Monday, May 28, 2007

Customer first, ALWAYS!

Five males were competing with each other fighting for the attentions of the lone female standing close by.

After some time, one of the males walked out of the fight and joined the lass, a bored spectator to the males fighting each other. The male offered the female a cup of coffee at the cafetaria. Seeing her lucky break, she walked away with the male leaving the other four male fighters fighting.

MORAL of the story: Understanding the market, catering to the needs of your client. Customer first, always!!

Friday, May 25, 2007

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Of Corporate shit, dirt and politics

Yes, business is not for the soft-hearted. Yes, business demands nerves of steel and resolve. Yes, business is not for the faint-hearted. But does business really require shit, dirt and politics?

I am going to IIM-A and the WIMWI seniors have already preached us the first lesson in moral science and ethics. Good, I say, or is it? Has the corporate world really given up on the corporate shit, dirt and politics? How will moral science and ethics teach me to deal with the corporate crooks and scoundrels.

According to Isaac Asimov, one of the smartest sci-fi authors of modern times, we are moving towards the knowledge and information age, where the human brain and spirit will be the greatest resource to create wealth. We no longer live in the religious age, military age or the economic age where religion, military and economic might dictate nation's destinies.

With the advent of the information age, new economy companies have to redefine their core philosophies around the people that work in them. Case in point, Google. It empowers its employees in numerous ways such that Google employees think they are working for themselves, not for an evil corporation. More and more companies are going the Google way.In fact, they better do if they are to retain their human resources. So, then where is the space for corporate shit, dirt and politics?

Well, the reality is that there is still a lot of room in today's corporate world for corporate shit, dirt and politics. The truth is that the corporate world is still not prepared for the new information age.

SAD!

Hopping onto WIMWI!

I have jumped onto many a roller-coaster. Kept my eyes open for some and closed for the rest, felt the world falling apart, and then stepped off and disappeared into the mystic mist.

As I hop onto the WIMWI roller-coaster, I am not quite sure what to expect. Hindsight's taught me not to buy too much on expectations but let life take its course, but as with so many of life's lessons, you just don't learn. You keep making them again and again.

Well, before I step on this time, I am going to come in with an open mind. My expectations? Fin/consult/marketing/operations?? No, I don't know and I am going to pray that I would get some time off to stare out at the stars and let them answer these and more. For today, I can only hope that I get a chance to choose a profession where I can put in that extra drop of sweat with a smile!

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens would be impressed!

Friday, May 18, 2007

Just say, "I DON'T KNOW!"

The biggest reason why the Americans have done so well, I think, is because they are not afraid to say, "I don't know!"

Plain and simple, "I DON'T KNOW!"

Funny, how such a statement professing ignorance can work wonders! Well, you goto any pan-shop in Kolkata, and ask them for directions. 50% of the time, you'll get correct directions, the remaining 50%, you get wrong directions. Consider the time lost in following the wrong directions, tie this up with loss in employee productivity, man-hours, frustration, etc. Now, if the person had just said, "I don't know!"

The same theory can be extrapolated to bigger engineering projects where entire project teams are misled by someone who should simply have said, "I don't know!" Do the math and you soon begin to see savings and hard $$ associated with a simple, "I don't know!"

Again consider the inventions and discoveries associated when a person dared to say, "I don't know why that happened!"

The ego built into every person and especially true with the Indian psyche that thinks that the Indian brains are the best are all very big obstacles against inculcating the "I don't know!" mentality.

More true and common when you go to the higher institutes of learning in India. Everyone knows everything, there is no need to know more. The professors in the US universities, (the really good ones) don't mind professing, "I don't know!". When you don't know, you make efforts to know.

So, next time, your professor or boss asks you a question, feel proud when you say, "I DON'T KNOW!!"

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Lonely Planet, movies are a man's best friend.

Today I was lonely, alone at home and couldn't reach any of my friends. So, I watched two movies almost back-to-back: 1971 and Honeymoon Travels..

1971 was a good patriotic movie, well-acted out, good storyline, tragic ending. Hindi movies are getting more and more mature by the day. What really struck me in the movie was the joke made by Gultu. Punjabis stay both in India and Pakistan.
"So phir Pakistan kyon banaya?" "Aage se nahi banayenge."
We are already divided in so many different ways, and now the OBC angle? Well, that's another Pandora's box.

The reviews for Honeymoon Travels were not great but I found the human relationships and the play on marriage and honey-moon interesting. The storyline and concept was new as well for a Hindi movie. Relationships were explored, the humanity in each one exposed, diversity celebrated. The one that really fascinated me was the Superman couple.. That was really funny!!
"We fight each other once every 16 years."
Clever, very clever!

There was a time when books were a man's best friend. Then I went to KGP, and I discarded books for the company of living beings. Cut to 13th May, 2007 and movies have become my best friend today. Tomorrow, I'll discard movies for the company of living beings.
But wait, weren't we all planning to go to the AID-Boise movie at the theatres for Tara Rum Pum..

Nay, movies are a man's best friend!

Friday, May 11, 2007

Des vs Pardes

Another desi engineer from the hallowed portals of IIT, I have studied and worked in the US for almost five years now.

The call of the West! In a limited way, I can claim to have heard it, heeded it, rallied to it, and answered it.. While in the US, I have lived in three different states - Arizona, Idaho and Virginia, and visited 11 others.

Five long years, and I'd still rather have a desi-party with my friends, than go out on a two day bike trip to the mountains all by myself, and boast about the serene beauty of nature next morning at work. A typical American gets a kick out of fishing alone. I get a kick eating it with my friends. (I am a veggie but this is a figure of speech!)

Five years in the US and the fake American accent and slangs have crept into my speech. But I guess its got something to do with the previous twenty-two years of my Indian upbringing that warms up my spirit when I talk with people rather than with nature. Cricket still evokes late night-outs, while NFL still seems like a free-for-all carnage. In spite of the political mileage garnered with American bosses at work while discussing the Seattle Seahawks vs NY Giants, it seems too much of an effort to understand the 'game'.
(Can't resist sharing this interesting piece with my Filipino and American bosses.)

American Boss: "Did you check out the Super-bowl game yesterday. The Steelers nailed the Patriots down."
Filipino Boss: "What a game! I never miss any Super-bowl games. They are the best!"

Me: Quiet. At a complete loss of words. Don't care for NFL and won't pretend to care as well. Attitude that ensures I'll stay an engineer at best and unemployed at worst! Smile my ugliest smile.

The American boss steps out leaving my Filipino Boss and me alone.

Filipino Boss: "So, Sumant, do you watch NFL games?"
Me: "No, American football doesn't interest me! Too old to play it, and don't care to watch it." Again the attitude. I hate myself.
Filipino Boss: "Hahaha, football didn't interest me either. One day I learnt!"

Five years, and I still don't care about NFL and don't want to either. I'd rather pay $5 for watching cricket on the internet than watch the HD baseball game on the plasma screen in the sportsbar next door for free. (Ok, so I pay for the drinks, but technically I ain't paying for the game.)

While in the US, I still depend on NDTV and Rediff for my daily quota of world and Indian news. The CNN blog on the number of dogs that died due to the recent food-poisoning or why Britney shaved her head off doesn't bother me.

Desis, for the most part, are sentimental about India eleven months of the year. Every year, they pack up their bags and take the holy pilgrimage back home. Two days in India and its crumbling infra-structure (Ok, its improving now. But, you have to step out of India to the US to understand what I am saying.) and over-population, and they secretly wish for home. Three weeks later, they are comfortably snug in the central climate-controlled comforts of their US homes. Seven days later, they get sentimental about India again. And so the cycle continues...

So, while in the US, living in India??? Something's gotta give. Either you kill your memories or else kill the dream. Five long years, and I finally killed the 'American dream'. I decided to pack up and go back. The lust of the big juicy greenbacks is satiated for now and my BIGGEST reason to be in the US lost.

I got an admission to IIM Ahmedabad, and I am gonna wrap up my baggage and head back to India in June! For good? I don't know, but I certainly hope so!

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

A karen na C karen, kaisi mushkil hai!

I made it to ISB and then to IIM-C and then to IIM-A.

ISB didn't want to work with me and accomodate my requests for time, so I katta'ed it. The dilemma then is between C and A. Both reputed schools, both with deep roots, deep alumni and deep pockets..

Sometimes, I wish for innocence and youth, when you didn't think too much; just did what the juntax did; and lived to die another day.
Katta, the crap, I did some research and thinking and analysis and here is my score-card through my myopic and convex lens:

1. Academic Rigor:
==================
A wins. If the BusinessWeek rankings are to be believed, A has an enviable record of 100% acceptance by students, while C has about 50%, meaning the best go to A. But will I prove worthy, or should I let my inglorious academic results in a distant college predict my future results in an academic setting, and instead succumb to the school (that lets you discover yourself and not the scholar in you)!! The funny thing with me is that while for the most part, my college scores have been a big ZERO, there have been miscellaneous sparks of whiz and times when I would amaze myself. A GMAT score of 760, a test question in KGP that none but me could solve, a class-test in ASU in algos (which I dare say to a Thoka was pure Greek compared to the class of CS studs) where I'd suddenly be the top-gun even tho I did not study anything and the rest of the class had armed themselves to the teeth!

Well, the fear of failure has never spurred a winner and as Gurudev says When u fear, think the worst that can happen to u and the fear will evaporate! So, worst case scenario I'd fail the class in which case they'd kick me out of A and I would start my life from scratch! What's a year in God's big scheme of things.. I survived 27 years, another year of failure wouldn't hurt!!

So, I say, A bring it on! And C, the lame horse will prove a winner yet!


2. Placement Stats:
===================

A one-liner - I don't care!
I'm not exactly rolling in moolah, but placements are a color of the season and a function of the market conditions. As with my past experiences at KGP, and ASU, I am going to assume the worst and tell the market on the face this time, "I DON'T CARE." It took me three.five years at Micron to be able to say that, and I feel good now!

3. Apna Khud ka Dukan (Entre):
==============================

The web, the great demystifier and the leveller shouts A. C's claim to entre is a club and a few email ids. A has a dedicated web-site. But then C is Kol - home of all my dreams, so then here my naivette would shout C.

Gujjuland is the home of the Ambanis, Kol is the land of Marxists. Conclusion: Je ne comprende pas. Me more confused than you!

4. The Chanakyas (Professors)
=============================

The profs at IIM-A are hard task-masters. They are better professors. Period. For someone like me, I need someone to kick my back-side all the time. Its like the slave who will not work till the master whips him. Yes, India has tasted fifty years of freedom, but, me, I am still a slave.
Besides, again, the web, the great leveller, highlights the professors at A to be more dynamic. TTR even has a blog-site! Well, I am sure there are good professors at C, but I will rest my case here. A beats C 100 to 99.

5. Fin/Marketing/Ops/Systems/....
==================================

Since the only exposure to management for me is "HOW LOUD CAN YOU SHOUT?" I will say that I don't know what I want to do. Yes, I am scared because for the first time, I don't have a clear idea of what I want to do after a MBA.. The prospect terrifies me, because all the while I was very clear of what I wanted to do. Right after my internship in Germany to my decision to do an MBA, it was more or less planned out. Yes, I gambled on the 1-year and lost a year but other than that, all working as planned.

But cut to the chase, A is good in all departments (general perception) and C is good in Finance.

So, playing blind, it makes sense to bet on A. Finance seems attractive, but again, departments being the flavor of the season, I'd rather drink in all the wells, rather than be the frog in the well, to whom the world is finance and finance the world. A, again!

6. Bureacracy, Awfice
==================================

Experiences at the GD/PI, A rocks! The C staff are babes in the wood, they don't know what, where, how, why? Well, I am going to B-school to learn from profs/students so why bother with ineffeciencies in the admin? Well, many a fighter jet have fallen coz the ground crew messed up.

Ok, A again!



6. People, Juntax
==================

The seniors at A seem more mature. C seemed more spoon-feeders.. Brief from a mail:

A lot has already been said on the yahoo forum, and has been a source of a lot of data, information and of course,passions.. The passions were far more in evidence at A vs C. The tucchas/is were far more excited and enthusiastic abt their fucchas/is than C.. They sounded smarter, spread across the globe. There's also some talk abt having meets in Tokyo and SFO.

A place is defined by its people and the tucchas/is at A certainly define themselves well.

Quantitative factors taken care of, A rules!!


Qualitative factor: C IS HOME!! C rules!!


You know they say that you make a decision in 5 seconds and then spend days trying to shore up all the data to justify the decision.

Now, some more thoughts on the subject. There is NO such thing as the BEST institute. I have seen dumb PhDs from MIT and kick-arse talent from Boise State University. (Again,don't get me wrong here! Doesn't mean that that's the norm! Education is a function of you, you and you. The external factors help but in the end, its you.

Human decisions and actions are based on quantitative and qualitative factors (as opposed to the automaton).And its true that in the long course of human history,while some of the worst decisions have been made on quantitative data, some of the best decisions were based on qualitative data. (Repeat: Don't get me wronghere! Doesn't mean that that's the norm!!) My boss keeps saying,"Show me the data" and one day, I'll @&%@! him.

For me, quantitative factors point west, qualitative factors point east. But in the real world, in the end,the head wins over the heart. Everyone claps, rev up their engines and go home.

(Sorry I just wanted that to sound dramatic.. Couldn't resist typing it!!)