• A few other issues which had come up in the panel discussion on b-schools and value addition were risk taking, decision-making and opining abilities. An MBA education does not teach you these. Obviously. These are personality traits and cannot be taught over a one-year time. In contrast, what an MBA like this can do is to actually constrain you. Let us take an example. I have left a good job & a well oiled career. I have taken a risk which is both financial and career-linked. Now, when I go back to the job, my instincts will be to recover the costs rather than take further risks. So, I become conservative and will fall in line with popular/acceptable decisions. I would not want to risk decisions, if ever I can make decisions, for which pay off may be on either extreme. MBA education, to this extent, can actually constrain my risk taking ability.

Decision-making. All it needs to make decision is guts. You have this or you do not. I have known brilliant people who can never make decisions. No amount of learning, no additional degree can change such a person.

Opining. At least in India, we operate in a societal framework where certain things are taboo; certain types of social behavior are encouraged. Under such conditions, one can come out as strongly opinionated at the cost of being branded eccentric or worse, unwanted.

For many people, the payoff is certain, even if limited, when they are risk avers, don’t make decisions, and have popular opinions.

• A few take-aways from the first term, which is near its end, are the approaches to learning. What to read, what not to. How and when to work on independent assignments. How to work in groups when all group members are equal and more importantly when each thinks he is the smartest. How to allocate time between studying and co-curricular activities. As I reflect on the time I have spent and the returns I have managed over the last 40 days, I should confess that I am not too happy with myself. But I move into tomorrow with the hope that I don’t commit the errors which I have during these days.

• For the last four weeks, every Thursday our econ Prof. has been posting a take-home assignment at 5 pm. The deadline for submission is 8 am on Monday. I don’t hesitate to say that these assignments have been our worst nightmare during the ISB stay so far. Many of us venture to finish off the assignment on Thursday itself. We realize that the equations are not easily amenable. We keep struggling till Sunday. By Sunday night, as we approach the deadline, somehow, we all discover answers. A classic case of Parkinson’s Law – work expands with time available. If Friday was the deadline, I am sure, we would have submitted by Friday. In return, what we get to do is neglect other subjects.

• We have had a panel discussion on “Do b-schools add value”. The deans of the b-schools who were on the panel spoke in favor of it. A journalist and two others, the other panel members, who themselves were b-school alums, spoke about some deep and systemic issues plaguing b-school education.

As we all know, the first and foremost purpose why one wants to go to a b-school is to get a better job, have a better career. For a student, since the b-school itself exits because of this purpose, the entire b-school life is spent in preparing to this end. This is more than evidenced by the fact that post-placement, students chill out and hardly study. Once in the job, all work and study, if any, will be oriented towards the deliverables under KRA.

No doubt b-schools add certain tangible value. But there is something wrong with the system too. The journalist in the Panel, as he mentioned, had interviewed Jeff Immelt, the Chairman of GE, who had to say that the single most important quality he looks for in an aspiring Manager is the “intellectual curiosity”. Do b-schools teach this? Though my stint at b-school is quite short, I can say that b-schools do not teach this. It is an attribute which an individual has or does not have. Period.

• For the last four weeks, every Thursday our econ Prof. has been posting a take-home assignment at 5 pm. The deadline for submission is 8 am on Monday. I don’t hesitate to say that these assignments have been our worst nightmare during the ISB stay so far. Many of us venture to finish off the assignment on Thursday itself. We realize that the equations are not easily amenable. We keep struggling till Sunday. By Sunday night, as we approach the deadline, somehow, we all discover answers. A classic case of Parkinson’s Law – work expands with time available. If Friday was the deadline, I am sure, we would have submitted by Friday. In return, what we get to do is neglect other subjects.

• We have had a panel discussion on “Do b-schools add value”. The deans of the b-schools who were on the panel spoke in favor of it. A journalist and two others, the other panel members, who themselves were b-school alums, spoke about some deep and systemic issues plaguing b-school education.

As we all know, the first and foremost purpose why one wants to go to a b-school is to get a better job, have a better career. For a student, since the b-school itself exits because of this purpose, the entire b-school life is spent in preparing to this end. This is more than evidenced by the fact that post-placement, students chill out and hardly study. Once in the job, all work and study, if any, will be oriented towards the deliverables under KRA.

No doubt b-schools add certain tangible value. But there is something wrong with the system too. The journalist in the Panel, as he mentioned, had interviewed Jeff Immelt, the Chairman of GE, who had to say that the single most important quality he looks for in an aspiring Manager is the “intellectual curiosity”. Do b-schools teach this? Though my stint at b-school is quite short, I can say that b-schools do not teach this. It is an attribute which an individual has or does not have. Period.

• For the last four weeks, every Thursday our econ Prof. has been posting a take-home assignment at 5 pm. The deadline for submission is 8 am on Monday. I don’t hesitate to say that these assignments have been our worst nightmare during the ISB stay so far. Many of us venture to finish off the assignment on Thursday itself. We realize that the equations are not easily amenable. We keep struggling till Sunday. By Sunday night, as we approach the deadline, somehow, we all discover answers. A classic case of Parkinson’s Law – work expands with time available. If Friday was the deadline, I am sure, we would have submitted by Friday. In return, what we get to do is neglect other subjects.

• We have had a panel discussion on “Do b-schools add value”. The deans of the b-schools who were on the panel spoke in favor of it. A journalist and two others, the other panel members, who themselves were b-school alums, spoke about some deep and systemic issues plaguing b-school education.

As we all know, the first and foremost purpose why one wants to go to a b-school is to get a better job, have a better career. For a student, since the b-school itself exits because of this purpose, the entire b-school life is spent in preparing to this end. This is more than evidenced by the fact that post-placement, students chill out and hardly study. Once in the job, all work and study, if any, will be oriented towards the deliverables under KRA.

No doubt b-schools add certain tangible value. But there is something wrong with the system too. The journalist in the Panel, as he mentioned, had interviewed Jeff Immelt, the Chairman of GE, who had to say that the single most important quality he looks for in an aspiring Manager is the “intellectual curiosity”. Do b-schools teach this? Though my stint at b-school is quite short, I can say that b-schools do not teach this. It is an attribute which an individual has or does not have. Period.

• As we know by this time, when we have large data, the data follows normal distribution, a.k.a., bell curve. But how do you explain a class average of 98% marks in a take-home assignment?

• Is communication after all not that important? Today, we had a guest speech by Mr. Thierry Moulonguet, the ex-CFO of Nissan. He, along with the CEO of Nissan, had made a turn around in the financials of the company. The key to their success was execution, which is where most of the firms, as do individuals, fail. He is basically French. He did not come out as a great communication, in English. Perhaps, because he was not talking in his native language. Perhaps, did communication never matter as it was all about getting there and “doing” it?

• You get something ‘free’ when you buy some large/costly item. You go to a gold shop, you get an aerated drink free. Buy a TV, get some clock free. What is free for us ISB students? Speaker Series. We have excellent speakers come down to ISB to share their experiences. In one month, we have had two CFOs of globally renowned companies coming down here. Many more would come in the months to come. Some of the speakers in past were Michael Dell, Vassela of Novartis.

• Clubs are an important part of a b-school. At b-schools having long history, the list of such schools can be very long. At ISB, we have a few of them. Most of the clubs will be based on popular functions/electives, such as, marketing, finance, consulting, etc. After having been postponed many times, finally, the launch of the finance club happened with an internal speaker series. This is where the students who have had experience in finance give ‘gyan’ to other students. Good and easy way to learn about other functions. Got some insights into IB, Hedge-funds, equity research, etc. I spoke about corporate banking, which is where I came from.

• Another 10 days, we have final exams. I have been studying quite late into the night. The results have not been very encouraging though. Trust by the exam time, I will catch up and hope to get the targeted marks. As the exams are in-class ones, don’t expect students to be scoring in the region of 98 %, cheat sheet notwithstanding. The bell curve should see its day when the final exams results come out.

Many people think an MBA education is a passport to success, glory, better life, etc. So far, so good. There are a lot of things an MBA education does not and cannot teach. EQ and SQ, surely.

I am as sorry and shocked to learn and write about the death of our alum. He graduated out of ISB in April 2005. Just a few weeks ago, he made a fantastic presentation to the new Class of 2006 and received a standing ovation. Most of us thought he is “the coolest man”. He committed suicide. It pains to know that someone who you have heard, seen just a few days ago, no longer exists in flesh and blood; but remains a sheer memory. Can’t know what made him take such drastic and irreversible decision. May his soul rest in peace.

This again reminded me that an MBA education is not a ‘panacea’. It is just a tool in the hands of an already reasonable person. Riding on hard skills to the extent of ignoring EQ and SQ will not take anyone anywhere.

I have not heard of or seen a successful person who is not good at handling his own emotions. The starting point of a journey to success, to knowing the purpose of life is our own self. If I cannot know what I am, what I want, what I can do, what I can’t, who I can live with, who I can’t, there is no point embarking on a journey that is full of competition and complexities.

Life can get tough when the assumptions on which it is run, or thought to be run, are challenged. Career and a b-school education, which is an enabler of a better career, are but subsets of life. What an MBA education can teach, at best, is to handle business situations. It can’t even teach us to handle careers; let alone life. Handling life needs a different paradigm. It makes sense to invest time to think about this.

Post Scriptum:
 EQ includes answers to some of these: Do I know my own emotions, do I have the ability to communicate what I feel, do I have the courage to do so, do I have the ability to understand, relate to others.

 SQ includes answers to some of these: what do I live for? Is career the be all and end all of my life? Do I see life beyond career, etc

 All b-school aspirants, please read “What They Don’t Teach at Harvard Business School” by Mark McCormack

Café – I curse myself for having written this off and been presumptuous to say that at worst I will go there to have some odd muffin on an odd day. This café has become our haven and one can find us there almost everyday.

During pre-term, the math Prof had scared the hell out of me by his CHIs and PIs. Now these seem to be a part of life. I have added more of such things to my life. I deal with “dou”, “lamda” and sundry other Greek letters to understand some complex subjects. What would life have been without Greek alphabet. Where would we have gone to borrow alphabet to represent a standard deviation or a mean.

Some couples who I had thought had parted are seen together again. Did they ever part at all? Or did something bring them back together?

I had declared that it is but rarely that one can spot me without the laptop on my being. Hardly so. I hate carrying it around. And leave it at home, not whenever necessary, but whenever possible.

I felt pretty damn cool when I knew that internet speeds on wireless ran at 400 Mbps. I hardly use wireless.

I also felt damn cool about Library being open till 2 a.m. With so much of info made available by our library online, it really does not matter to me if it is closed by 2 p.m. or a.m.

At the cost of repetition, stats and econ have become my pet subjects. I am holding myself back on writing about econ and stats. These subjects are going to change the way I will look at the world. I will write about the practical application of these once I am through with my first term.

Some people who I had thought were party animals have suddenly donned saintly demeanor. They study more than I can ever imagine studying.

Remember? Coffee machines at ISB offer coffee only with 5 rupee coins. I felt that people will start hoarding 5 rupee coins not to be let down by having money enough to afford a coffee but not having 5 rupee coin. Not so. People don’t change easily. I always find people asking others for 5 rupee coins.

The biggest obstacle between ‘what is’ and ‘what can’ be is my own mind. It operates quite contextually. Now my world is ISB. The point of reference is the people at ISB. Another 10 months, it is quite likely I will never ever meet many of these people. But today I benchmark myself with these people. They become my circle of concern.

I try and influence my mind to think about both past and future. In past, my references were different and in future they are going to be different. I also want to realize that given my experience, my banking background (only 6-7 bankers in the entire class of 2006), I am not competing for placements with even 2 % of the people. Effectively, I should be quite pleased with myself if I manage to get my concepts right, be amongst 90 % of the marks (which so far it looks like I am) and constantly relate what I learn here to what I had done in my work.

Not that I din’t know that comparisons are odious. Not that I din’t know that learning is, as is career, a marathon and in the long run what matters is the ability to sustain and manage ups and downs and still progress. But, mind is a place in itself. It has its own ways of looking at things. How to manage this body-mind duality and bring the body and mind to work towards the goals for which I am here?

Post Scriptum: The workload, and not to forget competition, are brutally punishing. I did not quite understand when someone told that course is intensive, thus sometimes traumatic, and that some have indeed resorted to a psychotherapist for recourse. However, the solutions as I realize, but cannot really fully control, are with myself and sitting pretty between my two ears.

I have taken a volte face since the time I came here. Statistics is turning out to be my favorite subject. Economics is another favorite. I don’t like marketing. What’s there to it? If some one told me that people see ads and then buy, I would discount what he said by 70 %. But the quant-aspect of marketing is surely a good take away. Accounting is fine. As a part of my job, I have done analysis of financial statements for a long time to really need an accounting class. But doing T-accounts is not something I can ever do or imagine doing. Why Stats and Econ? They have universal application. To the end of knowing more of these two subjects, I will invest more time on these and more money to buy additional books on these.

Last four days (nights too) have been completely dedicated to the study of statistics. Tomorrow we have our first exam and the only mid-term exam. To our rescue, we can use cheat sheets. So, no need to worry over memorizing formulae / equations. But there is always a problem studying with exam in mind. One generally is not left with time to go beyond the course material to improve understanding. After all, what am I doing my MBA for? To get knowledge and be able to use this in the job after graduation. But the pressure of relative grading and even the need to be among B grades is enough to put every such attempt in the back burner. Here I go….. back to preparing for my exam

Uncertainty in life emerges from this single source – our ignorance of what the other person’s intentions are (of action, reaction, emotion, etc). The entire concept of game theory is built on this. For instance, tomorrow we have our student body elections. There are four candidates. Only one is going to win. If the other three knew who the students are going to vote for, then they would not have contested. But how do they know of the intentions of others. But is there anyway we can know of other person’s intentions. Perhaps not very easy. Through statistics or stratagem we can know the other person’s intentions. But even more effective can we be, when we try to influence other person’s intentions themselves, which again is not easy. Not sure of the reasons, but out of the five candidates who initially wanted to contest, one dropped out. Did he come to know of the students intentions or were the other competitors able to influence his intentions. Game theory is a very complex subject which inter-relates math and psychology. By the understanding of this theory, we can expect to be able to anticipate other people. Its utility is almost everywhere. Tomorrow’s economic class at ISB covers game theory in the context of Oligopoly markets.

Communication, the second problem. I firmly believe that communication is communicator’s responsibility and not the listeners’. The communicator has to fine tune his language till such time as he is able to manage conveying the message being wanted to convey. Why is communication a problem? The mind can imagine many more thoughts and graphics than can be expressed. More importantly, unlike as it is commonly believed, the information in the brain is not stored in well-set folders which can be retrieved purely by an algorithm. The brain stores different pieces of information on a particular subject at different places. For instance, elephant. When I think of an elephant, the brain retrieves the shape, size and the color of this animal from various parts of it. Retrieving a word to describe the animal in the shape of an elephant is a process by itself. When simple information retrieval is so complex, it is not easy to be able to communicate thoughts and ideas easily and in simple language. But in terms of utilitarian value, communication stands at the top of the value chain. Life can be really different and better if people were able to communicate easily and clearly.

PS:
1. On the topic of uncertainty/risk, ‘Against the Gods’ by Bernstein is a must read.
2. The person being referred can be one single individual, or a group of individuals, or any organization that can have a system of thinking.