Abhilash Menon's Blog

2010-11-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

The wind chimes are today very calm

They wait for the breeze

They are bound in their freedom

The wind chimes want to resound

The book rests today very solemn

It waits for the student

It is bound by its freedom

The book wants to be held and read

The football sits today very uneasy

It waits for the kid

It is bound in its freedom

The football wants to bounce

Why do we think of freedom as all that we want

When we are actually waiting for our purpose

When are bound by the purpose which defines us

We all want to achieve and accomplish something

And that makes us free

Pune Bomb Blast... Pray for the departed and the injured

2010-02-13T19:30:00.000-08:00

I got a shock when i was about to leave for a party and i saw the news about the blast in Pune. It was a refresher again for the common man in India, to say how we are not secure at all. I have full right to put the blame of this debacle on Shiv Sena also, simply because of the violence they provoked the police were busy patrolling the cinemas than the roads and general establishments. Having said that Me and my Dearest Friend Adolf had a nice chat about this. I thought I would post it in here for every one to see.

Abhilash Menon Blast in German Bakery in Pune, Koregaon Park, near Osho ashram... Pray for the departed and ones in the hospital...
Adolf Dsouza
abhi we do pray but how long this will continue ?r we so weak that we get indulge in films n politics n totally forget about defending our country ?old men and PHD graduates should hv no role in politics n national affaris ... bcoz that blood never boils ...in ancient india such men were called pandits n the king n warriors were always Kshatriyas ...it is we who must take over ... as sometimes war is necessary for peace .... no man can b friends with someone who comes n teases his mother, wife or sister....we must rise as old men will do nothing except talking n more ppl will die ...
Abhilash Menon
I agree that our politicians are thinking only about the stuff that will grab attention of the public for votes and nothing else... if police were not out there patrolling the cinemas they could have looked at other things... Not to say that the police are even more lethargic... (not every police officer i would say)... but security is too much of a precious issue to be sidelined by these incompetent idiots...about the issue of who is governing us. I think currently about 70% of the people sitting on chairs are worthy and are doing their job... but the rest need to be thrown out... Security needs to be increased... intelligence for the security needs to be increased... we need people who are willing to forego bribes for the benefit of India. Having worked in India, I know that everything works with a caveat in the beginning and in the end... and this is really the crux of the issue. There needs to be a drastic change in the nature of peoples behaviour to have these changes....And my dear friend Addie.... Unfortunately... I have no faith that this will happen soon... Not in the near future... not for some time at least... I need a future where i can confidently tell my kids to go play in the park and go to a cinema or go to a simple bakery.... But the time may not be soon... not too soon..

God Bless....
Abhi.

Half way through Michelmas.

2009-10-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

One of my closest friends Abhay, reminded me the other day that i hadnt blogged for over a month and that he isnt getting the inside info of what happening at Cambridge. So here i am after a huge gap writing.
The reason that i have not been writing anything has not been that there have not been reasons to write about. On the contrary, i have so many things to write about that i keep losing track of where I should start from. Now that i am half way through the Michelmas (first) term of my course, let me go in reverse order of how things have been unravelling here.

Today i was almost trashed by employees of my Magazine Company, because i was talking to them after i had fired 30% of labour and expected the rest to get the work done without a pay hike. I was given a barrage of questions to which i quiet frankly did not do the worst jobs to be alive. This is what happened in my Organisational Behavior class today. I had 15 minutes to device a strategy to motivate my remainder employees to work extra hours for me without the extra pay. Real life... I think so... The passion that exists in the class to interact and get the answers out of each other was explicit and makes for fantastic class-room experience. The Cambridge Experience.

I was burning the night oil yesterday for a competetive project which my team and i chose to run for, which is purely optional and working with a new team, comprising of friends you know cos you chose them makes for an exciting experience as it may not always be what you expect as rosy a picture that you wanted. You start having arguments and clashes of opinions just because you have no idea where to start or where to end. But in the end you find the right answer cos you have a Brazilian, a Macedonian, an American and an Indian perspective working towards gaining a solution. You have to love this team-work. Just another gem from Cambridge MBA.

If you thought that was a great multi-cutural diverse team, get this my Cambridge venture project has 5 individuals, a Thai Genius who cannot be beaten at numbers, an English Lawyer whose points of views and perspectives are the most unique, a German political scientist whose love for music gave him the chance to change the supply chain industry forever, a Japanese who worked all his life in the biggest business industry there is - China, and an Indian Artist who pretends to be an engineer and loves being part of all these teams. We are the Stealth Eagles who are working on a Marketing project for a local venture company to expand its horizons to markets they dream to be serving in. Bringing in so many nationalities together has not only ensured cultural growth in each individual, but also the sensitivity to each individuals strengths and weakness'. I am sure this will help us make better managers in the future. Possible in a small hanging workspace at the Judge Business School.

Just last week we were visited by two of the world's leading CEO's, Mr. Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo (Nokia) and Mr. Graham Mackay (SABMiller). Two hotshots in one week, I know this is pretty much at par with any other leading MBA school. But which school offers you a chance to have lunch with the CEO of Nokia. Well it happens in Cambridge.

Did i tell you two of my friends actually met face to face with the living legend, Dr. Stephen Hawking. I came to know that the legend lives just 5 minutes from my college. I have no other word than 'Amazing' for this experience.

On the extra-curricular front, i am now part of my college rowing team. Makes me feel very proud as this was one thing that i really wanted to do in Cambridge. There are only a few places that one can experience this beautiful team-sport. I also had a great Cricket nets with some of my Pakistani friends. I tried finding the reasons how they are able to produce world class bowlers at the click of their fingers. Also pondered where is the English cricket team going wrong, when they have some of the best training facilites in the world, whereas countries like, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan produce players from nothing. Enjoyed having tea sitting with Indians and Pakistanis watching the best Cricket ground in Cambridge - Fenners Cricket Ground.

We also managed to teach a French guy the rules of Cricket. Pretty amazing I think.

There have been many more experiences, which i am not able to understand where to start from and where to end at. Hence i leave with a promise that Abhay, will again remind me of writing a blog and i shall write more of my experiences.

Cheers,
Abhi.

Cambridge So Far So .. Excellent ...

2009-09-18T06:01:00.000-07:00

After all the jitters and the all the apprehensions that i had taken off from Mumbai to Heathrow enroute to Cambridge to pursue my dream MBA, I have finally managed to land at Cambridge. After a day of solitude and rethinking the decisions i made in the last one year i now can proudly say this my dear friends was one of the best decisions i made ever.

Day 1 - landed at Heathrow early morning 7:30 BST and was expecting to wait at the Central Bus station for some time to catch the 9:40 bus to cambridge. But alas the immigration had other plans for all the students. we waited in the line for immigration for over 4 hours. I guess when i had heard earlier that many of the SEA students have problems conversing in English, i had to see it for myself to believe it. It took many SEA students a long time at the immigration to get thru the conversation and explaining the answers to the questions put forth by the officers. It is a very good thing that normally all univs here have a language program before start of the course. I know one of my friends is benefiting from the same program.

anyways i finally managed to reach the national express terminal and got my tickets ammended for a nominal charge and got on to the bus to express bus to cambridge. The staff at the bus station were helpful and courteous; it felt good. The bus service on time precisely at 1325 and reached cambridge as schduled at 1545. British punctuality at its best. The ride was fantastic with the best sceneries ever. Coming from India i am used to seeing scenic landscapes but the ones here stood out and had a charm of their own. Again loved it. After reached Cambridge Parkside, i had already called for a cab from a pay phone at the airport, and that too was there on time. Finally reached the college and i finally started feeling like a student.

The gentleman at the porters lodge were very courteous and directed me to my room and when i reached my room i was a bit... hhhmmm... sad. i come from mumbai and i am used to sounds all around me. the hustle and bustle of perhaps the busiest city in the world was soulfood for me and now the silence of beautiful cambridge surrounds me and i finally understood what people meant when they said that the silence was deafening. the next day i got my internet running got my college welcome pack and went to the city centre to get my bank documentation completed. The branch manager Steve Linell Atkins was extremely helpful and courteous. Also met Mark and Karen; nice people.

Did a second trip to the market that day to get some groceries and daily supplies. thank goodness that sainsbury is gonna be open till midnight from now on. finally realised that the first thing i need to do the next morning was get a bicycle and well thats what i did. i went to the doctor to get myself registered. went to my school for the first time, met James Barker and and a few other friends i made at the Granta's the earlier night. I then headed off to the cycle shop. I thought of going all the way to mill road which for me would have been over half an hour walk (i am re-learning to walk btw) so i decided against it and went to a cycle shop which i faintly remembered seeing when i first came to Wolfson. My sense of direction thankfully is working fantastic in cambridge and i reached the place without hassles and got myself a good deal on a used cycle. (now i am relearning to ride a cycle).

That evening i went to the Red Bull pub to meet fellow Wolfson mates and the others, but i managed to meet just one wolfson guy (Charles). We wondered if the wolfson guys were sitting someplace else. I found out that they were sitting inside the pub and we a group of around 20-22 were sitting outside and we never met each other. Funny i guess... We had fun at the Red Bull though. Finally although i was enthusiastic to do salsa, all the cycling and walking made me think twice and i decided to hit the sack.

yesterday i attended a seminar on "The globalisation of Bollywood and how it is taking over the West". Personally i think its the other way round and what Mr. Anupam Kher said that its the right time to invest in India, is the correct thing. Its the west inflow into India and the increase in investment rather that India spreading its wings by selling "Bollywood" movies abroad. Its all about the money. Mr. Patrick the COO of Adlabs India, said that its "Business only". So as long as money flow happens either out or in. Trade is good and i guess that is good news all around. we need to think about it globally to find the good part about this business.

Then i finally got my new mobile connection. Got a vodafone number. I have put it up on FB and Gtalk. i raked up a bill of 8800 on my vodafone India number. my wife is gonna kill me.

Last evening we had a granded meet of the MBA students at the Eagle. (the discovery of DNA was announced here btw) i am guess around 45-50 students were there last nite. Many headed off to Hughes Hall and many stood around. it was a fun night. the wolfson guys there decided to meet today afternoon for lunch. Looking forward to that now.

Will keep you all posted on the travails of my Cambridge life. Till then take care guys.

P.S. dont mind the english. I am writing directly without MS Office. its crippled me actually. ;)

Liberty

2009-08-19T22:19:00.000-07:00

Finally the day arrived and i am now unemployed. Even though by choice of being a student i left this work of mine, I am happy that i did at this juncture of time. I would have always wondered what lies outside of this shell of ours, and i now i am out to explore.

Liberty. Thats what they call it in Navy parlance. A short break to yourself, a breather before you start your mission once again. I will embark on a new mission in a months time from today and i need to recharge myself for that.

I would like to send out love to all my friends from work, you have been inspirational and supportive. Thank you for being my first work place buddies.

Till the next time, i see you all working. Tata... Ciao...

and yeah...

See you when i see you... :)

Online Admissions Servers Crash, MNS run riot.

2009-06-26T22:17:00.000-07:00

The headline today morning in the paper - Online Admissions Servers Crash, MNS run riot.
I am a proponent of increasing IT in general, and when i read about the Online Form filling for junior college admissions, I was very happy and very very afraid. I was happy since it was extremely necessary for such a system, as the old system of slogging it out in the rains to each college was a waste of time and energy, and stress for parents more than kids.

I was afraid of the whole new system because of all the bitter experiences i have had with government agencies handling IT matters. Every time i have had to log on and view my engg admission details or even as menial as to see a new notification on these government run websites, it invariably takes half of my day. Earlier i used to blame it on my dial-up connection, but even with broadband they still remain the same.

So when this headline flashed in the papers today, I was left feeling both the pain of the students, the pain of the few good government men who thought of making this system work. How much do the IT technicians or administrators who wrote the source codes for these admissions network get paid. Do they even know the seriousness of the work they do. Do the officials overseeing them know the mental trauma just one website crash can cause to the thousands of students out there. Believe me you there are many frail parents out there than there are students. Or are the officials still working with the chalta hai (let things be) attitude, which is the bane of Indians in general. We live with a very short memory span and sooner rather than later things will be pushed under the rug. We have to get rid of this attitude.

Hence again when i saw the attack that was done on the Maharastra Knowledge Corporation Limited office, i was sad that again MNS workers have resorted to violence to resolve any matter. But then I thought about the chalta hai attitude, that must prevail within the governing bodies of MKCL. I don't support this violence, but a question arises in my mind that, Is this violence a stick on the knuckles of the MKCL to take things seriously and act more responsibly?
I am glad to see that there is a support structure for students in distress for such things where politics can flex its muscles. Reminds me of the lost ABVP. looks like MNVS is looking to take that mantle away from the shiv sena supported ABVP like the parent MNS is trying for every other thing. Let me stay away from this topic for now.

But surely there was a way that the crash of the admissions site could have been taken care off. I spoke to a few friends of mine working in some of the top IT firms in India. They said that before any such site, even for internal purposes are set live in their firms, there are rigorous tests and overloading done on the servers to ensure that once the site went live, there would be no hiccup. Who holds the MKCL accountable for this small but important failure??? Can anyone answer that.

All i am asking is, 'Will some heads roll at the MKCL to ensure that no such thing happens in the future?'. 'Will the MNVS be held responsible for riot and vandalising?' 'If so will they be duly punished or will the officials sit quiet not to stir the party bosses?'

I am happy that the papers are bring to notice the inadequacies of our education e-governance systems. I am happy there are groups out-there to help students realise their goals, with or without force. I am happy people are raising questions. I am happy that even though with their inadequacies there is still will in the government to bring in e-commerce and e-governance and bring education to the masses. (read about the MKCL here - http://www.mkcl.org/corporate_mmt.htm). I just wish that they had more tangible and plausible and measurable goals stated on their website. If i were to set such goals at my organisation, our division head would roll his eyes and say that you are wasting your and my time, and dismiss the paper from his presence.

Also read about MNVS here - http://mnvsena.org/index.html. They have listed some good work they have done on their website. Loved the part about the work they intend to do for Valentines Day celebrations in Mumbai.

I shall dedicate another blog on another article about how some 'International Schools' who charge people 2 years CTC for admissions and then have tie-ups with 'Private Coaching Classes' to extort even more money. Untill then.

Cheers and Listen to MJ... Let his music live on :)

One of my icons left us all today...

2009-06-25T20:33:00.000-07:00

I am writing a blog after a few days interval and it is a very sad thing that i write about...
While driving down to work today i heard on the radio, that one of my icons and so to million others has passed away.
Micheal Jackson - Music for the kids of my generation was defined by this one man, every school dance, every party song was an MJ number. Everyone wanted to moonwalk and everyone wanted to squeal in high pitch every now and then while singing. His power was such that even when you talk to a village urchin if he knows english music, the first thing that came to his mind was Micheal Jackson. Today he leaves behind all his fans with memories of his famous rise and fall... A rise so spectacular that gives hope to even the most down-trodden, and a fall to mighty that leaves the most ardent critic in a sombre mood.
Reading through the headlines and eulogies pouring throughout the world, I am compiling some and posting it below. I am left sad by both his demise and the way he left. I only wished he could have sang to some packed houses in London before he bid his final farewell.
Micheal Jackson - We love you ... Owww

Pop icon Quincy Jones, the producer of Jackson record-breaking album ‘Thriller’, said. "For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don`t have the words. He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I`ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."

Neil Portnow, president and CEO of The Recording Academy said, "true musical icon whose identifiable voice, innovative dance moves, stunning musical versatility, and sheer star power carried him from childhood to worldwide acclaim".

Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of colour - way before Tiger Woods, way before Oprah Winfrey, way before Barack Obama," said black leader Al Sharpton. "Michael did with music what they did in sport politics and music. No controversy will erase his impact."

Jargon... Is that what it is???

2009-06-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

When does an MBA student get converted to an MBA??? does anyone have the answer to this question??? I may be able to answer this about this time next year, but for now i seems to have stumbled upon a very disturbing but true fact of becoming an MBA...
In one of my recent interviews, i was barraged with a range of questions, which flummoxed me to no end. I had been stumped for the first time in a very long time. I call that interview a crash course in humility. But now that i think back, the questions did not stump me at all. It was the jargon that kept me guessing. And no, it wasn't that they used too big words or too technical. It was just that i am so used to over-simplifying things at work to explain to others around me and even to myself, that i lost track of many of the most common jargon used in and around.

Just to name a few words that left me gasping... Geoengineering - very common i must say, considering i have even watched all the parts of X-men released in India, i should have known this, but since i come from the O&G sector, I misunderstood this with geotechnical engineering. Now if you go to wikipedia, they also state that you can very easily confuse these two terms. Other time i got confused was when i was talking about my aims on progress and usage of energy to reduce wastage, i was asked whether i knew how e-wastage was affecting us. Okay this i must say is another simple topic, but again since it went a bit out of my focus content, i was stumped and was groping, and then when the discussion of how India and China are dumping grounds for e-waste, i was again shocked that i knew that. My mind went couldn't you have spoken about the reference with context. That's high school english right. But i guess with me now embarking upon my MBA, by default i have to be prepared to answer any and everything. I am supposed to be superman now.

One more example amongst the many that were there, was a question on whether i knew what "gallium nitrate" is??? again this pertained to energy consumption and conservation. If i were an Electrical Engineer, i would have shot back with an answer that, its one of the older components used to make LEDs. Then again, it does not matter i am a mechanical engineer anymore, remember, I am SUPERMAN. i wish i knew the answer, because no one in the panel knew about it, that its one of the older materials. They thought it was a breakthrough that has been done in Cambridge this winter. They mistook the new technology of using this material in a new wafer to empower LED bulbs to a new material itself. Wish i knew these words.

I must say that the interview was a tough one on me, and i will not base this only because i was taken back by the sharp jargon used by the panel, but overall, even after mentioning that i had a previous experience in Oil & Gas sector and with manufacturing and project management in particular as my focus, they insisted on talking about the environmental norms and latest technology in energy conservation.

This made me realise one thing. I was no longer 'only' an engineer. I was now becoming an MBA. World where you are expected to know any and everything remotely related to the topics or infact words you utter from your mouth. I must say its not rocket science and its not too much to ask for the with the kind of positions you will be applying for in the future and the kind of responsibilities you will handle. Let me quote one more example i heard from Deepak about an MBA hired at his workplace as Business Development Manager. He isn't the most experienced guy and he does not possess many years of experience in different companies to garner contacts to develop business the way the organisation wanted. But since he got one degree from a very well established Indian Univ with an MBA stamp, he is expected to know the top honchos of his industry and get more and more business by the day. But unfortunately, it seems till date its the contacts of the old horses of the organisation who have been getting the phones ringing and business in as compared to our dear MBA. I do not believe its his fault at all. I understand he got the skills from his school. But unless he is under tutelage of some senior BDM at his organisation he will not be able to get grips and progress for his own sake and his business sake.

So a stark reality hits me hard on my face. I have to de-simplify the things i do in my daily life. forget about the definitions and focus on the jargon to keep my language short and management-like. Somehow manage to confuse the people around me and make myself look like a walking talking dictionary. Somehow i doubt i can do that.

Somehow i doubt i will succeed in that. I still think Simplicity is the best way to get a point through. Simple like Ross Lovegrove's Designs, who is my latest google topic. go look at the DNA staricase and the car on a stick concept.

Prelude to the quest

2009-06-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

Before anything i write today... One note of sarcastic condolence to the Australian Cricket team, which shamefully made an exit from the T20 world cup... now that that's done...

Yesterday after i spoke to Deepak, one of my bestest friends on my quest for MBA blog entries, he suggested that i should also give a prelude to how the whole quest started. I agree, this is the main part in how to determine which schools i concluded in applying to and what my research was.

When i started thinking about my MBA, i had to categorise my search in the following manner:
1. My Aims v/s Schools strengths.
2. Job prospects.
3. Cost of MBA.
4. Return on Investment.
5. Legacy for future. (personal whim)

The first and the most important point was to understand what was it exactly that i was looking for in my MBA program. What are the areas that i needed to focus on? What were my weaknesses i needed to improve on? What were my strengths i need to build upon? So i categorised the schools i needed...the list i came down with finally looked something like this...
1. London Business School
2. Judge Business School
3. INSEAD
4. HEC- Paris
5. Cranfield SOM
6. IESE
7. IE business school
8. RSM Erasmus
9. Imperial College
10. Said Business School.

Now the choice was made on my requirement of not wanting a 2 year MBA, with focus on international business, entrepreneurship, strategic management and marketing. Note that there are some colleges in the list which are exceptional in the terms i set, but were more focus on finance than others, Like INSEAD and HEC, i still gave it a try and got a reject.
LBS was a very strong entrepreneurship course, but i felt i was falling short on the international exposure part, hence i eliminated from my list. IE, IESE and RSM were sort of my second attempt schools, if i had to re asses my application, if i failed in my first 5 attempts. Thankfully, i didn't have to.
Now the thing to be noticed is, that with my kind of background - Project Management, Oil & Gas - i would have been better suited for the North American Programs, but i did not want to go for a 2 year course and bet myself to get thru the recession even in a short span from the top schools in Europe.
Next i needed to know how much am i going to invest in this program. Amongst the colleges i selected, JBS, SBS INSEAD, Cranfield, Imperial and HEC looked in a reasonable range for me to burn holes in my pocket. And fortunately with JBS they had a tie-up with a local bank. Mind you this was a later thought, and the loan was not a criteria, as i was ready to take up my imperial admit without any such loan tie-ups. Indian banks will provide loans and the rest you gotta manage. But you have to pre-decide what your limits are.
Scholarships - This was another important criteria that i missed out scouting for. I understood the importance of scholarships once i got the admits. My sincere advise to all applying to these top tier schools is research more on the scholarships than anything else, because many do not ask for a confirm admit while applying for a scholarship and the deadlines are very early, normally December end.

Now the Job prospects and return on investment are the next most important criteria... My suggestion is do not rely on the MBA brochures 100%... they are sugar coated and are marketing brochures than information brochures... Suggest you research the web, go thru all MBA forums available online, look at facebook and orkut communities for discussion threads on alumni communities... Find people who are willing to talk to you on the tele and call them up with your list of queries... list your queries and then call... don't waste their time... its very important... alumni names you cantacted may be asked during interviews... its always better to have some names to back up... shows you are serious in the school... and if they contact the alumni... ensure your impressions on them is good...

OKAY... i digress... point i want to make is.. do your research on ROI and value for money... you don't want to end up impressing ad comms on your finance capability whereas you are very nascent and your go for the school extremely strong in finance and then when recruiters look at your last profile they decide you are inexperienced in finance and then you have to settle for something you didn't want... get to know the strengths of the school to then understand what your ROI will be considering what kind of jobs are normally offered in your preferred schools...

Last but not the least - Legacy of the school - the name matters in an MBA. It is a very clear thing that in the future when you talk to a person from high brass management, when you tell you are an MBA, you will be asked from where? and that's what matters... trust me...

I hope this info has helped you guys in some way... following were the reference material i used...
1. http://www.ft.com/ - rankings
2. http://www.pagalguy.com/ - MBA forums
http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/international-indian-mba-schools-accepting/34602-oxford-said-cambridge-judge-mba-54.html (you can follow this thread where i update regularly... lots of info on JBS and SBS admissions on this thread)
3. http://www.accepted.com/
4. http://www.usnews.com/ - rankings
5. http://www.google.com/ - heheheh this helps everywhere...

Rest Later...
Keep dreaming... with your eyes wide open...

Back from bliss... into the inferno...

2009-06-08T00:08:00.001-07:00

Step 5: The Interviews...

Well i was well and truly in a situation where i knew, that i am going to nail the interviews, as i thought that the percentages as explained earlier were in my favour... and i started to prepare for my Cranfield interview on January 16. I got some info from an alumni, who told me some questions to focus upon... and after i gave my interview i think he must have conveyed my conversation with him to the Dean of Admissions who tool my interview... cos the questions he asked were exactly the ones that the alumni told me to prepare for... Well me being me... was not 100% prepared for the questions and well i thought that the questions I answered were good enough... I was also told during the interview that i would be too young in the class to really contribute during the discussions... well i think he wanted to tell me you need to learn a lot more to come in sonny...anyways... it took them 2 days to reject me... my third reject after one wait list... This also made me realise that i am not comfortable giving telephonic interviews... something about it made me uncomfortable, i normally prefer looking into the eyes of the interviewer to get my confidence up... this did not help me with Cranfield's telephonic interview...

My morale was on an all-time low, i had by now decided that the prudent thing now would be to focus at my workplace more than ever and progress there as my MBA avenues seem to be closing fast... I was sure as ever that the wait list this late would not be converted...

Then came something out of the blue... a surprise i had not imagined... back in November i had a pre-application interview scheduled with Imperial College -Tanaka... post 26/11, the interview was postponed indefinitely... which they decided to fix on 31 January... I was ecstatic... my hopes enlivened... Dr. Ebrahim Mohammed - Director, Executive MBA from Imperial took my interview... I must say this was one of the finest interviews that i gave... somehow i connected with him and we bounced ideas off each other... He encouraged me to apply and said if i did it fast and inform him about it... well there wouldn't be another interview and that i should be considering moving to UK fast... So i was back to step 4: Applications... got down to business and finished the application in record time of 5 days... yeah that's fast for me... the essays were different from the others and hence copy paste did not come to rescue always...

After following up with the college for my application and then being informed that i would have to give an interview with the career development officer... i was finally given an offer for admission... i was happy was an understatement.... we jumped with joy and partied till we realised that they did not have a loan agreement with any bank... bummer...
Well we didn't let that deter us, we started working on our scholarship essays now...
And in between all this mayhem... we had another reason for party... I was called for an Interview to Cambridge... YAHOOOOOOO.....

but i couldn't go to Cambridge. I informed them of this and they informed me back that since the director of MBA admissions is travelling to India in March, i could have and interview with him... another YAHOOOOOOOOO.....

Well the interview happened after i got the Imperial admit and i was given a deadline of April 1 by Imperial to respond to their offer... i asked for an extension on that as i knew the result of Cambridge would take a little longer to come as Dr. Chander Velu, who took my interview went for a trip to Malaysia following the interviews in Mumbai... The interview btw was another one of my finest interviews (disclaimer: when i say finest... means i think so... the result may be positive since the interviewers thot this guy needs serious training also :P )... we had a very good conversation than an interview and i believe i could talk to him more about my work experience than anyone else... he listened a lot and asked very interesting questions and gave me a case study also... "suppose if i was the head of IOCL how would i go about implementing the Hydrogen fuel concept in India?" ... i think i said somethings that i was amazed i could say...
but then i got the admit... and another party... this time a bigger one... you know why?????? because HSBC has a loan agreement with Judge Business School... this made things so much more breathable for me.... i even got a scholarship - The Directors Bursary.... man were we over the moon...

This wasn't the end of the interview cycle...this was followed by 2 other interviews for 2 other scholarships... one which i succeeded in and the other i wait for the result... looks like for now the inferno of the application to Cambridge is coming to a simmering climax... but now the euphoria of starting a new career at the river-backed Cambridge university builds by the day... i am sure the next inferno will test me and let me out like a fine shining sword.. ready to take on the best in the world...

2009-06-04T01:47:00.000-07:00

Step 4: The application...

This step is really the lynch pin... as if i had to state that... i common guesstimate is that about 20% of the applications are called for interview of which 80% are selected of which about 90% convert...

so the main chaffing happens at the first stage... here you gotta ensure that you have got the credentials that the school is looking for... Hence the research on if the school is a fit for you... you gotta ensure that the experience and GMAT levels you got are good enough to get in the school... these are elementary, but defining criterion...

But most importantly you have to answer the numerous questions the ad comm is asking you in those questions... the most gruelling part for me throughout this process was the constant barrage of same questions in different formats... once asked in passive voice, then active... then change of tense and every time i had the same answer in my mind... i felt like marking like a typical mechanical engineer i am... refer essay number 3 para 2... trust me applying to 5 schools will make your patience go thru the roof and in the end all i wanted to do was copy and paste answers... but patience is all that is tested from the time you gave your GMAT sitting for 5 hours solving elementary questions to writing elementary essays about your own personal experience... and believe me you answering stuff about oneself will never seem this tough to you... at least i am a super-self-critic and hence to write anything good about me or for that matter bad was getting more and more difficult...

Slowly but steadily you will appreciate the slight nuances in the questions asked by each school, as each essay will look seemingly similar but will have extremely different answers... the faster you appreciate this the better for you...

Now the main thing... when i said you have to be sure of why you want to do an MBA, Why now and why from the particular school... cos these will be the main questions asked throughout the essays... and don't try to give standard off the shelf answers... the ad comm have vast experience and they can sense a fake in one look.... so get this answer first...

anyways I personally started with INSEAD, the essays for which i must say i started over 2 years ago and i evolved the essays slowly and steadily. I was confident of the 7 different essays but alas the people who mattered didn't think so. Something similar was the case with HEC, when i wrote 5 different essays and one was a great topic given that if i were to live a life entirely different than my present what would it be... i thot i nailed these essays also... but then they had opposing views... 2 Royal French Rejects...

In between INSEAD and HEC.... i applied to JBS and that was the longest essay set i saw... 13 in all... well the most tricky part of JBS was that just 2 weeks before the deadline, they got a new application form and they changed it completely from the last years form... BIG SURPRISE... but i tell you this form was a test of patience and according to Garima, my best set of essays... worked our ass off working daily till 2 in the nite... well the result... i was waitlisted... WAITLISTED FOR AN INTERVIEW.... who does that man... why ???!!! why??? !!! the agony... and this comes in mid-november... the results were to come out... only in MID FEBRUARY... so the wait began.... then was the last application before my wedding... and that was another slogger with Cranfield... the questions were again all introspection types... no abstracts... got the good news of the interview call for Cranfield couple of days before my wedding... great that it was after our honeymoon....

2009-06-04T01:10:00.001-07:00

Step 2: Now that you have decided that you need an MBA...

You need to do your research... I shall focus on International MBAs, since i decided on that.
Find out which schools match your portfolio... very much like finding a job, finding the right MBA for you is an important step, you need to know what the strengths of an MBA school are before you think of applying for it... say you have a background of SCM and logistics, there is a great chance you will get into georgia for your MBA.. but this may not feature in the top schools so you may skip it... say you are have a background of financial consulting, with fantastic acads, then an INSEAD will prove to be your greatest bet, this all i say with the research i have done, as to which schools are good at what and what has been the trend of students who apply and get an admit... hence if you want to focus on entrepreneurship with a one year MBA, with international business as your focus, which would match my requirements... then you will apply to schools, such as JBS, SBS, Imperial and Ashridge... to name a few...

Step 3: now my quest starts...

I started my research with my research partner and then fiance (Garima), we clamped down on a few fantastic MBA programs, which we "thought" were ideal for us... let me list the schools i applied to...
1. INSEAD
2. Judge Business School (University of Cambridge)
3. HEC - Paris
4. Cranfield University Business School
5. Tanaka Business School - Imperial University

there were other schools we contemplated, if I had a bust at all the above schools... not mentioning those here...
From the above, i feel my reseach on INSEAD and HEC may have been wrong, as indicated by them with a reject without an interview (HEC was the fastest reject i got .. 5 days flat... man are they prompt in rejecting... arrow thru my heart...) and also the post-reject research on the profiles of people who got thru to these colleges clearly show that finance was high on their priority list, and given that in this time of recession, many finance pros were applying.... anyways... the remainder three were sort of in the range of what i was looking for and my profile i guess was in what they were looking for... Although in JBS and Cranfield... my age bracket was a bit on the lower side and hence i was bit circumspect... they even mentioned that in their interviews... but the industry experience i had and the final focus of my MBA as entrepreneurship and international business was matching their final aims...

Quest for my Ideal MBA...

2009-06-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

It wasn't long ago when i was combing the carpets for the best blogs online to find information on the MBA that i wanted to pursue. I had to research everything, every small article written in the most obscure newspapers, every comment on every MBA social networks, every blog that had anything to do with how to select the best MBA and the blogs that wrote on the MBAs that i was interested in. Now that people who know me, know that i am headed towards Judge Business School for my MBA, have asked me numerous questions on this quest.

So i thought i would write a series of blogs on this quest of mine and what i learnt. So if any of you want to do an MBA in the future, i would like to help you out and hope this blog benefits you.

Step 1: Do you need an MBA...

Its a very simple question... take your time to answer. I know that its become a fad around us to have an MBA irrespective of what your final goals are, and i would tend to agree little to those arguments.

Choosing to do an MBA is a very important step in your career, let alone be the bazooka bursting holes in your pockets, no matter how deep they are. There are a few questions that you should answer to yourself before embarking upon your MBA quest. Before that let me clarify one more thing... I am not a supporter of the MBA right after graduation theory, a bare minimum of 2 years work-ex is my advise. Okay now the questions...

1. Is an MBA going to help me further my position in the organisation i work for?
2. If yes, what kind of MBA is required for the kind of change i intend to have?
3. Do i need a quick MBA decreasing my work absence or am i okay with an extensive course allowing me more networking time?
4. What is it that i want the MBA to teach me? (inshort what are your lacunae you need to work on?)
5. How much am i willing to invest? (mind you... invest not spend)
6. Do i need an international MBA?

These are a few basic questions that you must answer to yourself and have concrete ideas for your future... (there have been people more confused for each answer but still have been super successful MBAs, but they are exceptions) more questions will come up in due course and i shall tackle them as they pop up... but firstly you must have a resounding Yes as an answer to the first question. Because many people mistake lack of skills as a need for an MBA. you may actually need a Masters in say SCM or Manufacturing instead of an MBA to succeed.. so understand why you need an MBA then proceed... i will tell you later why this question needs an emphatic answer...

Traffic woes

2009-05-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

Well my first posting on this new blog and well i gotta start off by writing about something that frustrates me daily. Every morning, Every afternoon and Every evening... Traffic... and the non-sense drivers out on the road as if everybody is Mulligan from NFS or actually... they are all eveil kneivel... and do not forget the braveheart mumbaikar who on feet can beat even the hefty roadroller...

I wont boast that i am the most speed abiding driver or even for that matter the most safest driver on the road... but at least i follow basic rules which will not leave other drivers on the road frustrated... i may leave my back seat drivers a bit flustered though...

Today morning i was driving down the highway and was descending one of the flyovers (newly built) and the speeds you can achieve on that stretch are quiet pleasing (atleast to me)... but what i shock i get when some smart god fearing devout biker decides to stop on the right hand side (supposedly fast lane) of the road just after the descent of the flyover to offer his prayers to the holy almighty... yeah he made me fear God for once... by sharply avoiding him and getting myself saved from a jailterm for killing a simple Bhakt. He must have been very confident nothing will happen to him while stopping in the middle of the road to pray... as GOD was with him... Frustrated...

Next only a kilometer down the road i drive down and 3 happy go lucky customers in printed lungies and torn baniyans after their morning duties on the opposite side of the highway as their houses decide to run a 10 meter hurdles race right in front of my car... i wonder if all Indian athletes are given a bucket in their hands, will they turn up with medals in the Olympics... Frustrated... BTW the foot over bridge that is being built near this hurdles track... that's another cause of frustration... as there is no work going on but the contractor merrily decided to put debris out on the road and convert a 4 lane road (i am ashamed to call it a highway) into a 2 lane bylane... Frustrated...

Then i dont even cross another kilometer and i see "Valentino Rossi" racing towards me in the mirror... sitting pillion is his ever hugging girlfriend/wife who in this daring cavalier way of his driving is still smiling and giggling (reminds me of morgan freeman on the smile machine from Holy Man)... little does she fathom the dangers "Mr. Rossi" poses for her on our "safe" roads... I saw this happen just last evening... and umpteen times before... Frustrated... still i pray for those pillion drivers lives and the drivers alike...

Not the least but i have to mention the proud politicians... Who; for their supporters (read vote bank) have created a pedestrian crossing signal every 20 meters on the world bank funded JVLR.... how thankful for them that they don't need to walk an extra 20 meters to cross the road... oh the plight of the feet... mercy to the supporters... and merci to politicians... Frustrated... that i use my brakes more than my accelerator for the whole stretch...

I would love to go on but, i chose to keep some frustration back for myself and vent it at later posts...
For now... i shall enjoy the road-revelers over the weekend...
Cheers...