the assignments on time. No doubt, in another week we shall have turned the first mega event a mega success. Till then, corporate finance and strategy can take a breather.

Term 2

After an unusually long break, I have decided to break the silence. Cannot hold it back any more - we have graduated to the second term! Well, the "graduated" part cannot really be confirmed as the scores are not out yet - but we are attending classes of the second term nevertheless. The end of term 1 saw a flurry of exams but we were surprised to realize that the pressure of the exams was actually much less than that of the regular PGPX day. The exams were over and then came the very long term back - two days - Saturday and Sunday!

Break or no break, some of us made the most of those precious two days with a trip to Mount Abu. And what a trip it was - pristine beaches, snow covered mountains, freely roaming wild animals, parties in the evenings - you name it and you do not have it. But we still managed to have a whale of a time trekking across the forests of the small hill station. The good trip did not come without its side effects - a few sprained ankles and a tinge of a hangover that comes with having a good time.

Term 2 started with a set of new professors who continue to amaze us and the same old IIMA rigor. But the rigor has lost its power to dazzle any of us any more. I guess the class is now comfortably numb! No more anxiety over trivial tests, no more galloping to catch the 8-45 class on time, no more arbitrary class participation attempts. This probably is what they mean by graduating to higher management. To that extend, PGPX has succeeded so far, no doubt!

The extra curricular activities have also seen a sudden spurt. The clubs have suddenly become hyperactive. The sports groups that were operating informally in the first term have moved to the next level of organized tournaments and challenge games. A few important business person have started visiting the campus and giving us pep talks. But the most awaited flavor of the week is going to be the famous sports commentator from IIMA and we all are eagerly awaiting.

Super Soccer Night

Spirits were high tonight at new campus. With the long awaited holidays just round the corner and a significantly low probability of a test tomorrow afternoon, people really let their hair down. With my newly acquired crew cut, I could not do much, but joined the party nevertheless.

After about a week free of tests, the last class of the afternoon was one filled with anxiety. Probability of having a test was so high that the bookie's counter was flooded with queries about which subject to put a bet on. I had mine put on Data Analysis. Notwithstanding the marvelous class of Operations Management, at 1 o' clock I was frantically refreshing my mail account in anticipation of the dreaded test announcement email. But destiny had other plans. Man proposes, God disposes. I lost my bet and boy, was I happy!

Lunch was unusually tasty. The Management Communication email that I had to send to my Western India Business division thereafter, seemed like a breeze. I got so carried away that I sent in an impromptu email to the gang inviting for a full blooded late night soccer match. The response was terrific.

Not only did we have a record crowd, we even had some of the spouses and the little ones adding color to the festivities. The whistle was blown and the mad rush for the ball began. Competitive spirit saw a few rough tackles and some had to be substituted owing to early injuries. Powerful shots and long passes followed. The game ended with the score reading 3-2.

A rare fun filled day came to an end and it was good to see everyone relaxed. Tomorrow a good number of us leave for our homes for a three day break. Like everyone, I am eager to visit home, but I surely will miss the gang even if it is only for three days. With the long list of pending tests and the term nearing completion, the week after will be another time another story to tell.

A shot at entrepreneurship

Right from day one, a sizeable population of PGPX students have been very actively pursuing entrepreneurship. A few very active special interest groups have already been formed and these groups are taking a serious shot at starting something on their own. Entrepreneurship is the hallmark of most successful MBA programs and IIMA PGPX has left no stone unturned to facilitate the same.

We have a very successful multi millionaire entrepreneur who has himself been a gold medallist at IIMA in the late seventies, taking personal interest in each and every one of us. Not only does he hold so called "brain washing" sessions to persuade students into taking up new ventures, he has personally been driving students with clear directives on entrepreneurship. Right from the day PGPX commenced, he has set base on campus. Even spouses of participants have not been spared. They are equally being involved in various activities such as training to set up schools and starting small ventures.

Students themselves are not far behind. We have among the students a few already successful entrepreneurs. One of them has already set up a successful chain of book stores, made successful commercial movies and so on. These students are doing their bit in motivating and helping others work in similar lines. With barely any breathing space between assignments and quizzes, we still had a bus load of students travelling as far as Baroda just to see how a real factory works. At the end of the course, I am sure we will have among us many who will make the others proud by setting their own trail.

Term 1 Part 2

The first term is almost divided into two logical halves with some of the subjects getting over halfway through and new ones getting added. The new subjects that were added naturally had new professors. In the last few weeks, we have had two such subjects and the reason I am writing this blog is the professors that are teaching them. Even after one month of enjoying the great pedagogy, the professors still are managing to amaze us with their very special way of teaching.

The first one is strategic cost management and the professor impressed us so much that we are actually looking forward to the classes even with sleep deprivation and all that. To give an idea, he has worked in almost all the continents of the world in senior managerial roles, had been a gold medalist in his CFA and had left as a senior manager at Rolls Royce before quitting and joining IIMA. The examples and summaries that he gives in the class are so relevant and to the point that one of a fellow student was referring to them as a revelation.

The next is a new class on operations management. The professor has the capacity to wake up Rim Van Winkle from his slumber. He started a seemingly insipid subject saying that by the end of the fifteen sessions we are going to attain the nirvana that Buddha achieved. He also explained the various uses of the textbook such as a pillow, an exercising equipment and lastly as a tool for learning things that lesser mortals wanted to know. In short, he said that the case method to teach operations was being used in IIMA and this is probably the only instance in the entire country. As a result, no textbook could give us the knowledge and wherewithal to handle operations anytime in the future.

Well, even after all the rigor and torture that we have been subjected to, I would still give my good night's sleep to attend these enriching lectures - even from my orbit of Pluto.

Thank God It Is Friday?

Zombied! Yes, that is what has happened to most of us here at IIMA at the end of the first month. The frequency of my posts must have conveyed a clear message to those who have happened to notice the timestamps on the posts that something is amiss. Amiss is an understatement, I say.

The barrage of assignments and quizzes have started to take a real toll now. Capacity to focus on fast moving distant objects is swiftly diminishing. From the orbit of Pluto that we at the back benches have positioned ourselves in, the happenings of the class have become akin to some fast moving distant object on which our hold is getting real slack.

Last weekend seemed a welcome relief. We were anticipating a quiz on management decisions and we got one on financial analysis. And guess how we performed in the quiz! The very next day had another surprise in the form of strategic cost management quiz. But, whatever happened, we were left with two quizzes less and that prompted us to venture into the outside world Friday evening. Yes, we actually managed to find time to enter civilization and watch a real movie in a real theater. Most of the time I was pinching myself in the theater. Dinner followed and we came back a happy bunch. We reached campus in the midnight hoping for a decent game of football and guess what we encountered. The syndicate room welcomed us with the rest of the classmates struggling with an assignment that had to submitted the very next day! We ended up sleeping at 4 AM in the morning barely finishing the assignment. Fridays, we soon understood, were meant for another world, another people.

Salesman Calling

The week saw us donning the hats of market surveyors. Students of different groups went out for market surveys of different products as part of a marketing assignment. Some were interrogators, some mere observers. Some were roaming vegetable markets, some TV showrooms whereas others were checking out second hand bookstores.

I belonged to a lucky group who had to survey TV buyers. Or so I thought! Lucky because we had the air conditioning working in our favor which probably the vegetable market guys were sorely missing. But then it is peak summer with IPL in full swing. We ventured out in the afternoon hoping to catch up some sleep later. But alas, empty showrooms greeted us. After spending two full hours of general loitering, better sense prevailed and we soon beat a retreat to the dorms.

The second session was planned in the evening and this time we could see some light at the end of the tunnel. We sneaked into a showroom and caught hold of an unsuspecting customer the moment he signed across the dotted line. Though taken aback, he seemed to be sympathetic and the IIM badge also helped to an extend. However, the store manager had another opinion of the whole affair. He intervened hastily and made sure we shifted our rendezvous to a suitable spot outside of the store in question. Nevertheless, we could complete our survey and returned with a handful of data to ponder over. The egos were busted in the process and the respect for salesmen in general took a significant boost.

The week that rocked the boat

It has been almost two full weeks of classes already and to most of us, the outside world and its memories are fast diminishing. The last week in particular has been particularly harsh. The smiles are fast shrinking and dark circles are getting prominent by the day. I could see a couple of fellow classmates catching up on lost sleep in the cool comfort of the back benches. My sympathies are with those who are in the limelight of the front seats.

To give a perspective, we had in our plates a surprise test and a submitted assignment with just two weeks of classes. We also have only four more assignments to be submitted this Monday. Some lessons in time management IIMA is going to teach us! The last two weeks have also seen close to six sessions of four heavy duty quantitative subjects each and people have started confusing one subject for the other already. The breakneck speed has not only broken our necks but also a considerable amount of optimism from our lives.

But some of us are made of sterner stuff. We still are holding on to our share of midnight football and Joos doses. [For the uninitiated, Joos is a cafe in IIMA that remains open well past midnight.]

I am sure the weeks to come will see the 86 unsuspecting souls being subjected to more inhuman torture. But life has its brighter side as well. The saving grace is the break on May 26th that we all are eagerly awaiting. Till then midnight football will hopefully keep us alive.

Classes that are a Class apart

It has been only a week of classes for us at IIMA and what an experience it has already been. So far we had only heard fables of the the kind of interaction that happens in the classrooms, but to experience it first hand is a different ball game altogether. Consider this - marketing is taught by a professor who has co-authored the bible in marketing and is also a visiting professor for various renowned business including INSEAD. Organizational behavior is taught by a professor who holds the entire class of 86 in almost a captivating trance. The first case was delivered by someone who almost made it look like child's play to us.

The professors are not just great subject matter experts but are equally brilliant in holding the class attention with optimum amount of humor. To a question of a student about how 7 different personalities can gel in a work group for a year, the simple counter question of the professor was "Are you married?" And the entire auditorium erupted in a roar.

It is only a week of classes and we have already got insights into marketing strategies, watched a small movie as part of organizational behavior and indulged in an extempore speech session. The indications are quite clear that the journey, though a very difficult one, is going to be equally enjoyable for all of us.

Class Mix

Why do we need an MBA? One strong reason that I could convince myself about pursuing an MBA education was to get a training that will allow one to manage business that is industry agnostic. In general, one would expect that a person who has spent considerable time in a given industry will gradually acquire the expertise to manage business in his own industry. But doing so, the thought process of such managers become susceptible to being stereotyped. This is not always the case, but there is a fair chance of that happening.

As an inference, a management education that enhances your knowledge about more than one industry can be considered desirable. One way to do this is to impart such knowledge directly through the curriculum. The other more effective way would be to get the knowledge from someone who has been in such different industries and situations first hand.

From the first day at IIMA, I have realized that the diverse learning from peers would be one of the biggest takeaways. Imagine, in a class of just 86 students, I have already interacted extensively with a commander from Indian Navy who has trained NDA cadets for over 20 years. There is another who has been a deputy commissioner of Income Tax. The guy who sits next to me in class is a general surgeon. Leaving aside the business development managers, technology consultants, engineers, media persons, you still have those who have worked with NGOs, energy firms and Indian Railways. Not only are these very talented individuals from various industries, they also carry substantial work experience and have not just superficial industry knowledge. The fact that we are just a group of 86, means that touch time with each and every one of us is very effective and meaningful. This, I believe, makes all the difference at IIMA PGPX.

I Will Take It Case By Case

Since I started my application process to various MBA programs in 2009, one of the things that intrigued me the most was the case method of imparting management education. Noteworthy among the schools which employ this method are Harvard business school, Darden and IIMA. Although it seemed to be a desirable way of pedagogy, I frankly had little clue about the method until I started experiencing it myself.

On day 1 of our program at IIMA, we were divided into groups and were expected to work closely to solve management problems. A special room akin to the boardrooms of corporates are assigned to each group where we are expected to work - sometimes round the clock to arrive at strategies to problems. These rooms are called syndicate rooms.

The case method is structured such that each class discusses a business problem related to the subject of study. The case is a narration of a real-life-like situation with adequate data and description. This is handed over to each group and a related reading material is stated to prepare, study and possibly solve the business problem.

The syndicate members then individually study the problem, discuss among the group members and prepare a set of decision points. The next day the class discusses the case in conjunction with the subject at hand and the knowledge is imparted indirectly as a side-effect of the case discussion. Various viewpoints come to the classroom as a result of the various groups independently preparing for the same case and this makes the classroom discussions amazingly fruitful.

Thus, the case method helps in exposing the students to a real-life-like situation and hopefully prepares future managers in a very effective way as opposed to a direct study confined to only subject matter discussion.

First few days at IIMA

Finally my MBA journey started on 8th April 2010 when I boarded the Indigo airlines flight for Ahmedabad from the Bangalore airport. At the airport, I met a couple of classmates who were all excited and anxious at the same time about what lay in store for us at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA). We were all well-fed with fables about the rigour of the course and this was probably the most important thing playing in our minds.

Now, that I have mentioned about the rigor of the course, let me give a brief introduction of the course itself. IIMA had launched a one year full time MBA program in 2006 called PGPX which is meant for professionals with substantial work experience. The entry criteria are a GMAT score, essays, profile and a minimum of 27 years of age. The acceptance rate is less than 10 percent - even less than Harvard or Wharton business school. The course is designed to include a very rigorous academic curriculum divided into 5 terms of about 2.5 months each. One of the terms is an international stint of academics and industry immersion.

It need not be said that coming from IIMA, this is probably one of the best one year MBA programs available in the country and hence it attracts the very best of MBA aspirants of Indian origin from all over the world. Consequently it is one of the toughest courses to get in - with average GMAT score of 714 (in the current batch), international experience of about 4 years on the average, a stringent screening process and an equally grueling interview.

We reached Ahmedabad in the afternoon and soon realized that the heat in terms of the rigour of the course would get stiff competition from the scorching heat of the city itself. Probably the temperature was around the 40 degrees centigrade mark and the cab driver who drove us to the campus informed us that it can only get worse.

On reaching the campus we soon were basking in the glory of being part of the great legacy of IIM Ahmedabad. To be a student after a gap of 10 years was a thrill in itself. We soon found ourselves in the student's canteen and immersed in the regular chat and tea session. The one great thing that we all agreed was being part of a great mix of students who have excelled in their own fields of work. I am not sure if such a mix can be expected in any business school at least in India.

Later in the afternoon, we got ourselves registered to the office and were presented with the most unwelcome gift we all had anticipated but never quite prepared ourselves for. The mountain of books that were handed over to us probably called for a mini truck to be accompanied with, as it was humanely impossible to carry those with your bare hands. Morale had taken a serious beating.

But we were made of sterner stuff and a morale maintenance committee was constituted in no time. The committee made immediate plans of organizing trips to movie theatre, cricket matches and even nightly football sessions for the next few days because it was only Thursday and classes were to start only from Monday. The next few days passed in a breeze.

Monday saw a grand opening ceremony where even spouses and small children took part. It was really an amazing experience to see some very serious topics being discussed and intermitted by cries and laughter of little ones. Lunch followed and then the dreaded entry to the actual CR 11 - classroom designated for the batch of PGPX. Thus started the journey of 86 ambitious and highly talented group of young men and women for a year of rigour and fun.

PGPX 2011

The idea of starting this blog is to record few interesting events of PGPX V that starts in April 2010. But going by the looks of it, maybe it will be a far call to really record events on a regular basis during PGPX. Maybe it will be more of a once in a year event to update the blog. Let us see...