IIM Bangalore PGSEM MBA Blog

Yamini: The night that shone bright

2012-01-26T16:39:00.000+05:30

Come 25th January each year and IIMB becomes the host to Indian Classical music afficados of Bangalore. The dusk-to-dawn music festival Yamini hosted five stalwarts this year - Bharatanatyam by Padma Bhushan Smt Alarmel Valli, Hindustani vocal by Dr. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Carnatic vocal by Padma Bhushan Vidwan TN. Sheshagopalan, Carnatic flute by Vidwan Shashank Subramanyam and Hindustani violin by Vidwan Kala Ramnath.

The beautiful landscape, the cool night and the mesmerizing music sent the whole crowd into a trans like state. Some swinging their heads in rhythm. Some eyes-closed, looking up the night sky. If the blissful music soothes one and all, the event itself is provides a rare opportunity for us students to meet our respected professors and their families in a relaxed setting.

So another year's wait begins for the next Yamini. And lest I forget, wishing all my countrymen a happy 64th year of our proud Indian Republic.. and who knows, maybe a five-thousandth year of our civilization and culture :-)

Second Hand Learning

2012-01-22T18:54:00.000+05:30

Sitting in a PGSEM classroom can be quite an experience sometimes, purely for its awe-inducing value among other things. There is no doubt about the fact that our professors are extremely accomplished individuals who have a wealth of knowledge to share. But sometimes you realize it is not just their knowledge but also that of the world’s foremost authorities on certain subjects that is being passed on to you in class. And that fleeting moment of inspiration (before intimidation follows) is priceless.

For instance, yesterday we discovered that one of our professors has studied under Narendra Karmarkar at the TIFR. Last quarter, we were taught by a professor who has studied under Nouriel Roubini. And it is good to know that we are getting to hear the ideas of these stalwarts somewhere through our professors. While that has the danger of mental tunnelling occurring due to the influences/hand-me-down ideas, it is important to note that it is probably better than not getting to hear these ideas at all. This second hand learning from international authorities has been quite a fascinating aspect of the course, whenever it has presented itself.

A few weeks ago, the Internet was abuzz with reports of the advent of Facebook reducing the degrees of separation in the world from 6 to 4.74. In our case, we are one degree of separation away from some of the best brains in the world and that is a good spurt of motivation any day!

Eventful days ahead in IIMB!!

2012-01-14T21:39:00.001+05:30

Its raining events in IIM Bangalore!!!

Whether you are a contemporary music buff, classical music cognoscenti or business enthusiast, you have something awaiting you in the coming days @ IIM Bangalore.

Yamini 2012

January 25-26

Strategy to usher in the next phase of growth in IT Industry

January 27, 2012
Register @ http://bit.ly/itgrowth-next-decade

Unmaad 2012

January 27-29, 2012

Cloud4U - Industry Trends in Cloud Computing

February 4, 2012

Register @ http://bit.ly/cloud4u

TEDxIIMB!!

2012-01-09T12:20:00.003+05:30

Having heard of the TED talk series for a while now, I was totally excited when I got to know that IIMB was having a micro version of its own - the TEDxIIMB event. It was the first time it was being conducted, and is expected to be an annual event. It was scheduled for a Wednesday, so there was a little discomfort with having to take a half-day off from work, and it didn't help that my fellow smarties (the others in the PGSEM programme) gave a lazy look out of the corner of their eyes when I asked who'd be coming along. The reason? "It's a TEDx event man, it'll be on the internet anyway... we can watch it for free! That too, in office!". But for some reason, maybe to partake of a historic moment, I just had to go. And so I did, though I thought the price was exorbitant even AFTER getting the customary IIMB discount. Now, before I come off as this really miserly chap, I better get to the actual topic.

As always happen, the event that's supposed to start at 2, promptly began around 2:15. That's remarkably early, when you consider IST. The underlying theme was supposed to be "Unconventional Paradigms". So the speakers were chosen aptly, representing a set of people who do.. things.. differently. Some of the speakers seemed to understand what they were supposed to do and came through with a message that made me think. Some of the others had so much to say, they forgot that they weren't the only speakers in the session. Being alloted 15 minutes and taking 45 minutes can *REALLY* test the patience of someone. Even if what you've done is remarkable, I believe that in a talk the audience is important, what you have to say... not as much. You have to get through to them, get them to absorb what you have to say. A couple of the guys came about saying "I did this, I did that" and that leads to a tune-out. Having said all that, tt wasn't as bad as I'm making it out to be! We had a few guys talking to us about how they chose to live life differently, and there were some really cool takeaways there.

First off, we had Raghuram (of MTV Roadies fame), who spoke to us about why he thought Roadies succeeded when many other reality shows fail here. His main funda was that during the making of the show, its important to build something you like rather than what you THINK the audience likes. Giving examples of how other people thought that a good reality show requires khadoos judges, and lots of swearwords and tantrums, he tried to explain how Roadies was NOT about that and how it just came to be that... like an unintended consequence. Treating it as a design constraint for any reality show doesn't really make sense. Chilled out speaker, but not really the best start to a TEDx if you ask me.

Next we had Anil Kakodkar, who spoke of how unconventional sources of energy were far more likely to save us in the long run rather than today's methods and sources. Really cool, really technical, where he spoke of Thorium and solar as sources of energy, but man, this was so serious! I heard a couple of guys doze off around me and snore a bit before they caught themselves! (Or was it me?)

We then had Brigadier Dilawar Singh who was trying an unconventional strategy when it came to combating terrorism. He actually went out of his way to engage with the local populace in some of the most unstable locations and conflict zones! It was fascinating to see the passion of the man who so strongly believed that peace and buy-in can be achieved with the local populace if you're just willing to open up to them and let them open up to you. Yes, he went on for much longer than he was supposed to, and it was undoubtedly an awesome tale, but mannn... after a while you start yawning. The guy next to me kept giving me the 'disgusting!' look, and hit me in the ribs everytime I yawned. Other than grimacing at the jabs, there wasn't much else I could do! Luckily it all stopped when I caught him yawning and gave him a pointed stare after which I was left alone.

The last talk in the first session was by Vivek Prabhakar of Chumbak.in fame. This was an amazing end to the first session! In his own light-hearted and humor filled way (not to mention Apple-enabled beautiful presentations), he explained how he and his wife got together to start a business and how it wasn't all fun and games. He went on to explain how they came up with their fridge-magnets merchandise, their different takes on Indian mythological charecters and the creative ways in which they got out of sticky situations. At the end of the day, however, he says there's nothing he would otherwise do. It's always awesome to hear the stories of entrepreneurs, tends to motivate you quite a bit...

The midday session had talks by Ram Prasad (Final Mile Consulting), Amitabh Kant (Incredible India, Kerala - Campaign Architect) and Kiran Bedi (Really? You need an intro?). They had their fair share of stories to tell, and I'd have described them if it wasn't for the fact that you can actually see the videos. I personally thought Kiran Bedi was trying to really push the Lokpal bill across by making people answer some apparently rhetorical questions. Yes, I get how passionate people can be, and even though I felt a little forced by her presentation, I think I'd rather read the Lokpal bill again. I'd urge you to do the same... I wouldn't want her primary concern to remain that way for long. In her own words, she mentions, "Very few of you have given the bill a look through. We need you to do that, this is our last chance of getting through, of getting the way of the people, don't neglect it." At the very least, reading that bill is definitely on top of my list.

The third session had Pankaj Advani and Khurshid Batliwala open the session, one after the other. Pankaj's story was of a normal guy who made it all the way to the top, and his reflections on what it took to get him there. Khurshid, in a very SriSriRavishankar-ish look explained how he made his way from the IIT Delhi to getting into the Art Of Living. Both the speakers had a good share of humour in their talk, and really gelled with the audience. Prof. Trilochan Sastry who came up next, didn't spend much time actually talking about the ADR (which is what the schedule said he'd talk about), but in his own way he took the audience through an insightful talk on the importance of happiness and contentment in one's life.

To close for the day, we had Vipul Goyal, another IIT Delhi guy who's become a comedian. Was a nice wrap-up for the day, making jabs at everyday life and getting us to think a little. All in all, it's a nice beginning to what looks to become an annual event. Each of the speakers had something unconventional in them, or their means of dealing. Looks like I'd be buying a ticket for next year's event anyway! :)

Entrepreneurs Boot-camp: 4Startups Series

2012-01-08T18:09:00.000+05:30

NSRCEL ofIIMB organized a one day Boot-camp for all those interested inEntrepreneurship on 8th January in the campus Auditorium. The workshop wasconducted by Ms. Saras Saraswathy - Professor in Darden School of Business and one of the most famous scholars inthe area of new venture research .For those students of PGSEM who have read her thesis on Effectuation, to hear Prof Saraswathy in person and knowmore about her research was truly a fascinating experience.

The whole boot-camp was organized into four broad sessions. Thefirst session started with Prof Saraswathy introducing the participants to theidea of Effectuation in such an interactive manner that the whole audience was inraptures for her skill in witty facilitation. The second session was aninterview of Mr R. Sundarrajan, entrepreneur and CEO of Just-Books. Postlunch was a panel discussion on VC funding chaired by Mr. Rahul Chowdhri of Helion VenuturePartners. The final session was for Q&A and synthesis. The audience registered themselves into various groups - Greenhorns (still thinking of ideas), Red & Orange badges (those with ideas and thinking of starting off), Lavender (those who have made the great leap). This division was a great idea.. simply because many people were seen all through the day identifying those with differing colors and walking up to them to talking to them.. networking made easy.

'Do the doable' is one of the fundamentals of Effectuation. And thisnew theory challenges the idea of 'Causation' to spell-out the makings of asuccessful entrepreneurial venture. The theory tries to explain the'Entrepreneurial Mindset' by 4 simple principles -

· Bird in HandPrinciple – Start with your means.Don’t wait for the perfect opportunity. Start taking action, based on what youhave readily available: who you are, what you know, and who you know.

· Affordable LossPrinciple – Set affordable lossEvaluate opportunities based on whether the downside is acceptable, rather thanon the attractiveness of the predicted upside.

· Lemonade Principle – Leveragecontingencies Embrace surprises that arise from uncertain situations, remainingflexible rather than tethered to existing goals.

· Crazy-Quilt Principle – Formpartnerships with people and organizations willing to make a real commitment tojointly creating the future—product, firm, market—with you. Don’t worry so muchabout competitive analyses and strategic planning.

The story of Just-Books is a classic example of how the theory of Effectuation plays out in reality. Mr. Sundarrajan had never heard of the theory till date, but acknowledged at one point in the interview that how incredible it was that his venture so closely tracked the principles of Effectuation! And what an incredible story Just-Books itself is in the humble works of its founder. For those of us who have heard our professors talk about ideas like 'ready-fire-aim' or 'thought-action-together' it felt like the ideas had jumped out of book and onto the stage!

Professor Saraswathy has herself been an entrepreneur of five ventures. She expertly drew parallels between the story of Just-Books with those like Kirloskar, Starbucks and Sears. Those in the audience pitched forth their own ventures in areas as diverse as catering, garment design and ERP software and tried to imbibe where they stood on the ladder and what the theories could say on what lay ahead.

The VC panel discussion threw light on insightful things like - go for VC funding as late as possible, go for VC funding only when the 2nd VC interested in your venture calls you, different categories of VC, typical funding percentages, E-commerce VC, pro's and con's of being on the VC radar, importance of a well rounded team backing your venture, what the VC typically look in the entrepreneur and so on..

To me, however, the comment that took the cake was this observation by a VIP - in America, if you hold a seminar on Entrepreneurship these days, the biggest point of discussion is law/lawyers. While in India, the debate hinges around funding. And its easier getting progressively easier in our world to overcome financial bottlenecks than legal issues everywhere and anywhere!

A different experience!

2011-12-29T19:36:00.000+05:30

Business School education is not all about Leadership, Corporate Strategy, Pricing, Financial models or JIT manufacturing. I believe now a days, many B Schools focuses equally on other important topics like entrepreneurship, international economy and politics, social entrepreneurship et.al. One thing I noticed in the last 1.5+ in B School interacting with students and faculty in IIMB and other B Schools is that, each B School follow roughly some philosophy while designing the curriculum.Likewise IIM Bangalore gives thrust to topics like entrepreneurship, public policy and new venture creation through inclusive business models etc. along with the usual courses. Last quarter, we had an elective course on Social Entrepreneurship by Prof. Trilochan Sastry. Yes, the name may ring a bell to you - he was behind important contributions to the country like Association of Democratic Reforms, Election Watch, Farmer Cooperatives etc.

As part of the course, we had to work with a NGO to understand its activities and get a hands on experience of running an NGO.We decided to work with AKSHARA Foundation as part of this project. After a few discussions with the volunteers at AKSHARA, we decided to focus on a project that they were currently undertaking. Essentially it was to conduct the feasibility study of adding a technological solution to the manual process of ASER.Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is a manual data collection exercise done by 25000+ volunteers across India under the guidance of Pratham to study the effectiveness of school eduction in Government Schools in Indian Villages.

The learning from projects like these is enormous.We had no clue that such a humongous activity is done every year just to understand the effectiveness of education in India. Even though the volunteers at AKSHARA stressed its importance, we had this question - is it really a required one? The answers were provided when we read former ASER reports that showed the real pathetic condition of Government school education. Its importance was strengthened when we visited a few schools in the villages in Hoskote taluk in Bangalore. We visited few schools in the villages of Muthukadahalli, Karpnahalli,Naganahalli and Sidanpura.It was the first village visit for all of us.We had no clue how different it will be to be in village schools.

The first school that we visited was in size not more than that of a dining hall!! It was a single teacher school. Believe it or not, we noticed the peculiarity of this school - 5 classes(Standard I to V) in a single classroom!

After spending some time with the children, we headed to the next school. It was some what better with two classrooms - Standard I to III in one room and Standard IV to VII in the next room!

Our professor used to stress on one fact that people in rural areas are far more receptive that those in the cities. They don't need freebies, they look for empowerment. This was clearly evident in our interaction with the teachers and children in these schools.We were like the 'School Inspector' visiting each school :) After some interaction with the teachers, each student came to us showcasing their talent in writing, painting, paper crafts and so on...

Personally for me, it was embarrassing as I had no clue on what to expect from these visits and such a welcoming reaction from children! I wished I know to speak Kannada.The more embarrassing fact for me was that - whenever we visited classrooms, we removed our shoes noticing that the children were not wearing anything. We thought it may be a custom not to wear chappals inside classrooms. I never thought at the first instance that they didn't have the financial ability to buy food or dress let alone chappals.
How disconnected am I from the real world!

We also got the opportunity to talk to few parents. It was really interesting to see the importance and enthusiasm they show in their childrens' studies. We noticed the other extreme also - where the family is in a big turmoil, that the children come to school escaping from those or just for the mid day meals.

In another school visit, we ate the mid day meals provided to children. Once again, it was a surprise visit for them; the school authorities didn't get time to prepare a separate meal for us. The children and teacher promised us to prepare payasa and kesari bath during our next visit. How nice of them.....we had to promise in turn, when we will come back!!!

PGSEM Alumni meet

2011-12-29T17:48:00.004+05:30

As the sun began to set last Saturday, a few people from the corners of Bangalore and outside, slowly inched back towards IIMB. The destination was well known to them. And some had been sorely missing these trips for a long time..

For the current crop of students, the evening promised to be something special. Could they see a reflection of their own futures in the seniors whom they were about to meet..

The event started in the most comfortable way.. some even helping themselves for a second round of samosas and the wonderful fruit-cake. And then, settling down in a classroom comes naturally to all PGSEMers. Seniors came from everywhere - Cisco, HP, Infy, Wipro, etc etc.. And then there were the special ones.. the Entrepreneurs.

The interactions began. Stories and incidents flew. Over the din were heard comments like 'I got rejuvenated here', 'Never missed a class unlike Engineering!', 'demystified my life', 'upgraded my skills', 'made great friends', 'life felt like an action movie', 'grew more confident' and on and on. Some in the audience had horror written on their faces when one senior recalled an incident of copying which was caught. And as the elegant Ms. Uma Balakrishnan reminiscenced the guidance she received from Professor J.Ramachandran for a knotty problem in her new venture, it reminded all of the greatness of this institution.

It was the 10th year reunion for the first passing batch of PGSEM in 2001. And that class of 50+ students was well represented. The old and the new compared the course, then and now. There now was the new classroom block. A more expansive list of electives on offer. A race among professors to offer some of their best courses to the PGSEM students. The swiping system of attendance (the unwelcome offspring of technology revolution). The thick cover of trees having grown a little less wild. But some things had not changed - mid-career crisis/confusion among students, the break-neck speed of academics, the mystique of our ageless professors and the wonderful administrative support.

Charm was added to the light-hearted evening as Vikram.JS and Vikram Parthan took to the stage and played the guitars. Who would not enjoy a 'purani jeans' or 'summer of 69' once more?

The dinner buffet was tastefully laid out. The soft lighting and green lawns reminded all of the holiday season and the coming dawn of a new year. It was all apt - after all the the best of networking happens over good food!

So, with the start of Alumni reunions this year, the family of 1000+ PGSEMers has found one more chord to connect back to their alma mater. Its only natural to thank the Alumni organization of IIMB, especially Mr. Rakesh Godhwani and Ms. Rohini for the joyous evening.

The Unethical Indian?

2011-12-22T00:36:00.003+05:30

The atmosphere in college is soaked in finance these days courtesy the India Finance Conference. So, the first thing that came to my mind on hearing the composition of the panel was Portfolio theory: Greater the diversification, greater the returns. Well, here goes the list of the panelists (straight from the invitation mail)

"Dr. Samuel Paul- Former Director, IIM Ahmedabad, and Founder of the Public Affairs Centre, Bangalore. Professor Paul co-edited a book titled Corruption in India: An Agenda for Action, and pioneered the use of Report Cards to enhance the accountability of public service providers in India.

Professor Dipankar Gupta-One of India’s foremost sociologists and recently retired from the Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is the author of Ethics Incorporated, and advised KPMG on setting up an Ethics practice in India.

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, journalist and author with over 20 years experience in print, radio and television. He was one of the first media professionals to expose the iron ore scam in Karnataka through his path-breaking video titled Blood and Iron.

Meena Ganesh-CEO and Managing Director Pearson Education Services, which includes innovative brands like Tutor Vista and Edurite. Earlier CEO of Tesco, Co-Founder of Customer Asset , spending the earlier part of her career with Microsoft, PwC and NIIT.

The discussions will be moderated by Professor Rishikesha T Krishnan, Professor of Corporate Strategy at IIM Bangalore."

You can do the math and figure out the correlation.

Prof Paul started the discussion espousing the need of a) Individuals who hold certain values close to their heart and b) Institutions that nurture and support these values. He pointed out the high level of tolerance for corruption in our society due to various reasons like lack of education and other social institutions which could have implemented these values thus reducing the elasticity of the morals. In essence what we need is fewer laws and better implementation.

A worse problem is the predatory nature of our political institutions. If there is scope for collusion there is lack of transparency leading to greed and corruption. We need a transformation from predatory to more accountable form of political institutions. This has already been achieved eg in property tax collection in Bengaluru which has become much more transparent after publishing the formula for calculating the due amount. Prof concluded with the remark that we need to move from a culture of cynicism to that of hope.

Paranjoy dwelled upon the nuanced nature of perception of corruption in India eg taking bribe is a bigger corruption that giving bribe. What is shocking is the scale and the brazen nature of corruption today which makes scams of yesteryears seem trivial. He said that the root of corruption is in the way elections are funded in India. He added that there is a (misplaced) perception that corruption like inflation and inequality goes hand in hand with growth and development. The problem we have is that resources of our country are up for sale and that Governments which should ideally be the custodians of these resources are the ones actively taking part in this sale. Talking of the collusion between media, Government and corporates he quoted this witty ditty from "Uncelestial City"

You cannot hope

to bribe or twist,

thank God! the

British journalist.

But, seeing what

the man will do

unbribed, there's

no occasion to.

He concluded his talk on an optimistic note saying slowly but steadily we are moving forward from corruption towards transparency thanks to proactive judiciary, vigilant sections of the media and the civil society, so much so that we can expect our children and grand children to live in a world that is less corrupt than the one we live in.

Meena brought the corporate perspective in the discussion adding the dimensions of i) Excellence, ii) Behaviour with other people iii) Integrity that together comprise ethics. Talking of the importance of leadership in nurturing ethics she noted the opportunity in education with a focus on ethics at various levels. She explained the concept of Jugaad which has a place of pride & affection in our hearts as a mixed bag which leads to creativity and innovation at the same time providing avenues to misuse loopholes in rules thus transgressing ethical boundaries. She discussed how strictly implemented laws like ABC (Anti Bribery & Corruption) policy in UK which while perceived as being draconian by most sections of the corporate world was instrumental in structural changes leading to increased transparency. Providing a possible solution for corruption she said the first and foremost thing is that we keep our stable clean and then go on to bring robust businesses which will generate employment, thus reducing scarcity of basic resources and curbing corruption at the grass root level.

Dipankar provided the "aha moment" of the session when he explained the distinction between Morality and Ethics. Morality, he said was a private matter while ethics was a public affair out there in the open. Thus while a vegetarian may hold a "moral" high-ground, it is restricted to his personal view. Ethics on the other hand is based on rules stated upfront eg behavior in Traffic on in sports. He said that a team leader may not be the best player in the team but brings out the best from the team. Thus, ethics lead to professional excellence. Talking of his experience in setting up the ethics and corporate governance practice in KPMG he said that ethics and business were considered oxymorons for a long time. However ethics is not something you do after you make money rather it is something you do in order to make money. He explained CSR as having 3 dimensions viz. i) Consumer ii) Competence & iii) Community which together should benefit the company. Bringing democracy into the discussion he added that "the good thing about democracy is that it eventually listens". Although we currently have patron-client relationship at all levels in our society, hampering transparency and ethical behavior, with efforts for universal education and universal health we should see a growing middle class and growing empathy thus increasing the room for ethics.

PS: The title as was pointed in the Q&A session is meant to be rhetorical; not a statement on the ethics of Indians!

Dr. C. Rangarajan's address in India Finance Conference 2011

2011-12-21T13:08:00.000+05:30

Dr. C. Rangarajan inaugurated the India Finance Conference 2011 earlier today at IIMB. Dr. Rangarajan is currently the economic adviser to the Prime Minister. An eminent scholar, Dr. Rangarajan has been a professor at IIM-A and also been its director. He has been awarded with Padma Vibhushan and has served as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh.

In his inaugural speech, Dr Rangarajan addressed the gathering on the 3 topics of - Reforms, Regulation and Financial Innovation.

Talking about reforms he pointed out that the share of PSB's (public sector banks) in the Indian economy has gradually but substantially come down from over 90% in 1991 to about 72% in 2010. Private banks command a share of 10-12% and this seems likely to go up. Speaking about banking and finance sector reforms, he said there are many distinctive features that make Indian reform story unique, like - (a) Usage of domestic expertise (b) Banking reforms not driven by any crisis (c) Done along with other economic reforms (d) Creation of space for public & private along with domestic and foreign. He elaborated on the various transformational roles played by the Financial Intermediaries like risk, size and maturity transformations, and explained the challenges in the coming year. Dr. Rangarajan said that currently the Indian PSB's are under-capitalized and there was a need to infuse more capital into their systems. He pointed out that Indian banks are moving towards accepting new regulatory frameworks emerging across the world - the Basel II and III standards - and there was a need to do so.

Going on to regulations, Dr. Rangarajan pointed out that the current crisis in the west can be attributed to both the things - no regulation of certain financial activities and under-regulation of some. "Regulatory arbitrage" was created as funds moved from regulated to non-regulated parts of the market freely. Speaking of the need for regulations to cover all segments, he stressed that regulations be applied to uniform degree as well. He said that 'coordinated' oversight is required across geographies in the present crisis as well as going ahead. Dr. Rangarajan called for creation of institutions to build buffer in good times so that they can be used in bad times. Speaking about maintenance of good quality assets, he stressed that excessive leverage needs to be contained.

On Financial Innovation, Dr. Rangarajan brought to notice a recent report by Joseph Stiglitz Committee that says much of the innovation was helping only short-term profitability and was not the long-term. He called upon the FI's to keep in mind the social benefit/impact as they roll out new innovations. Saying that more study needs to be done to uncover risk taking and leveraging behavior, the FI's need to discourage excess use of either. Pointing out the need for an efficient debt market for corporate bonds to help liquidity needs as Indian markets mature, he extolled that there is a lot of room for innovations in the Indian context.

The three day conference at IIMB hosting many noted speakers from academia and industry promises to be great event for those interested in the Indian Financial system.

Know Your Alumni Series : Samyeer Metrani

2011-12-14T17:23:00.000+05:30

Samyeer Metrani
VP - Design Services, Mistral Solutions Inc.

Total Years of Experience: 22 Years.

Role Before Joining PGSEM: Group manager - Embedded Systems, Encore software Limited

Role After Completing PGSEM: General manager @ Encore Software Limited.

Q. Tell us a bit about yourself. [Family, Education, hobbies]

I’m married; I have two children, Saket (11) and Saatchi (6), and a lovely wife. My father was in the Airforce, so my education was all over India. For some time I was in boarding school too, at the Lawrence School, Lovedale near Ooty. I have an unconventional education, I am a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, but have been a technical geek playing with computers since I was 12. Computers for me were a hobby, and have become my life.

Q. Please describe your current job/role that you perform?

Mistral is an Embedded Design Services company. We help our customers design embedded products, and help them take those designs all the way through prototyping, firmware development, testing, product validation, certification, all the way to shipping product.

I head the design services group for Mistral in the United States. It is primarily a front-end role. I interface with customers and partners to manage the business that we do in the United States.

On one hand, I focus on building strategic relationships with silicon partners. For example, Mistral is one of the key suppliers of development platforms for the Texas Instruments OMAP processor. We leverage the expertise developed, towards building solutions for customers who would like to use the OMAP processor in their designs.

On the other hand, I work closely with the end customer, keeping a finger on their pulse, and making sure projects are going well. Keeping communication channels open, and making sure that issues, both sides of the planet are open and discussed.

Q. What would be the most challenging aspect of your role?

That’s easy…its keeping communication going...we operate in a global relay race, with teams working all over the world. We have to make sure that all information on everything that is going on is available to everybody who needs to know.

I spend a lot of time listening; to our teams, to customers, and am always looking for that “small thing” that got missed. Big problems get the visibility and because of that are pretty easy to solve, it’s the small ones that get ignored and become the real problems that we sometimes face. Problems/mistakes happen; keeping communication going through a crisis is the primary requirement to come out looking good on the other side.

Q. How did PGSEM help transform your career?

I remember my first day at PGSEM. You know how it is, you go through life, doing well in school, college, at work, did well at the entrance exam, and here I am…and generally think… “Damn! I’m good!” …and then you walk into a classroom full of people who feel exactly the same way about themselves. A humbling, and a very learning experience.

PGSEM really took me from trying to do everything myself to working out how I can work together with others to achieve a common objective. It changed my approach towards colleagues, suppliers, partners and most importantly customers. It also helped me focus on structure and technique towards doing things. Studying, while working, had the powerful advantage that I could test my understanding of what happened in the classroom, in the real world of the workplace.

Q. What are the trends that you see in the business space today in terms of the skill requirements and the supply of the same?

There is a convergence and consolidation that is going on across all sectors our industry services. The big are getting bigger, and the small are getting swallowed up. This introduces new challenges as we look for ways to differentiate at what we do. The customer is not always ready with a problem they are looking to solve, it is up to us to come up with new concepts, new designs, new products and services…

In the words of Henry Ford, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for faster horses!”

The industry needs people who can change, who can innovate, who are willing and able to tear up the status quo to create a new reality, come on…10 years ago Google was a search engine!

Q. Describe THE incident which has influenced you the most to be what you are today.

It was in 1982, I had just come back from boarding school for the summer and we had gone to Bombay (now Mumbai) to meet my grandparents. Sitting there in front of the TV was a Home Computer, the ZX Spectrum. That was when I was introduced to the virtual world of computing. I spent a lot of time that summer learning basic, and showing off to my brother and cousins how I could make it do what I asked of it. I was hooked, that wonder has not worn off, and I hope it never will. I no longer have that ZX Spectrum computer, but I have the manual, over the years the pages have rotted, and have stuck together, I can no longer open it, and I don’t want to lest it comes apart, but it holds the pride of place on my bookshelf as a reminder of my introduction to computers.

Q. What do you think are the key attributes of a good leader?

1. Decision Making – The ability and the willingness to take a call.

2. Consistency or actually Clarity – a leader needs to be clear about what he stands for, and consistent (even predictable) in standing by it.

3. Willingness to be wrong – and taking corrective action quickly.

Q. Whom do you consider as your Role Model and Why?

That would be Mr. Subroto Bagchi. I first met Mr. Bagchi over 14 years ago. At that time I was running a small startup from a house in Bangalore, he was a senior figure in Wipro, much before he started MindTree. He treated me with the same respect that he would give to somebody from a much larger company. Every time I have met him since he not only remembers those times, but takes the effort to know a little more about me.

I am not surprised to see how far Mr. Bagchi has gone, and I hope that I live up to the picture of myself that he set up for me.

Q. What is your take on the importance of a value system in business?

While I believe that business should have a value system I believe more, that a value system is what the individual lives by. No business can impose a value system onto an individual or a team, but people who believe in similar values can come together and become a very powerful force. I sincerely believe that if we treat the other person (customer, partner, colleague…no matter) exactly the way that we would like to be treated, we will do well. A slightly tongue-in-cheek example that I give often to people starting a new career, “May the person who builds your house do his work with exactly the same commitment that you give to your work!”

Q. What is your Mantra for work life balance?

This is a tough one, especially because I am a bit of a Workaholic. I have a fantastic wife who will tell me when I’m going too far…and I guess to my credit, I listen. I do the work, she provides the balance.

Q. Your message to students at IIMB-PGSEM today?

There is a significant need for leadership in our industry. After the PGSEM you are ready to take it up…but nobody is going to come to you and say, “You are ready, now lead!” You need to step up and ask for it, and make sure you get it. Knowledge and ability is of no value unless it is put to use, go ahead and show the world what you can do.

Plunnge and Product Managers meet

2011-12-10T20:35:00.001+05:30

The start of quarter is always an exciting time. You get to know new courses, new professors and feel fresh..

But many will remember the start of Quarter 3 for more reasons than that. For the 2 wonderful interaction sessions we had today - one with head of IIMB Alumni initiative Mr. Rakesh Godhwani and the other with 3 senior Product Managers from Google, Oracle and Nokia.

Rakesh, being a PGSEM alumnus touched the students chords almost instantly. His has been a deep personal and professional journey - one which is difficult to capture in mere words. To leave a lucrative job.. the self belief to chase your dreams.. to have faith in family, friends and god's ways.. these are not things that one comes across even once in a while. Would recommend one and all to have a look at his book's website - www.plunnge.com and listen to his interview.

And in the late evening we had the product manager's meet. Three product managers, all distinguished alumnus of PGSEM and wonderful speakers..

Mr. Sai Sreekanth - Product Manager, Emerging Markets group, Google
Mr. Abhinav Agarwal - Director, Product Management & Strategy, Oracle
Mr. Subodh Sachan - Senior Product Manager at BORQS

Abhinav held the audience to a rapt attention as he described his role and work followed by Subodh. Sai, with his flowing beard and deep probing eyes seemed like a perfect geek and an anti-thesis to a conventional manager.. but once he started speaking you knew it.. he knew what he was doing like the back of his hand.

The three gentlemen took pains to explain the workings of inbound and outbound product management.. of the distribution of their time in market research, sales interactions, PRD making and developer interactions.. of the importance of domain and the importance to leverage ones prior experience.. basically the whole art and science of product management.

It was a interesting and thought provoking start to a new quarter. Thanks to all who made it possible - the Guest Speakers, Organizers and the participants.

Why continuing education is the need of the hour

2011-11-19T20:31:00.001+05:30

"Contemplating all the men of the world, who come together in society to work, struggle and better themselves, cannot but please you more than any other thing"

~Antonio Gramsci

India is going through an interesting phase of social and economic significance. The nation is said to be enjoying "demographic dividend" which essentially means that India is (and will remain for some time) one of the youngest countries in the world. In 2020, the average Indian will be only 29 years old, compared with an average age of 37 in China and the US, 45 in Western Europe and 48 in Japan. This means that the dependency ratio (ratio of people in the non working age groups of less than 15 years or more than 64 years to the number of people in the working age group between 15 to 64 years of age) in India is lesser than most other countries of the world. What this also means that by 2050 India will have to supply manpower to the rest of the world including China which is currently the most populous country of the world. In order to cash upon this window of opportunity we need the people in the working age group to be actually working. This will be possible only if this young population is sufficiently skilled and educated to cater to the employment opportunities coming up.

What is continuing education and how does it fit in?

I have deliberately used the term "continuing education" for formal studies while working rather than "part time education" which I believe is a misnomer. Many so called "part time studies" require a full time commitment from the student. The beauty of continuing education is that you upgrade your skill and prepare yourself for greater challenges while simultaneously continuing to contribute productively to the economy. What's more your education will most likely be debt free and you will relish the fruits of the new learning without worrying about paying back loans. It's like the proverbial "having your cake and eating it too". It also acts as an insurance against the capricious business cycles, saving you the anxieties of finding a new job as soon as your course gets over. As we continue to grow we need to have more and more education programs in various fields that cater to this need. This is where a course like PGSEM really shines through.

Open House Agenda & PGSEM Hot Line

2011-11-17T21:39:00.001+05:30

Please find below the agenda for PGSEM Open House 2011

Date: November 20, 2011, Sunday

Timings	Agenda
09:00 - 09:30	Open House Registration
09:00 - 10:00	Coffee/Tea
10:00 - 10:05	Welcome Address
10:05 - 10:15	Address by Prof. Narendra M Agrawal Chairperson, CSITM & PGSEM
10:15 - 10:20	Presentation by PGSEM Students' Affairs Council
10:20 - 11:00	Panel Discussion
11:00 - 11:30	Coffee/Tea
11:30 - 01:00	Panel Discussion / Q & A

We are also happy to inform you that we are kick starting a student run initiative to enable a 1-1 interaction between aspirants and present PGSEM students. More information and registration form @ http://bit.ly/pgsemhotline

We look forward to meet all of you. Make sure to use this opportunity to interact with students, faculty and PGSEM alumni!

Profit Power Economics: CSITM lecture by Dr. Mia de Kuijper

2011-11-16T11:44:00.000+05:30

Business strategy is one of the hottest areas of study and research in B-schools. Getting to hear leading thinkers in this area is one of the added privileges of studying at IIMB.

CSITM organized a talk by Dr. Mia de Kuijper, a Harvard trained economist, few days ago. Apart from having held senior positions in global giants like Pepsico, Shell and AT&T, Dr. Mia is also the author a recent book researching successful business strategies - "Profit Power Economics: A New Competitive Strategy for Creating Sustainable Wealth".

In her talk Dr. Mia went into great depths to explain the idea behind transparency and power nodes. She insightfully portrayed how access to information is shattering the economic theories around information asymmetry.. this beautiful Banglalink advertisement clearly brought out this reality. The 21st century business model needs new organization forms, she stressed. The vertically integrated companies of the world are under serious attack - AT&T can no longer debate if it has to 'manufacture' the phones it sells - it simply can't!

I would remember this lecture for the many vivid illustrations that Dr. Mia presented. In a short animation, she showed us the growth of Wal-Mart super-center's across US geography which left the audience in a wide gasp. She brought to life the 'idea' behind the birth of Pepsi's bottled water 'Aquafina' - a massive challenge even for this soft-drink giant - to produce uniform taste and quality water across the globe. And I dont think many would know how capital intensive pepsico's snack-chips business is..

For students of business like in PGSEM, where the focus is on case-based learning, its always a great opportunity to listen to real life practitioners. Many of the concepts and problems in those business cases come to life. And our worldview of business continuously expands.

Finally, a 'Thank you' to Dr. Mia and CSITM for this wonderful lecture.

PGSEM 2012 Admissions

2011-11-02T12:14:00.002+05:30

The 14^th PGSEM Program is scheduled to start from June 2012. The open-house is to be held on Nov 20^th at IIMB.

Click here to register for the open house.

The important dates for the process can be read here - Important dates

Admission announcement details, process details and brochure can be found here - Brochure etc

Vista 2011 - as I saw it.

2011-10-10T23:47:00.005+05:30

Vista started for me with Corporate Quiz titled “Images and words” by the quiz master, Sumeet Shetty, himself. We got our Macroeconomics quiz postponed so that we could all attend/organize this quiz. Quiz for a quiz :) Well, as always, it started off with prelimns( preliminary round). I have been so used to the word ‘Prelimns’ that I had long forgotten that it is nothing but Preliminary in short form. Thanks to MS Word, the ‘kumbh mela mein bichde hue’ types prelimns-preliminary Jodi is now united in my memory map.

Prelimns had around 25 questions, with questions related to wide variety of topics all under the sun. It started off with an easy one on Vista. It was followed by questions like, “Impossibly named heroine in one of the James Bond movie, when Bond hears it, makes him say ‘I must be dreaming’” to a question on Kannada song sounding similar to the ever-playing-same-guy-singing song on the city’s FM radio stations “Ninnindale ninnidale” of “Mungaru male” fame, the quiz had everyone go “{unmentionable}!! I knew this!!! But can’t seem to recollect it now”. “Dat thing is in edge of my tongue I say, not coming out only!!” – my south-bengaluru-bred-darshini-fed RapidX English speaking pardner. For the uninitiated, it is a loose translation of the Kannada expression “naalige tudiyallide”, meaning I seem to know it but unable to recollect it at the moment. Something to this effect - “But don’t worry saar, my tongue is ready to speak out the answer, as soon as my brain supplies the answer, I will spit it out.”

After the prelimns, we had the finals. Oh wait! No wild-card round?? Of course not, this was not some directed-TRP-influencing-SMS-sending-reality show, it was a plain-old-~~java-object~~-quiz. Six teams made it to the final and we had a thrilling contest between them. One round in particular was a visual connect round with clues on songs of Michael Jackson, which was cracked by ‘yours truly’ but didn’t get any points for that. You guessed it right, I was sitting in the audience. Hah! It was not in vain, my-high-decibel-cricket-fielder-cum-commentator partner drew quiz master’s attention and got himself an Audience prize. No team on the stage had any significant lead and it was a photo finish. The team from TCS won it by answering the last question of the quiz!! Overall it was pure fun.

Another event of Vista that I attended was Corporate Czars. Teams were asked to prepare a corporate strategy for the BIG 3 Apple, Google and Microsoft in the Smart Phone market. Lots of entries poured in for this event till the deadline. After intense analysis and evaluation, 6 teams were selected for the final. The venue was hosted at The Park Hotel. Each team presented their case in front of the Jury and the audience, post which, they were posed questions from Jury and the audience. With a youthful audience at the event, and smart phones being closer to their hearts, questions from audience generated a healthy debate about some of the plans proposed by the teams for their chosen companies. With one team suggesting that their company go ahead with a focus on the Near field communications(NFC) while another suggesting, much to the surprise of audience, that Microsoft go and buy Facebook as their strategic plan in the future. Then there was a team that focused on Apple saying that Apple should release all it’s products simultaneously all around the world. It did put out a smile on some of our faces who were not happy that India was not treated as a market at par with the west for Apple products. At the end, the Jury, after evaluating the reports and the presentations, came out with their observations. The team from IIM Shillong was the winner. With that Vista 2011 came to a close for me. I hope to be involved more actively in the next edition.

Vista Schedule

2011-09-30T19:09:00.005+05:30

Saturday

Sunday

IIMB Vista - No Day Better Than This Day

2011-09-30T13:12:00.004+05:30

No moment better than this moment
No road better than this road
No way better than this way
No day better than this day!

IIMB Vista...Be The Change!

Participate in on-the-spot events and gather insights from industry leaders. It's all happening at IIMB Vista 2011!

Event details and schedules at http://www.iimb-vista.com/index.php

IIMB Vista - 2 Days To Go!

2011-09-29T13:37:00.002+05:30

He painted Picador at the age of 8 and went on to redefine the art landscape with by opening the doors to modern art with Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Picasso changed the world with his paintings.

How are you changing the world?

IIMB Vista…2 days to go.

More details available at http://www.iimb-vista.com/index.php

IIMB Vista - 3 Days To Go!

2011-09-28T14:21:00.000+05:30

He made his first mathematical discovery while still a teenager and went on to give the world the normal or Gaussian distribution and become the Prince of Mathematicians. Carl Friedrich Gauss changed the world with his mathematical genius.

How are you changing the world?

IIMB Vista…3 days to go.

Check out http://www.iimb-vista.com/ for details of various events and to know how you can be part of it.

IIMB Vista - 4 Days To Go!

2011-09-27T12:41:00.000+05:30

A child prodigy who gave his first piano concert at the age of 8, he continued composing even after going partially deaf. Beethoven changed the world with his music.

How are you changing the world?

IIMB Vista…4 days to go.

Visit http://www.iimb-vista.com/ to know more.

IIMB Vista - 5 Days To Go!

2011-09-26T13:39:00.001+05:30

Forced to go into hiding at the age of 13 with her family during the Holocaust, Anne Frank changed the world by telling her story and recording history.

How are you changing the world? 'IIMB Vista - Be The Change' gives you the opportunity to be a changemaker. Join in and be the change.

Visit http://www.iimb-vista.com/index.php for more details.

Let's try a question on banking today - Quiz question 5 - Vista

2011-09-21T09:57:00.002+05:30

In 1955, World Bank along with India's public-sector banks and public-sector insurance companies, formed a joint venture to provide project financing to Indian industry. This company later established a bank in 1994. What is the name of the bank?

Quiz Question 4 - Vista - Corporate Quiz - Sneak Peek

2011-09-20T09:50:00.001+05:30

The use of this data storage technology can result in significant storage and cost savings.
A company that specialized in this technology was bid for acquisition by EMC and NetApp in 2009.

a. What is the name of this storage technology?
b. What is the name of the target company?

Quiz Question 3 - Vista - Corporate Quiz Sneak Peek

2011-09-19T09:16:00.002+05:30

Till recently, Wipro's IT division was headed by 2 CEOs. Can you name both?

Take pride in reading business magazines? Then surely you know who I am.

2011-09-17T23:27:00.007+05:30

Vista Corporate Quiz Teaser
Identify the man in the picture below.

Do you keep track of the corporate world? Try this one...

2011-09-17T02:39:00.005+05:30

Know the answer? Post it in the comment section.
The real event will see you compete with the best to be judged by acclaimed quiz masters in front of a knowledgeable and cheering audience.
To participate, take home a prize and a memorable experience from India's premier business school, visit: www.iimb-vista.com

Are you ready to ride the next big wave?

2011-09-15T10:43:00.001+05:30

Will you be the Corporate Czar?

2011-09-14T00:09:00.000+05:30

Corporate Events @ Vista 2011

2011-09-11T12:48:00.004+05:30

Another edition of IIM Bangalore's premiere Business Festival is back this year. Visit http://www.iimb-vista.com/ to know more about competitions, talks, workshops and conclaves organized as part of Vista 2011!

This year also, we bring to you exclusive corporate events with interesting competitions that enable you to come out of the daily job chores and participate and network with like-minded intellectuals!

Corporate Czars

Whether it is a frail or robust economy, corporate strategies have evolved into newer and newer dimensions. Gone are the days when the mergers, acquisitions and partnerships were based on the prevailing regulatory frameworks or ideology of open standards. Strategies for controlling technology and market access have taken interesting routes with IPR battles and IP trading arising as the front-runner in acquisition strategies.

Is it the ego that is playing the daemon? Are market players moving in the direction of mutually assured destruction?
or is it still the strategically thought decisions that win the bet?
Are you ready to play the role of a protagonist to devise strategies for the next big move for one of the leading market player?

Click here to participate!

Deadline for initial submission - September 15

The Next Big Wave

Innovative solutions crafted with a keen market understanding will be the only straw that will keep the companies afloat in this dynamically changing market. The Next Big Wave challenges you to identify innovative solutions for the live and imminent business problems faced by the emerging industry sectors. Can you ride this next big wave ?

Click here to participate!

Deadline for initial submission - September 15

Corporate Quiz

Vista presents Corporate Quiz an exclusive quizzing extravaganza for corporate participants. Hosted by acclaimed quiz masters, with the top corporate teams fighting it out, the winners would have to dig really deep and bring out their best game to the table. So, come and join us for an entertaining and joyful afternoon which is sure to prick your brain at the same time. Let the sparks fly!

Developing insight

2011-09-05T15:56:00.001+05:30

Insight. It's a loaded word.

I remember a time, it was around two years ago, when one of my fellow classmates raised her hand and asked of the professor 'Prof, I get what's happening... but, what's the insight?' The prof peered at her with a shrewd smile, and said a couple of sentences which he thought must have answered it. I don't remember the answer, but what I do remember is that for the duration of the course, spanning ten weeks, every once in a while, when he remarked something that seemed awesome, he'd turn to this lady and say 'THAT's your insight'. Made me look at the person and the course in a different light. The prof, as always, remained awesome in my eyes, I went on to attend his last PGSEM course, probably the last academic course he taught.

Since then, classes have been a blur, some sessions so remarkable that you leave the classroom feeling so rich. Yet others have been so bland that you could only wait for the class to get over, and stay amazed at the fact that what seems like an eternity is just five minutes. However, this quarter I had the opportunity to be in a class where we were forced to ask 'Why?'. 'Person A was just 23 years old, and she took charge of the company after her father passed away. Why? She could have sold it, and made a lot of money, and done something else that she wanted to, but she didn't. Why? She took the enterprise along a very different direction than her visionary father wanted to, and it is doing extremely well. Why?' Sometimes, it gets crazy... You're giving a presentation and the prof asks you to speak up louder, and jokes if you didn't have breakfast. You say no, I didn't.. and he asks Why?

Actually no, the last didn't happen. It was something else... but you get the point. However, this prof made us think a little deeper than what was given in the case. He encourages us to ask 'Why?', and in turn hopes that we come away with some insight into what happens in the background... to read the story through the blank spaces between the written lines. He hopes that someday we'll gain the wisdom that comes from understanding the context, and being able to form our OWN opinions, such that we have a point of view, one that WE have, not one that is given to us by someone on top. In his mind, if we are to become leaders tomorrow, we better learn to come away with our own individual minds. To think separate, from the collective. Now that we have our project presentations going on, he makes a blanket statement - I guarantee that all of your presentations will have oodles of information, but will have very low insight. Through all the presentations, but for a couple of them, this turned out to be hauntingly true. If anything, he's left us with the last strong lesson - one I'll remember for a long time - strive to form your own insight.

These are the same profs who tell you that we know you PGSEM students won't be able to do as analytical a job as the full-time PGPs, you guys just don't devote the same amount of time and dedication towards the tasks we set you. They mock us in class saying we can do better, we're just trying to stay normal. They sometimes go so far as to remind us that we might have thought that IIMB is a conveyor belt, where we go in bumbling techies at one end, and come out spiffy managers the other, and that as profs they stand in the way to belt us into realizing that we need to do a lot of work if we are to take away anything from this course. Yet, these VERY SAME profs tell us that we made brave decisions of trying to balance work-life, family-life, and academic-life, and stuck to these decisions for close to three years. We show dedication and discipline in not letting any of these fail, and in that we have taken a braver decision than the full-time students do. Making an Either-Or decision is easy, they say, choosing to do an 'AND' requires a commitment that is not easy to come by. Of course, they go and diss the PGP students also, saying you guys think you're smart and working hard, go and see what the PGSEM guys can do. Looks like the formula is the same, just applied differently for the different student segments.

The first prof I spoke about could have just asked the student to shut the hell up, and stop questioning him, the way some of us have seen our school/college profs react... but he didn't. The second prof I spoke about could have just let us spout our theories, wonder to God about why he's still teaching numbskulls who don't understand and apply what he's teaching them, yawn and go home... but he doesn't. All our profs can also tell us that 'we sympathize with you in terms of the multiple loads you're balancing... here... let's lighten the load so much for you that you can walk straight', or 'You guys are the brightest of the bright in India, organizations will be lucky to have you'... but they don't.

Do they know something that we don't? Is it that they've learnt that teaching adults is very different from teaching children, you can't punish them into learning, the way you do with kids? Do they see something in us, that we don't see in ourselves? If so, that's quite some insight they have there.

Academia typically have so much theory in them, that it's spouting out their ears... they will throw dates and research paper info at you, and make us read and comprehend the driest of research, and with eyes gleaming with excitement, they say 'See???', and we're staring blank at them, thinking 'WTF?'. But through the duration of the session, they take the pains of explaining real-life situations to us, examples where they ventured out into the real world to get back nuggets of practical examples, to make us realize the insight that they have received, not by spoon-feeding it to us, but by actually helping us realize it. They take us through a process, whereby the next time, we're able to move similarly, and arrive at conclusions. They don't teach us insights, they teach us how to arrive at them.

It's not easy to live amidst all that theory and research, and identify examples of practice that can be used to demonstrate the learning. It's even harder to whip up energy and a sense of doggedness in a bunch of students who have spent their lives thinking that they're not as good as those from outside their country. I remember that one of my interview questions was on why Indians aren't so crazy about starting ventures, and I kept giving round-a-bout answers, and was almost guided into the realization that we just don't have confidence. It's not just my problem, it's all of ours. We might have been technically smart to get into IIMB, but that didn't stop us from having an inferiority complex when compared to other nations. Our professors have helped us realize that we're equal, if not better. They imbue us with so much confidence, that people around us think we're arrogant or cocky. Maybe they're right, maybe some of us do take it too far... but we're at least poised to take risky steps, without being too fearful. As teachers, they've helped us recognize our potential, and make use of it.

IIMB is not the place where I learnt what to do, it's the place where I learnt what NOT to do and why. It's not been a place for me to learn the skills of management, it's the place where I was shown that I.. we.. can be SO much more.

I wish that, some day, every educational institution has the privilege to have teachers with a similar mindset. I know that we'll get there.

Dear profs, on behalf of all of us, we wish you a happy Teacher's Day.

A Story-Lover's Delight

2011-08-17T02:17:00.001+05:30

All of us have a list of reasons why we want to pursue business education. I’m sure this one doesn’t figure there, at least it wasn’t on mine. Now I wonder why.

Q1 is drawing to a close and so far, among other things, the MBA experience (and in that the PGSEM experience with its primary focus on knowledge) has been one big delightful storybook. On the very first day itself, we were told the story of Marie Antoinette and how she was thought to be crazy just because she seemed to be proposing what was a primitive version of the Bottom Of the Pyramid concept! I sat in class wide-eyed like a child, having come into class expecting graphs showing demand-supply curves but listening to French history instead!

In the 2 months that followed, we’ve heard many stories – the story of how Japan’s history has brought it to the state that it’s in, the story of oil, the story of Classic Coke and the stories of many corporations in the form of case studies – some talking of businesses that broke new ground, some of failed ideas and some of phenomena that changed our lives. There were stories of simple kind hearted people who built great institutions like Aravind Eye Care and there were intriguing stories like those of the Cuban Missile Crisis (delivered in a two hour movie session with the film The Missles Of October : ) ). But they were all fascinating. For someone who loves listening to and telling stories, it’s been a pleasant surprise to find a treasure chest in the classroom.

The next time I recommend PGSEM or MBA in general to anyone, I am going to put this as the topmost reason why someone should go for business education. Before anything else, it becomes enjoyable just because it takes us back to the time when storytelling was a major part of our lives. And hopefully all these stories will influence us enough to be able to create big stories ourselves in the future!

Harish Hande, MD SELCO at Eximius 2011 - IIMB's Entrepreneurship Summit

2011-08-14T14:54:00.002+05:30

It was a fitting finale to Day 1 of Eximius 2011 @ IIM Bangalore. I am referring to the keynote lecture by Harish Hande, MD Selco Solar. His thrust on helping asset generation for the rural poor rather than just selling to them struck me as crucial.

Starting on a humorous note with ‎"At IIT Kharagpur I ragged Saurav (Prof Saurav Mukherjee), Arvind Kejriwal ragged me and now he is ragging the country ... " Harish Hande, Magsaysay Award winner went on to highlight the areas SELCO works on and how his journey started.

He focused on the importance of market linkages, technology and financial products for the rural or urban poor. "I told him straight on his face that the concept was exploitative. You take money from the poorest at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) and pass it on to the wealthy top of the pyramid without enabling any asset creation at the BOP", Harish Hande referring to his conversation with Prof C K Prahalad on Fortune at the BOP.

A recording of the talk here: http://www.justin.tv/eximius2011/b/292491928

Harish Hande of SELCO India: Shedding Light on India's Underserved Markets - India Knowledge@Wharton - From knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

How SELCO is spawning off entrepreneurs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjn1X96_oa0

Yale case study on SELCO:

http://www.youtube.com/user/SOMcasestudy#g/c/2C521A547D69B421

Eximius 2011 starts in less than 15 hours!!!

2011-08-12T18:17:00.000+05:30

Eximius 2011, The The Entrepreneurship Summit of IIM Bangalore starts in less than 15 hours!!

Participate in contests ranging from B-plans, Workshops, Pitching to VC to Panel discussions that will bring out the entrepreneur in you!! with prizes worth Rs. 15 lakhs to be won!

EXIMIUS is an open summit and registration for all the events is free.

Visit us @ http://eximius-iimb.com/index.php

FB Page http://www.facebook.com/Eximius2011

Is innovation becoming a spectator sport?

2011-07-24T11:28:00.003+05:30

A few years ago, in the world of technology, innovation was what happened in small teams away from prying eyes.

No one was breathing down Larry's and Sergey's neck to invent Google.
There was no pressure on Mark Zuckerberg to invent Facebook.

But today the amount of curiosity that people have, about the next move these companies will execute makes one wonder whether innovation has become a spectator sport.

Currently, the war between Google and Facebook or the war between Nokia and Android is eagerly watched by millions of people. Analysts, users, other companies and the world at large wait with bated breath to see what technological and strategic moves these companies will make when there are billions of dollars at stake.

Innovation in the technology sphere is not restricted to the proverbial garage anymore.

It has become a spectator sport with fans taking sides just like any other sport.

In the larger context, innovation as a spectator sport is an inevitable milestone in human evolution.

Thousands of years ago, man watched other men fight against lions and
be devoured by them in the amphitheater. As our race evolved and we became more human(e), people watched men and women fight it out with each other in the tennis court and soccer stadium. As we live in the era where knowledge is becoming the most important skill, it is only fitting that men will watch the clash of the minds like it were an exciting sport. It is only fitting that they will take sides and cheer their favorite companies.

And I think it is little more than a coincidence that we are able to watch this sport without ever stepping into a amphitheater or a stadium.

Know Your Alumni Series: Musthafa PC

2011-07-15T20:11:00.001+05:30

Musthafa PC

Designation: Co-founder of Best Foods (ID Special food products, http://www.idspecial.com/)

PGSEM Batch: 2004 - 2007

Total Years of Experience: 12 years in IT industry, 4 years of Entrepreneurship

Role Before Joining PGSEM: Program Manager at Intel

Role After Completing PGSEM: Entrepreneur

Q. Tell us a bit about yourself.

I did my B.E. in Computer Science from NIT Calicut in 1995. During my IT career, I worked with Motorola India, Citibank Dubai, Intel India, Misys and Fair Isaac. After finishing my PGSEM, I quit my job at Fair Isaac to fully focus on my venture, Best Foods.

I come from an extremely poor family in Wayanad, Kerela. My father, being uneducated himself, was extremely committed toward ensuring that I get good education. I was lucky enough to get a chance to study. When I graduated, I was the only graduate of my village. Today, I am married with three lovely kids.

During my free time, I play cricket with my kids and watch TV. I don’t like reading books.

Q. Tell us something about your journey-How did it all begin?

I always had an entrepreneurial inclination. In my childhood, I used to sell sweets during my summer vacations. After finishing my engineering, I got busy with my job. During my marketing project under Late Prof Thiru, I gained some knowledge of the food processing industry. I then also realized that there was perhaps some business opportunity present in the ready-made batter business. In 2005, I started operation with a 50 sqft room and 2 small conventional grinders in partnership with my cousin brother. I entrusted the day to day operations to my cousin while I was working in IT field. We started doing test marketing to check if our idea really had potential.

Another, turning point came when I joined the VEIL (old name for the REIL course taken by Prof DVR) course. As a part of this course we were supposed to write a reflection paper. It was then I realized that even though as Project Manager, I was ensuring the execution of a project as per a plan, but surprisingly I did not have a plan for my life. I took the reflection paper very seriously and used this to get answers for two things, a) what was the purpose of my life? b) what was the plan for my life? This was the only paper where I scored the perfect 4.0 GPA and the reflection paper brought about a lot of clarity in my mind. At the end of 2007, I left the IT industry and immersed myself into my enterprise.

Q. Please describe the nature of your business?

Best foods Enterprises manufactures and markets the ID Special food products. We started with making batter for Idli and Dosa. Now we make and market several other products like Kerala Parota, Wheat Parota, Achappam (Rose cookies), Pettiappam (diamond chips) and Aappam under the ID Special Brand name.

Q. Describe the evolution of your company?

During the test marketing days in 10 stores, we were able to sell about 2 – 2.5 Kgs of batter per day per store. This gave us the confidence that this business could be scaled up. Using 15 lakhs of my savings from my professional life, we setup a 700 – 800 sqft factory in Kagadaspura in 2006. We soon started selling 3000 kg of batter every day and we hit our production capacity.

We realized that it was time to expand further and with the help of Karnataka State Small Industries Development Corporation (KSSIDC), we setup a factory at Hoskote in 2008 end. This factory is about 8,000 sqft and it produces about 20,000 – 25,000 Kgs of batter every day. Today we have a turnover of about Rs 20 crores and have already got several offers from bigger players and venture capitalists which we have already declined. We also had a multi-crore buy-out offer from MTR which we have declined.

Q. How is your company structured today?

Our company employs about 250 people currently. Out of these about 99% is unskilled labour from remote villages of South India. Apart from manufacturing, the other major activity that we have is Sales and Distribution. Here again we hire from villages and train the people.

Q. Describe the company goals and mission.

We have set ourself a target of making Best Foods a Rs 300 crore enterprise in the next 5 years.

We have not set any formal mission defined for the company. However, I have seen a lot of poverty in my early days and believe that I was lucky enough to get some opportunities to reach where I am today. A number of youth from villages, though extremely bright, do not get an opportunity in their lives.

I am hence a firm believer of generating employment for the poor youth of villages. I believe, providing employment is much useful than helping someone by donations. I am happy to see the little contribution that I have been able to make in the lives of my workers. After two years of training and hard work, our Sales guys can give Business School students a run for their money. These guys who were perhaps earning Rs 3,000 per month are now able to make around Rs 35,000 per month. The transformation in their life styles gives me lot of satisfaction.

Q. What are your future growth plans?

We have distribution tie ups with Nilgiris. Our major presence has been in Bangalore. Very recently, we have started distribution in Chennai, Mangalore, Dubai and Hyderabad. We plan to do the same at Mumbai and Pune through a distribution tie up with Nestle.

Once, our sales reach a critical mass in these cities, we also have plans to set up factories in these cities.

We are also helping some people who want to expand ID special or use our idea in setting up businesses at new places. In fact, I would be happy to help a fellow PGSEMer who wants to take this idea to different locations.

Q. In this highly competitive space requiring comparatively simple skill-set, what gives your company the edge to do well?

I believe even though the opportunity for ready-made batter was there in Bangalore, there were no organized players. This was when we started operations and made a mark for ourselves. Now that we have established ourselves up to a certain extent, we are relatively less worried about new players entering the market. New entrants will bring in more customer awareness about availability of such products in the market which will help boost our sales.

We give utmost importance to quality and service. Our products are manufactured in a super hygienic environment. We do not add any preservatives/flavors so that homely taste is not compromised. Fresh products reach the stores early morning so that customers experience the convenience of a natural food. Customers have outsourced their daily hassles to us J.

Q. How did PGSEM help transform your career?

Firstly, the reflection paper that I wrote helped me in deciding the purpose and project plan for my life.

Secondly, before PGSEM I used to be more of a tactical guy. I believe PGSEM taught me to think more strategically keeping long term view in mind.

Q. What were the few challenges that you faced in your entrepreneurial career?

My first challenge was that when I started, I had no clue about food processing industry. I had to spend a lot of effort learning things.

The other major challenge was convincing my family to allow me to leave my high paying software job and take the plunge in business. In fact, I told all this to my father just about 1 year ago.

Then there were some other challenges that several businesses face sometime. For example, our competitors tried to spread rumors that a rat was found in one of our products. There was also a case of product tampering by local competitors by purposefully inserting needles in the batter pouch.

Q. Whom do you consider as your Role Model and Why?

This is a spiritual question and I would like to answer it spiritually. I am a religious person and I consider the Prophet Muhammed as my role model. I am a firm believer in His teachings and try to follow them in my business as well.

We pay all our taxes and do not have debt in the business. In fact, once we turned down an annual order of Rs 50 lakh from a leading hotel chain because they wanted to use one of our products as a bar snack.

Q. What is your Mantra for work life balance?

During my corporate life, I at least used to get Saturdays and Sundays with my family. However, now it has become difficult to spend even weekends with them. I try to spend at least 15 mins daily with my 3 kids. However, I don’t think I am able to maintain a proper work life balance and I am not sure if such a thing is even possible for a startup entrepreneur J.

Q. How is your association with IIMB and PGSEM now?

I am still a frequent visitor at IIMB. I teach as a guest faculty in the REIL (Reinventing through Entrepreneurial and Intrapreneurial Leadership) course.

Q. Do you have any advice for budding entrepreneurs?

First of all you should do a thorough research to understand the potential market for the product.

If the product appears to have enough potential, see if there are gaps in the market. For example there may be a situation where there is demand but no proper supply in the market.

Look at the competition in the market. If there is a huge competition from organized players already in the market, it is extremely difficult for a start-up to establish itself. When we entered, there was hardly anyone in Bangalore market.

If possible, through your enterprise try to generate employment for unskilled labour from villages.

Q. Your message to students at IIMB-PGSEM today?

During my IIMB days, several of my batch mates in PGSEM, used to crib about their IT careers. However, most of them did not have the guts to do anything about it and are still continuing with the same. I am sure many of the present PGSEMers would also be in a similar situation. Even though I was lucky enough to have a cousin to look after the test marketing of my business, it was difficult for me to take the plunge into entrepreneurship. Hence my message to current PGSEMers is:-

If you are passionate about something, go ahead and at least try it out for at least few months with the help of full-time well-wishers like your cousins. If things work out, switch off completely from your old work and focus into your passion. If you don’t try, you will only talk about it till your last breath but would never make it happen. All the best!

Dear Reader, You Are Our Hero!

2011-07-12T22:29:00.001+05:30

PGSEM blog was revived in April last year and we have completed 30,000 hits in the last 1 year 3 months. Readers - Alumni, students, PGSEM aspirants, MBA enthusiasts - continue to be our source of inspiration and make us strive to bring out information about our PGSEM life onto this public platform despite juggling work, studies and family.

Do continue to support us, leave us a message about our content or anything that you liked about our posts. Young blood gets infused every year and we will keep you posted about our journey year on year.

Dear reader, you are our hero.

Happy Reading!

Microeconomics, Strategic Management and the art of elevating students' intellect

2011-07-12T01:11:00.001+05:30

Microeconomics is the study of "what is". Strategy is the study of "what should be". The meeting place between the two is in your minds.
- One of our esteemed professors.

Time and again, our peers in the software industry ask us about PGSEM with an eye on job prospects after the course. Just a few hours ago, I replied to a yahoo group query on the oft repeated value question. Now that I am on the side that answers those questions, I thought it might be a good idea to write about my perspectives on what is actually the "value" of PGSEM.

The management education sector, in which placement figures routinely make headlines, compels people to think about placements as the only return on investment worth measuring. Maybe that is an acceptable measure for most institutes under the sun. But for IIMB, it is one of the many measures and depending on your career goals, it might not even be a very important one.

But irrespective of your career stage, goals and aspirations, a great course would elevate your thinking and change forever the way you perceive people, companies and the world at large. And for us PGSEMers, that invaluable act of elevation starts right from the admission stage and continues all the way to the last quarter due to the high standards set by the institute. Those standards are sustained by professors who amaze us everyday with their knowledge and perspectives. Those standards are strengthened by our classmates who bring a wealth of experience from many different functions in the software industry.

So, to capture what we feel:

Was it easy getting in? No.
Is the course tough? Hell yes!
Do we have placements? No.
Are we bothered about that? No.

Why not?

Because this is the best mind bending roller-coaster ride we have ever taken.
Because with each passing day (and each passing case!), the world is never the same in our eyes again.
Because this is where we learn from the best to constantly challenge ourselves and change the game.

Pehel 2011 - A live account !!!

2011-07-11T22:35:00.001+05:30

After weeks of deliberations the D-Day was finally here.

9th of July 2011 was the day when a new batch of PGSEM students were to organize their first ever event at the IIM Bangalore: PEHEL 2011.
Pehel literally means Initiative and aptly suits the fresher's event, organized by the freshers, for the seniors.

The planning for the event had started almost a month back, immediately after the orientation. Several committees were formed for performing specific tasks and were headed by a core committee who were in charge of the overall direction of the event. The design team consisting of Shalini and Vineeth came up with a creative logo for Pehel 2011. This became the logo for our t-shirts and the theme for the event.

The "Warli" design was contemporary yet very traditional and was readily acclaimed by everyone. It did not miss even the Director's eye and he too praised the batch for the efforts in coming up with such a nice design.
Everything was meticulously planned to the minutest level thanks to the efforts of the omnipresent Chandra. He had taken it onto him to deliver the best and pitched in wherever and whenever he was required, be it the distribution of the invitations to the interaction with the PGSEM office, the last minute plan for anchoring the show to playing the role of the great Gabbar, Chandra was everywhere, Chandra simply rocked!!!
So ... finally, clad in our brand new warli t-shirts and blue jeans (our dress code for the day), we were there to invite the world (read seniors!!!) to a new beginning by PGSEM 2011.

The event started with the "Hi-Tea", arranged behind the auditorium thanks to the PGSEM office. The guests started trickling in by 5 pm and started meeting each other over a cup of tea/coffee.
This part of any IIMB event is supposed to be used for the biggest takeaway of any MBA program - "Networking Time". After interacting with fellow batch-mates and seniors and their families, it was time for officially inaugurating PEHEL 2011. Then there were the last minute delays thanks to the Bangalore traffic. Our chief guests - Prof. Chandra (Director of IIM Bangalore) and Prof. Agrawal (Chairperson PGSEM, CSITM) were held up in traffic and the program was delayed by half an hour.
The seniors, batch-mates and their family members were already seated in the auditorium and it was time to engage them with some kind of entertainment till the official start of the event. The ever so talented Vikram Parthan came to our rescue. He kept the audience engaged with his "First real six-string". We all pitched in with the "Best day of our life"....
Once the chief guests were in the audi, the program started officially with the lighting of the lamp followed by an welcome speech by Prof. Chandra and then by Prof. Agrawal.
Both of them welcomed the audience and eulogized our efforts for coming up with the event in such a short span of time. Thanks to our seniors for showing us the way...
This was followed by the distribution of the "DML" (director's merit list) certificates to the top 10 students of the senior batch, the "Star of the Quarter" award and distribution of participation certificates for CSITM workshop.

After the certificate distribution the stage was all set for the cultural program to start. Anupama & Vikram played the host for the evening. Both Anu and Vikram did a splendid MCing job while engaging the audience throughout the event. The show started with the Mad Mad Men from St. John's performing a mime for the audience. The Mad-Ads guys were amazing and they set the tone for the evening with a light comedy on a doctor's life starting from the entrance exams to getting admissions in the college, learning the tricks of the trade, their daily hostel life till the day of performing the critical surgery. The audience enjoyed their performance wholeheartedly and cheered them with loud claps and whistles.
The mime was followed by a kid's fashion show. The Shahrukhs & Kareenas of future walked the IIM-B auditorium turned ramp with the "Barbie Girl" playing in the background. It was a treat to see the little ones enjoying their night outs, and were aptly awarded with little chocolate boxes by the end of their performance.

Then it was time for the event of the evening that all of us were waiting for with bated breath - a skit organized in the last two days to the run up to the event, titled "MBA Karenge Hum", featuring the who's who of Bollywood who had come for an interview at IIM Bangalore for PGSEM. The skit featured Amir Khan, Shatrughan Sinha, Sunny paaji, Mithun da, Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Nana Patekar as interviewee and Gabbar with his ally Sambha taking the interview.
Kudos to everyone involved in the skit. It was just awesome, hilarious to the brim. Every single soul in the audi enjoyed the on-stage performance and cheered our Bollywood superstars.
Take a bow Anshum Arora for directing this. Without you, this would never have been possible.
Find a link to the video of the skit here :
http://www.viddler.com/explore/rbhuvana/videos/1/

After the madness that ran through the audi for half an hour of the skit it was time for some sanity to come back in the form of soulful music. Vikram, Varkey, Shalini and Anupama stole the show with their performances. Varkey's original struck a cord with the audience.
The group song - "Pal" by KK, was the perfect ending to the evening.
Hand-in-hand we lip synced "Hum rahen ya na rahen kal, kal yaad aayenge ye pal" ;-)
YES that was our "Pal", a "Pal" to remember for the rest of our lives ........

Shamik Bhattacharya
PGSEM 2011

Pehel 2011 - The Experience

2011-07-10T18:01:00.004+05:30

The PGSEM batch of 2011 had their 3-day Orientation way back in May 2011 – 3 days of fun. As it came to a close, we were all planning to squeeze in as much rest and fun in the next 3 weeks before the classes began as possible. But the parting note from our seniors changed all that. We were to organize Pehel 2011 in the first 3 weeks of classes starting and the 3 weeks of our free time could be utilized very well for planning the event. Of course.

Pehel is the first event that a new batch of PGSEM organizes in IIMB. It’s a fresher’s event with a difference – the freshers organize it for the seniors and not the other way round. The seniors certainly provide a lot of guidance to the greenhorns but the logistics are completely left to the new batch. Starting from the fund raising to the execution. It is hands-on business education!

So we started with a flurry of mails in early June to try and get the details of the event in place, starting with how to raise funds, given that external funding isn’t allowed. And when the mails got too chaotic, we realized why organizations have a certain hierarchical and team structure in place. We got our own core committee in place to co-ordinate specific items of the event and streamline communication/logistics.

Taking a cue from our senior batch, we also decided to go the t-shirt route to raise capital for the event. After getting many quotes we finalized on Amit Sharma’s Go Untucked as our vendor, finding the cost versus quality comparison to be good in their case. Meanwhile a few students from the class were busy designing Pehel logos and we finally went with Shalini and Vineeth’s Warli design since it symbolized our roots to be Indian and yet our vision to be forward looking in the use of a traditional art form to design a modern logo. One item checked off the list.

Meetings at Café Terra meanwhile were becoming more focussed as we got down from a high level plan to chalking out minute details and assigning co-ordinator roles for each. Ideas were collected for the events that could be performed and talent scouted in the class. Sometime in the middle of all this, the classes began, putting an additional demand on our time that was already split between work and running around for Pehel. Panic set in as the mid-term dates were announced in the first class itself and we realized we had very little time for Pehel.

After confirming the director’s availability and making sure the Director’s Merit List for our senior batch was going to be out, we set 9th of July as the date for Pehel 2011. The concrete date added more of a boost to the flurry as we got busy checking off item after item from our list of Pehel to-do’s. Days went by in a daze as we ordered for our t-shirts, finalized the event list, racked our brains for a good children’s event, designed and ordered posters/invites, distributed invites to the professors on weekdays, got customized gifts for the guests of honour, figured out audience gifts, rushed for children’s gifts, had music jams on Saturday evenings in the classroom, planned a skit in the last 2 days before the event and practiced on campus till 10:30 in the night. It was like a hurricane sweeping through our schedules and getting everything done.

The D-Day dawned and we distributed the t-shirts that had been ordered. We were almost giddy to wear what has almost become the 2011 batch identity now and conduct the event. Even as we finished the last bits of tech runs in the auditorium, parents and seniors started to pour in excitedly on the IIMB campus and the show was on. An impromptu musical performance thrown in for good measure and Pehel 2011 was a great success with the mad-ads performance by the Mad Med Men, a skit by the stars of our class, kids jumping around on stage to the tune of Barbie Girl (a fashion show of sorts I must say), some audience prizes and a nice closing note with the batch singing KK’s Pal after the musical performance. The dinner and high tea, sponsored by the PGSEM office were great support and I am certain everyone was floored by the beautiful MDC Dining Hall that hosted us all.

As is the case with most such events, it was overwhelming only once it was over – the magnitude of what we had really put up on stage. It was a wonderful culmination of about a month’s worth of effort. Every minute of it looks well-spent in hindsight. And our MBA has officially begun.

Eximius 2011

2011-07-10T17:10:00.002+05:30

Yet another edition of Eximus, the entrepreneurship summit from IIM Bangalore. Eximus 2011 will be held on August 13-14, 2011.

For more details, please visit http://eximius-iimb.com/index.php

Voice of PGSEMer...

2011-06-01T00:12:00.001+05:30

What better way to welcome the new batch to the blog than to put one of their creative work as part of orientation...

Creating Nostalgia: IIMB PGSEM 2011 Orientation Day 1

It was a Friday morning, dress down day at work, but I got into carefully ironed business formals. I picked up my laptop bag, like I do everyday, but also picked up a suitcase that had been filled until it was bursting at the seams. If it sounds like I was preparing to go on a business trip for an extended period, let me tell you I wasn’t. I was preparing to go to college…10 minutes away from home.

More than four months of a procedure – entrance exams, interview invitations, admission offers and the anxiety accompanying each of these – had culminated into this day. The 14th batch of the IIM Bangalore PGSEM programme was to be inducted into and oriented towards the Institute, the course. A 3-day residential event that we were all looking forward to, finally commenced this morning with breakfast and hostel check-ins.

Some things in life don’t hit you until you are in the middle of them. Like finally being an official student of IIM Bangalore. I walked in through the gates, pulling my suitcase along and taking in the campus anew, the greenery, the serenity, the sanctity that only college campuses can exude. I was completely in the moment until I reached the hostel blocks and stood in line for getting a room allotted. It was then that it hit me; I could now call this campus mine, that I was in there as a rightful occupant and not as a visitor. I suddenly relaxed and almost broke into a comfortable smile at the thought. The feeling wasn’t different from coming home.

For someone whose last memory of college was being on an NIT campus with peers of the same age and naïve mindsets, ready to take on the world, this felt different. The classmates standing in line, most of whom I was seeing for the first time seemed to come from all ages and in effect, from all levels of experience. They seemed somehow more grounded, more sorted. One immediately knew that this wasn’t going to be like the last time for more reasons than one. And the day’s proceedings reiterated that fact in every way possible.

We were allotted rooms in the Executive Blocks of the student hostel and for someone who had never stayed in a hostel it was a complete deviation from the stereotype that undergraduate level hostel had left in my mind…the ones where my friends stayed in college. I got a well-furnished front room in these well-designed blocks and the view of the striking green patch that is the football field was like a balm to my screen-strained eyes! I couldn’t enjoy the view for too long though and had to run back for the day’s proceedings!

The PGSEM senior batch students had the reigns in their hands from the start. Right from pointing out various blocks to giving out announcements through the day about the events lined up for us and acting as our bridges to the IIMB campus and community. Our day started with a welcome session by them where a lot of practical and useful information was given out regarding many things concerning out 2.5 year sojourn. It was more reorientation that orientation as we tried to dig up words like grades, GPA, assignments, group projects from our past college experiences. Through the day, we were appraised of various committees that co-ordinate activities for the PGSEM students. Before the orientation we had received an assignment and had been given a week to finish it. Somewhere I was secretly hoping that it would be something to just warm us up but they actually brought it up in the session and used it as a basis to discuss various aspects of classwork. To top that, the assignment marks were going to count towards the House Cup!

The House Cup is an event comprising of various activities – academic or otherwise – that we all are undertaking in groups over these three days and the group scoring the maximum points will lift the Cup. Just the task of coming up with a name and war cry for our group turned out to be quite a task commanding extensive discussions in our group. We ultimately got it done only at the last minute feeling quite stressed about it! But that was only the start.

The welcome session was followed by our registration process and an extensive discussion with the PGSEM Chairperson Prof. NM Agrawal. In the evening, the batch was officially inaugurated by a distinguished alumnus from Samsung, Mr. Dipesh Shah, followed by an Alumni interaction session. Each of these sessions convinced me that I had made the right choice with this course, going by how fondly each of these alumni spoke about the PGSEM experience. This was just our first day and already the slope of the learning curve seemed to have gone up a few notches.

The time post dinner was filled by the Student Affairs Council with more activities for the House Cup that began at 10 pm! Just when we were feeling we couldn’t even move a muscle after such a tiring day, we were able to pull out energy from some secret reserve and everyone participated enthusiastically in the know-your-group contest, Antakshari and Dumb Charades. We were behaving like a bunch of unruly school children that I am sure the seniors had a tough time dealing with. All the same, it was amazing to see our child egos resurrected, a concept Prof. Agrawal spoke about in the afternoon.

Just when we thought it was a wrap and time to hit the bed, something we assumed was our birthright after spending such a hectic day, that we realized that our seniors had no intentions of letting us sleep peacefully anytime in these 3 days. And so were given out more tasks to do – House Cup activities like writing blog posts, making a skit as well as an official case study! It is a godsend that the eat-outs on campus stay open till late and we prepared for a long night ahead by ordering some munchies from Park-N-Eat and getting down to discussion.

So yes, it’s 2 AM and I am determined to meet the deadline of 7:30 am for this blog post. Somewhere in these beautiful corridors, my group members are scheming for a skit. It is just a snapshot of things to come and it is going to be an exciting and gruelling time but it is also a time none of us will ever forget in life and this is nostalgia in the making. It is a Herculean effort working on this rather than be sleeping on that comfortable-looking bed but I’d prefer to be nowhere else but here right now – sleep deprived but excited in the hallways of IIM Bangalore. As a student of the 14th batch of PGSEM. Actually, just as a student. Let the good times roll!

~ Anupama
PGSEM2011

We wish the new batch the very best!

CSITM Participatory Workshop

2011-05-19T22:42:00.001+05:30

As you may already know, the Participatory Workshop on Moving up the Value Chain and Managing Non-Linear Growth, organized jointly by CSITM and PGSEM is on May 28, Saturday. Please find below the detailed agenda for the day

Two years into the PGSEM programme

2011-05-15T21:59:00.003+05:30

Two years ago, a bunch of people met each other for the first time, ready to embark on a journey. Well, not so much as ready, as excited. I remember my first class. This prof with a resounding voice comes in, introduces himself, and begins to take a class on Microeconomics. And I couldn't help marvel at the technology in that class, at the prof, at the people around me, younger and older, at the thought that all of us were here by choice to better ourselves and not just out to get a job. I felt like such a greenhorn when a few of the guys in class already knew stuff like Assets and Liabilities, others knew stuff related to Marketing and quite a few did a LOT of reading, of books by management gurus.

A quarter later, I was nervous. Results had come out, and you get to see how you've done. Now here's the interesting bit. You're not bothered about the grade, it's useless as you don't get placed. But you are reminded of where you stand in class, and of an apparent notion that many others understood the subject the way the prof intended them to... better than you. And you vow to do better.

A year later, the moment the exams got over, I just had to rush out of Bangalore to take a break. All the work, all the study, it gets to you and you just want to clear your head. You come back from your break, and get to work. And you see how your friends and colleagues look differently at you. That 'clearing of head' allows you to see what you're doing differently now, compared to a year ago. It's a little impressive... to feel a change coming over you, like you know a little more to face the world than a year ago. And you're ready to attack the next year with renewed vigour, and in the knowledge that... something's... working.

Two years later, the exams get over, and you feel a sense of relief... but it's not as pronounced as what it was the first time. You're thinking "I can do this, this has happened before. Now it's just another two more quarters". And in office demos and customer meets, somebody throws "What's the value proposition?", you're comfortably able to explain how your product is 'adding value', it almost becomes a familiar thing. Someone else throws a business problem at you, and you identify a couple of new angles that weren't on the table before. You're not fixing a problem, but you're helping identify other potential scenarios that your team will together deal with. You suddenly realize that you have some knowledge that others around you might not, but unlike a newbie, you have the experience to know that you don't get gold stars by hoarding info and being the go-to-man. People look to you to be a part of a team, and if you fulfil your part, your team and you are the better for it.

And then you wonder that you know this much more now, does that mean you're a better person than you were before? I remember the engineer I was, the way I thought... I don't think that way anymore. Is that a good thing? If I speak with a technical lead today, and we face a problem... I often find myself on the side I would vehemently oppose a couple of years ago. Was I right then? Am I right now? Does this new understanding of 'value' and 'role of corporate entities' distort the way I should be? I know a lot more now, I've opened myself to accept what the profs teach, to the extent that you accept them to be true with minimal questioning. I've become a lot more calculative, is a certain action worth the cost? Is that a good thing?

Two years down the road, I might be a lot more clear on what mistakes corporations have done in the past. I might not repeat the same things. Why then do I feel a certain uneasiness? Now that people look at me differently, and I have more understanding than I did a couple of years back does it guarantee right decisions from me in future? Looks like some old problems have made way for some new ones.

Two years back, I felt excited. And nervous. The feeling isn't that different today.

A 'Good' Friday

2011-05-02T20:40:00.000+05:30

PGSEM 2009 student Sanjeev Kumar PS has a unique experience to share:

We have got inspired by them, We look upto them, we are proud of them... They are our Armed forces!
There is a program ongoing in IIMB for officers from Armed forces. Participants include guiness book record holders, commandos, brigadiers etc.

PGSEM students hosted a buffet lunch for these wonderful people on Good Friday. The day really turned out to be literally a "good" Friday. PGSEM students met them in person to get inspired, listen to their leadership thoughts and of course to increase their networking.

As the armed forces shared their stories with pride, PGSEM students listened to them with great intent. There were stories of valour that were heart wrenching and at the same time inspiring.

At the end of the day, it was PGSEM students who felt more proud to have spent some quality time with these great country men who have offered so much to our nation!

Thirty-Sixth Annual Convocation on March 31, 2011

2011-03-25T17:53:00.000+05:30

This year's annual convocation is scheduled on March 31, 2011. Chief Guest is Mr Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development, and Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Government of India. 11th batch of PGSEM (2008-2011) will be graduating this year. The diplomas and fellowships (PGSEM,PGP,PGPPM,EPGP & FPM) will be awarded by Shri Mukesh D. Ambani.

All are cordially invited to attend the event or you can watch the ceremony live @

http://www.webtv.in/iimb_live/webtv.html

Participatory Workshop - Deadline extended!

2011-03-21T11:22:00.000+05:30

Hi All,

The deadlines for submitting abstracts for the participatory workshop on Indian Software Industry - Moving up the Value Chain and Managing Non-Linear Growth is extended to 30 March 2011

It is a wonderful opportunity to present your research to distinguished persons in academia and industry! Also consider this an opportunity to attend the panel discussions and talks on the above mentioned themes by industry experts and renowned IIMB professors.

For more information, visit:

http://www.iimb.ernet.in/centres/software-mgt/upcoming-events

or

http://iimbpgsem.blogspot.com/2011/02/indian-it-industry-moving-up-value.html

Know Your Alumni Series: Part 5

2011-03-14T17:53:00.001+05:30

Indian IT Industry – Moving up the Value Chain and Managing Non-linear Growth

2011-02-19T19:52:00.002+05:30

The Centre for Software and Information Technology Management (CSITM) at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) invites you to a participatory workshop with industry practitioners and academicians on managing non-linear growth and moving up the value chain in the IT industry. This is the first such conference of its kind being organized by CSITM and the IIMB Post Graduate Programme in Software Enterprise Management (PGSEM), and will provide a forum for exchange of thoughts and generation of new ideas on the opportunities and challenges in achieving the growth and value objectives.

The day-long conference is being designed to highlight industry and the academician’s perspectives through panel discussions. The workshop will enable dialogue between various stakeholders of the IT industry, academicians and researchers of the Indian IT industry.

Date: May 28, 2011

Agenda

08:00 - 09:00 Registration
09:00 - 10:30 Panel Discussion between industry leaders and thought leaders from academia
10:30 - 11:00 Break
11:00 - 13:00 Research Paper presentations
13:00 - 14:00 Break
14:00 - 15:30 Workshop – Part I : Coffee table discussions moderated by thought leaders
15:30 - 16:00 Break
16:00 - 17:00 Workshop – Part II : Presentation by workshop participants
17:00 - 17:30 Prize Distribution and Valedictory function

More Details

Brochure can be downloaded @ http://www.iimb.ernet.in/sites/default/files/u166/CSITM_WORKSHOP_BROCHURE.pdf

Event home @ http://www.iimb.ernet.in/node/2435

Know Your Alumni Series: Part 4

2011-02-13T17:58:00.000+05:30

A Quick Take with Akshat Kumar

PGSEM Batch: 2007

Total Years of Experience: 6 Years 5 Months

Current Organization: Wunderman (A WPP company)

Current Role and Responsibility: Digital Media Strategist for Nokia Global. My remit is to mine consumer insights to position Nokia's product and services. I plan digital touch-points across earned(social) media, bought media(search and display) and owned media(dotcom).

Role Before Joining PGSEM: Senior Software Engineer, Finacle at Infosys

Role After Completing PGSEM: Digital Media Strategist, Nokia at Wunderman

LinkedIn Profile Link: http://in.linkedin.com/in/akshatkumar

Q. Tell us about your journey to where you are today?

It's been fun so far and to the point of sounding clichéd I owe a lot to PGSEM and IIM Bangalore. I joined PGSEM while I was working as an Engineer with Infosys. By the time I finished my first quarter, PGSEM had given me enough confidence to make a jump to something I had wanted to for a very long time and I was lucky to find a startup that was willing to give me an opportunity to try out something in digital space. I worked with a few startups during my PGSEM period and honed my skills in the digital marketing space. It was not very easy to manage work and studies but then I did it pull it off. And then they were extra-curriculars as well in the form of SAC which I think made PGSEM even more fun! As soon I graduated, I got the opportunity to spearhead planning for Nokia's digital business in India(thanks to Linkedin) and it's been good so far.

Q. Tell us something about the family?

I come from a family which has got three generations in law. My father recently retired as the Chief Justice of the High Court and now heads a Government Commission. My mother, elder brother and elder sister are also lawyers. So in a way, I am the black sheep of the family but then I add colour to the otherwise legalese dining-table conversations :)

Q. 3 words to describe you.

PGSEMer, PGSEMer and PGSEMer

Q What could have been an alternative career for you?

Writer. I still moonlight as one and write for Lonely Planet India.

Q. What is the most challenging aspect of your role?

1.Consumer. Understanding the Indian consumer which is as diverse as it can be and demands the moon from the marketer.

2.Competition. Comes across all price spectrums. In the form of products and/or services as business struggles to survive.

3.Digital. The digital landscape in our country which is as diverse as it can be. While there are places in our country that struggles to get the basic piece of the digital infrastructure right, every marketer wants to have a piece of Youtube in his marketing strategy. It is a challenge tackling such a paradox.

4.Social Media. A beast in itself. It can make companies change their logos(the recent case of GAP.) One can never imagine how powerful can consumer's voice be.

Q. Your personal slogan.

Stay hungry, stay foolish(Stewart Brand)

Q. Whom do you consider as your Role Model and Why?

Anand Mahindra. For building multiple businesses from scratch, putting Indian cars on the global map, acquiring the then scathed company and for supporting the cause of humanities.

Q What was the influence of PGSEM in the professional life?

Tremendous! I owe a lot to PGSEM and IIM Bangalore for getting me the professional platform I desired and for SAC for helping me become a more well-rounded personality. The academics offered at IIM Bangalore is unmatched and I glad that I am able to implement a lot of what I have studied.

Q. What is your message for PGSEMers?

Network with alumni, industry and batch mates, use Linkedin smartly, spend time with Professors and to add fun to your life, please do volunteer for SAC activities.

Introducing Voice of PGSEMer

2011-02-12T19:02:00.000+05:30

Starting with the below post, we are introducing a new section on the voice of PGSEMers. In line with the 'Know Your Alumni' series, these posts will focus on insider views of PGSEM students on the course and their experience.

Hi from Venky, PGSEM 2010. Thanks to IIM Bangalore for conducting an excellent part-time MBA program meeting the needs of Software Professionals in Bangalore. Just to give a bit of background about myself, I am a techno functional person with project managerial skills and one of the co-founders & directors of 7 years old 150 People Company CRMIT(www.crmit.com) in Bangalore with a total experience of around 12 years in IT field. Though I have lot more subjects to go through in next 7 quarters, I thought of sharing how some of the subjects that I learn t in three quarters helping me in my day to day work

In the first quarter we had Microeconomics, Financial Accounting and Strategic management. Microeconomics reemphasis the fact that delivering under constraints is the key challenge for any manager, financial accounting helped me to better understand my own company's balance sheet, P&L and cash flow statement and Strategic management provided great insights on different proven strategic frameworks available to formulate the right strategies for your company's needs in this competitive environment

In Q2 we had Quantitative methods, Macroeconomics and Managing Organizations. Managing Organizations provided me techniques on designing a scalable organization as you grow and inputs on key people related challenges and solutions to handle. QM emphasized the importance of "numbers" in your day to day decision making and Macroeconomics gave me the understanding that management is not just about managing company, customers and people but also able to expect and manage macro economical fluctuations like Inflation, Exchange rate, Interest rates, Unemployment, GDP growth etc

Now in Q3, we have Marketing, Law and Managerial accounting. Introduction to marketing is a great subject to understand better your company's strengths and weakness, competitive challenges, customers preferences and use them effectively as the base to segment, target and position your products and services. Law is an interesting subject to understand the legal framework, typical legal challenges you would possibly encounter with your employees and customers, ways of handling them and best practices to be followed in Contracting / licensing. Managerial accountings provides insights on managing your overhead expenses, effectively playing with your fixed & variable costs and provides a structured approach of budgeting, planning & control your operations to build an effective, efficient & profitable Organization

In net I am delighted about choosing the right program that helps me practically in my day to day job and I enjoy every class conducted by excellent faculties of IIM Bangalore. I also got an option to do a 3 months exchange program with a well recognized college in USA and I am hoping to gain a lot from the same

Its time to relax & enjoy!

2011-01-24T21:56:00.000+05:30

Unmaad was an experience! Here comes the next for those who are inclined more towards traditional culturals.

Yamini 2011, a nocturnal cultural program organized by IIMB & SPICMACAY from January 25, 6PM to January 26, 6AM.

More information about Yamini and schedule @ http://www.iimb-yamini.com/index.html

Download the passes @ http://www.iimb-yamini.com/images/pass.jpg

Unmaad 2011 Day 2!

2011-01-22T23:40:00.000+05:30

Bandh in Bangalore. What? No way!, its celebration time at IIMB.

In spite of the bandh today in Karnataka, it doesn't seemed to have even a single effect on day 2 of Unmaad 2011. Even though, we had our mid term exams, most of us managed to view the events and contest in many!

JAM, quizzes, dramatics and the list continues for the events that happened today. Is the cultural fest only about competitions? NO, we had our second workshop today which was on film making. There are other workshops like those on photography and artistic photography. Also there is a magic show and mentalist show by Nakul Shenoy tomorrow. We even had book reading session on 'Field'. The crowd puller among the competitions was BSOR - B School of Rock which saw fierce competition enjoyable to the audience and participants...

And to spice this all up, we had the pronite Indian Ocean & TAAQ!!!

Missing the fun???

Don't worry you have one more chance, see you tomorrow @ IIMB!

Unmaad 2011

2011-01-20T22:47:00.000+05:30

See you all @ IIMB campus for Unmaad 2011!!

Development: A conundrum & its effects...

2011-01-15T14:33:00.004+05:30

How is it that places such as US/Europe/MiddleEast/Japan 'developed' (as in material and consumer terms) like crazy - is it industrial revolution as a result of scientific spirit and the agency theory?

Why has Africa/Asia not been that 'successful' or gung ho - is it because of subjugation of their populace by imperialist forces? Or was it a conscious decision? Some even put forth racial/genetic reasons, climate etc which I dont think is true. And are we now getting sucked in - blindly following the West - taking the same damned route - these are making me think ....

We just follow MIT - Harvard Biz School and want to settle down in US etc. since we are able to get a 'good life' there? Am wondering... why this is so.

Many are saying the 1991 liberalization in India has actually caused immense damage and increased the gap between have nots (life is tougher now) and haves in India due to the skewed development. However majority beneficiaries will not agree.

It is one thing to utilize the best resources and facilities (opportunistic/each takes care of themselves so everyone is happy story) - however what about the future? All the environmental devastation is now being replaced with 'green' tech - needed maybe, but in the first place greedy industrialization created all the devastation. A capitalist mindset, rapacious mindset from the time man had machines.

Some shining feats of engineering and technological marvels have come to the fore. However has it reached levels inhuman now? The workers and the managers - always way apart in all terms. Education itself again is like a means or a ticket to riches, is that the reason for education - standardized minds as output.

And what about the recent financial mess... We cannot conveniently forget - something is to be changed in the system as a whole! Learning financial complex jugglery is fine when these financial instruments wreak havoc in the economy - isn't something wrong with the logic behind it all?

Qualified minds need to consciously think of reforms (which I am sure they are capable of) rather than use the same textbook formulas (with deep flaws) to continue running an ailing system - although this is easier due to the instant benefits available (milking the system). The rules are created by the people who can get richer by implementing them - finding economic value in everything and an economic angle to everything is quite obnoxious.

And the statement that I remember distinctly from Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park - We can only destroy ourselves (species) and not the world! Where are we going - greed and speed - the fatal keywords!

PGSEM Admissions are now open!

2011-01-04T10:40:00.006+05:30

Hey everyone!

Well actually, the admission portal has been open for quite a while, so it's high time for you to get started with the necessary formalities. There's been some confusion on the Yahoo! group about which links to look at, so here they are. Take some time to go through them.

General Info on the PGSEM Programme

http://www.iimb.ernet.in/pgsem

PGSEM Admissions Announcement

http://www.iimb.ernet.in/node/2114

Admission Procedure for PGSEM 2011

http://www.iimb.ernet.in/sites/default/files/PGSEM-Admission-2011.pdf

Online Application Portal

http://iimberpsrv.iimb.ernet.in/prod/bwkkspg9.showpage?page=ONLINE_APP_LOGIN

Best of luck to all the prospective candidates! We look forward to inviting your batch this year amongst these hallowed halls!

Meeting Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Prof Ashok Rao!

2010-12-12T18:23:00.007+05:30

It was indeed a pleasure to speak to Paranjoy Guha Thakurta - an independent journalist and an educator with over 33 years of work in different media: print, radio, television and documentary cinema; yesterday for over a hour and a half at the IIMB! He is such a down to earth man and yet such a deep thinker! Blood & Iron is an extremely courageous movie - Bravo Sir! Inspiring...

The day before (Friday), the first public screening of his movie Blood & Iron at IIMB auditorium left a lasting impression on me. It is a deeply disturbing/heart-wrenching movie on the nexus between criminals, politicians, and businesses; it makes your blood boil because as if they (the mining mafia) are running a republic of their own and no one can do anything at all, the system is helpless. Our national resources are being rapaciously plundered without any second thought. The ecological devastation, economic harm, social injustice/exploitation and national fallout is of a degree just too high for us to ignore!

PLEASE DO VIEW IT & SPREAD THE WORD! More details here: http://www.dhonuk.com/page/social-1/

In the evening met or was lectured by another radical and inspiring professor, Prof Ashok Rao (IIT, IISc) at IIM Bangalore. His view though radical I was able to relate to most of them due to some overlap in my thoughts, philosophy and lifestyle!

The Enlightened Leadership

2010-12-11T23:48:00.001+05:30

Is the B School all about business, money and management? NO. Last weekend was an example. We had a workshop on Enlightened Leadership. It was about changing ourselves. It was all about, with the help of eastern & ancient philosophy and positive psychology to self transform, motivate others and become true leaders!

Drawn on various un conventional thoughts derived from Indian & Buddhist tradition, it was conducted by Mr. Sanjeeb Patra, an IIM Calcutta alumnus and Director, HSBC. The session was interesting since, whatever concepts were discussed during the session were backed by his own personal experiences during his 18+ years stint at HSBC.

With the fast moving world, most of us falls in a mechanistic mode or rather a in-different, unmotivated mode. As leaders or managers, this is the most un acceptable thing and the workshop touched on all aspects of it. Backed by examples from solid research from world's leading universities, Mr. Sanjeeb gave some interesting tips and tricks.

Some of the areas that were discussed during the one day session were:

- Happiness and skillful ways of living life
- Developing mind strength/control and the benefits of meditation
- Motivating others and team members

The session also briefly touched on Hindu and Buddhist philosophy to tackle some of the most important questions of life. It was not about philosophy, but more of what can be applied in a day to day basis for a more happier life!

six months as a PGSEMer...

2010-12-01T15:42:00.000+05:30

A Long journey well begun..OK … Well! let me say at least began :).

Though I have been an active sport, off late I have been wondering if I ever participated in anything as mammoth as current. (The Trinity of Professional – Professional - Personal)
Asian games might have just ended, our game doesn’t. I am in the middle of a Decathlon in which only the first two legs have ended while quite a few more to go. What has gone by has been unprecedented, at least to me (may be for 75 of us here). Incidentally, there has been no single minute of the two events, which stopped anywhere short from being surprising, challenging and changing.

The demand is always on a high and the supply nowhere near it..Hence, the equilibrium always on a deficit. If I think that is only for me, then I am wrong, the aggregate supply follows suit. Every time, the semester starts the Marginal Productivity of our brains is high but what follows, follows the law of diminishing marginal returns. Ultimately, once the exams are done, the deflation in weight is what remains. But somehow the juggernaut rolls on because there is an expected ROI and has to go on with new found confidence and expectation raising supply to new level.

There are some normal expectations and a few abnormal expectations (we may call it Outlying expectations) to be fulfilled over time here and beyond it. What is quite normal is to learn the crux of the business game theory but what‘s lying outside is the bounded rationality to choose anything about the ways to play them.

The first two legs where run in a jiffy. Loads of stories, specialties and fundas heard, lots of number crunching and lumps of data collected..It feels like a cow, eating everything at once but have got to assimilate little by little later, otherwise what’s gonna happen is, drain down memory lane.

I could just rightly say, it is a long puzzling trekking endeavor that has just kicked off. The means to the end unravel at every step and what’s important is how well we understand and move ahead.

~ Abhishek,
(PGSEM 2010)

Q&A during open house

2010-11-29T18:53:00.003+05:30

Thanks to all that turned up for the event and made it a great success. The panel discussions were very informative and hopefully the alumni and faculty were able to address the questions. Any further questions can be mailed to PGSEMinfo@yahoogroups.com

Those who could not make it on Sunday might have missed the talks but nevertheless, we'll not let you miss the questions that were addressed.

Edit: In addition, some of the commonly asked questions on the PGSEM Info Yahoo! group has been addressed here.

ps: these are the personal views of current students

1. For a person less than 5 yrs of work experience, what contribution can he get to the class?

Varied levels of experience are not just accidental but desired for an MBA classroom. While some bring extensive experience to the classroom, the ones with experience <5 years bring a fresh perspective to discussions. Having completed their education recently. After being admitted each person is equal in class and has equal opportunities to contribute and learn.

2. EPGP vs PGSEM, What are the distinguishing factors for joining? Considering that one has 10+yrs of experience. What is the difference in course content?

Distinguishing factor is that EPGP is a full-time course packed in 1 year and has placements at end while PGSEM is a part-time course spread over 2.5 years, giving options to working executives to plan and space their semesters. This DOES NOT offer any placements. The number of course credits and content is the same in terms of both subjects and credits. Students have to weigh the two options while considering the course. A candidate is more likely to take the EPGP if they have more than 10 years of experience and are looking for a complete shift in domain. He/She is more likely to take the PGSEM if he/she is going to remain in the IT industry and is looking for additional knowledge and learning which allows for viewing organizational issues from a multi-dimensional viewpoint.

3. I am a budding Manager in the next 6mth to 1 yr. If I take the PGSEM, I might lose the opportunity to be a manager.

PGSEM requires you to attend classes on weekend (Friday and Saturday). Friday classes end at 1:30 pm and hence allow people to be back to office. Other than this interference, office can be work as usual for the student. PGSEM requires a senior representative in company to sign that they are OK with the student coming in late on Friday and hence post this step from your organization, it implicitly says that your organization supports you in your quest for higher learning. If anything, the learning from PGSEM would help enhance your ability to confront issues and provides you opportunities for assistance and hence higher roles in organization.

4. What benefits can I get from NSRCEL?

The good news is that if you would like to start an enterprise, and are looking to do so in the technology sector, then NSRCEL is a very nurturing incubator for you! The more important news is that you don't have to be a student at IIMB to come to NSRCEL, you could just walk in. All you have to do is fill out the form at http://www.nsrcel.org/home/contact_us and move things along!

In general, the benefits you get from the NSRCEL include expert advice from serial entrepreneurs, an opportunity to voice your idea and gain funding, and even start your fledgling enterprise within the premises!

5. Why cannot we conduct classes on Saturday and Sunday?

To avoid spoiling the students' Sunday, it remains vacant for self study and personal time in general. The program was conceived in collaboration with the IT industry which primarily benefits from this course. Since inception, organizations have shown their acceptance of this programme by allowing their employees to come in reasonably late to work.

6. If I quit the company in-between the course can I continue with the course?

Yes, you may. Even if you were to quit your job and stay unemployed for a while, IIMB would still consider you as a student.

7. One is looking for role change within the organization or in the market? Who I will be competing with?

It's a personal choice. If you identify a role you want to move into, you need to work towards it. Again, you are competing with yourself. Nobody will come and give you anything on a platter, choose your goal and make it happen. You can equip yourself with the skillsets you will require through PGSEM.

8. What are the criteria for selection to PGSEM?

Tests: CAT/GMAT/PGSEM Test + SOP + Interviews

There is no optimum scores for each test as such. IIMB Admission committee will look for performance from 10th standard onwards to under graduation and other factors like relevant work experience for giving calls

9. Will I get consulting help to get my next promotion via this course?

Short answer is no. This course is not to get you your next promotion. This is an MBA program which equips you business skills and exposes you to the world of knowledge and opportunity. No doubt you’ll learn how to do better in your current role, but there would be no capsule on getting you promoted. You will have to find such opportunities and apply your learnings to reach such a goal.

10. Know more about Student exchange program. What are the benefits in doing so?

The exchange program helps you to have an international exposure by spending a term in an international B School. This is also a good opportunity to be a full time student and interact with international participants. The leave of absence from the company you are working and other arrangements needs to be taken care by yourself. There is no extra tuition fees other than the quarter fees you pay @ IIMB. However other expenses needs to be borne by the participant.

11. While joining I have to submit the SOP. But in due course it changes. Can I have the data for the Students Post PGSEM?

Statement of Purpose (SOP) is a part of the admissions process. Upon being admitted, you are not held accountable for it; nor has the institute collected data on deviations from SOP for the past years. MBA degree per se doesn’t intend to box people to their past thinking and there is a great chance you’ll have an ‘aha’ moment and change track completely to a new goal. What the SOP intends to do is judge a person’s ability to plan and articulate his goals as they stand today and how good a fit is an MBA for achieving the goals. It also helps the institute to verify if the person fits within the class at IIMB.

12. How has PGSEM helped alumni in the panel?

At the end of the day, all said and done, going through the PGSEM programme will make you look at the problems from a very different non-technical perspective than you would currently. As such, it equips you with the skills required to determine solutions for such issues. The programme encourages you to go out and create jobs instead of searching for some, and quite a few students of ours have started their own companies and taken the plunge.

13. Male female ratio, how do women find the course, how do they fare?

The percentage of women in class is approximately 10-15%. It is true that they find it a little harder to find time for course preparation, but the women in class are a model of discipline and have proven time and again their commitment towards their studies. Some of the women have also taken additional responsibilities in extra-curricular activities as part of the Students' Affairs Council.

14. Why PGSEM is called so if its content is not very software specific?

Student intake is from the IT industry and hence since conception, the course is called PGSEM. The course is equivalent to the normal PGP course in content but has good number of electives in the Software Enterprise Management area.

15. How does setting individual pace in second year works; like within 6 years?

The benefit of this course is that the after 5 quarters, the student is allowed to take breaks if his personal or official commitments so require. Taking a break and spreading out the course is not considered exception.

16. How is PGSEM test different from CAT?

PGSEM test is very similar to CAT or GMAT with difficulty on a lighter side. For a sample PGSEM test, visit http://www.iimb.ernet.in/docs/pgsem/sample_question_paper.htm Any good CAT or GMAT book available in the market should help you. A preparation time of 3 months is good enough even if you are completely out of touch of aptitude tests.

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Questions from the PGSEMInfo Yahoo! group

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17. Is the PGSEM a course focussed on management in the IT sector? Should I rather be doing a more general MBA?

PGSEM as a course is not focussed on Software Management. We do have a few electives that are IT-oriented, but almost all the courses are also being offered in the mainstream PGP programme. Students can choose to do a general MBA, or even specialize in fields like Marketing, Finance, Strategy, Entrepreneurship amongst the available disciplines.

PGSEM Open House

2010-11-15T13:01:00.005+05:30

The schedule for the PGSEM Open House has just been published:

1. 9:00 am - Registrion desk opens (Registered participants to report at registration desk)

2. 9:30 am to 10:00 am - Tea

3. 10:00am to 10:10am - Presentation by Student Affairs Council, PGSEM

4. 10:10am to 10:20am - Address by Prof N M Agrawal, Chairperson - PGSEM

5. 10:20am to 11:00am - Panel Discussion

6. 11:00am to 11:30am - Tea

7. 11:30am to 1:00pm - Q & A session

We look forward to meeting you guys! Come along, and listen to our faculty, students and alumni tell you about why we are so enthusiastic about the PGSEM programme!

Oh, one more thing. We know that Bannerghatta Road is not the best of roads to travel on, and there's a good chance of traffic... we come here every weekend. So please try to leave home early, so you can be at the event on time! :)

Diwali break that was

2010-11-10T21:05:00.005+05:30

It’s been an end to a very festive season here in India and the school gears to start the PGSEM classes this Friday. Most students have utilized the time to network and catch up with family. Even though the end term is lurking just 3 weeks ahead, it was time to unwind and stretch considering the whole batch was finishing up the R assignment till 2 days before Diwali. This was the time when almost all groups would have worked remotely, a very important aspect of today's business world. Learning to balance leisure and work is as good a lesson at MBA School as is the actual subject.

***

Coming to the R package: I cannot end this post without a few words of appreciation for this excellent statistical tool. Beyond a class on introducing the various possibilities at R, most of the learning happened through moodle (An open source collaborative platform). It was a collective effort of many that could help everyone learn the nuances of R. Working on R reminds you of beginner days as a programmer where you know what to do logically but have to read a lot of stuff on internet to actually accomplish it. Possibilities of R package are amazing and with so many folks with IT background, I am waiting for the date when all share their assignment outcomes. For now I’d say there’s some interesting data that we’re analyzing.

***

The activities at campus would have already picked up, number of remaining classes before end term is dwindling and so most of the students would be putting their head down to study and various student committees would get into action for upcoming events. The first of which is the open house for the prospective students. What you get out of an MBA depends to a great extent on how well your short term and long term goals are aligned with what the institute offers. So my advice to those interested is to contemplate and come prepared to the open house where you can see the campus, get your questions clarified and most importantly meet the current students.

Till then have a smooth transition to some interesting work. Cheers!

Open House on 21st Nov

2010-11-03T15:57:00.003+05:30

IIMB is conducting open house for PGSEM 2011 aspirants on Sunday 21st Nov 2010. Interested candidates may register for open house here: http://www.iimb.ernet.in/pgsem/attend-open-house

The format followed usually is as follows:

Inauguration of the open house and welcome address by the PGSEM Chairperson, Alumni discussion on PGSEM experience, Question and answer session with Alumni and current students. The agenda is subject to change.

Important Dates for PGSEM Admissions 2011

2010-10-25T15:55:00.000+05:30

Important Dates for PGSEM Admissions 2011
To apply visit http://pgsem.iimb.ernet.in
Important Dates:
Sunday 21st Nov 2010                            Open House at IIMB Auditorium
Saturday 18th Dec 2010                         Start date for submitting online applications
Saturday 5th Feb 2011                            Last day for submission of applications
Sunday 13th Feb 2011                            PGSEM Test
March 2011 by prior Invitation                Alumni & Faculty Interviews
Saturday 28th & 29th May2011               PGSEM 2011 Batch Orientation and Inauguration
Friday 17th Jun 2011 PGSEM 2011      Batch Program Begins

Social Entrepreneurship - Guest lecture by Nikhil Dey

2010-10-25T15:48:00.001+05:30

Social Entrepreneurship in the 6th term has become one of the most interesting, thought provoking subjects I have taken at IIMB. OB classes made me take a look at myself, but SE on the other hand, is making me think how I should look at the world around me and how I can make a difference. In the journey called Social Entrepreneurship, we have come face to face with so many people who have selflessly dedicated their lives to making others lives less of a struggle.

MKSS - Nikhil Dey(Right) with Aruna Roy and Shankar Singh. (Photo Source: Tehelka)

One such person is Nikhil Dey. Founder of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghathan, a non-party peoples' organization, held a guest lecture at IIMB - PGSEM Social Entrepreneurship class yesterday. MKSS famously used the right to information as tool to draw attention to the underpayment of daily wage earners and farmers on government projects, and more generally, to expose corruption in government expenditure. Initially, MKSS lobbied government to obtain information such as muster rolls (employment and payment records) and bills and vouchers relating to purchase and transportation of materials. This information was then crosschecked at Jan Sunwais (public hearings) against actual testimonies of workers. The public hearings were incredibly successful in drawing attention to corruption and exposing leakages in the system. They were particularly significant because of their use of hard documentary evidence to support the claims of villagers.

We live in our sheltered world, have all the right answers to our problems. But what about the 60% of our population, which doesn't even get a Rs.100 per day? What about them who have no money, no power, no education to guide them through? Take a look at this video and you will know what MKSS is accomplishing in Rajasthan.

We are all political. Right from the way we treat womenfolks at house, the way we treat our domestic help, the way we see what is going on around us. We are deeply political. But when it comes to doing something about it, we raise our hands and say "what can I do?" or "Our country has gone to the dogs. Only God can save it". We have abstained from the political process all together and have left it to the gundas who are our so called 'leaders', who are only interested in making money for themselves and people who elect them are jokers to them. Have we tried to find out what our elected representatives have done for us? Have we tried to get information about what development works are going on in our area? Can we find out who laid our roads that develop potholes every 3 months, and who was the engineer who okayed it and passed the payments? Do we try to get information on why all the greenery of Bangalore is being sacrificed in the name of development?

But can we really make a difference?

YES, WE CAN.

The right to information act is truly powerful. The government has never been accountable to the people so far. The government is ours, the MPs and MLAs are our servants. We chose them to do our work for us. RTI is that tool with which we can ask them what the hell are they doing, how they are spending our money. The money that we earn by travelling to the other end of the city - day in & day out, the money that we earn by slogging every weekday of the month.

Today, I invite all of you to give it a thought and to participate in our democracy. Try to get involved. If every informed citizen like you and me takes the responsibility to get involved in our democracy, we can make our society better. Especially at the time when our MLAs are ready to be sold for obscene amount of money due to their greed for power, position and wealth. Especially when the legislature is a place for goondas who have made a mockery of democracy. Especially when the elected MLAs have brought shame to the state.

Links: Longer version of the video is available here.
A video that every Indian should watch: Aruna Roy at IISc, Bangalore

Vista Day 2

2010-10-02T23:55:00.004+05:30

Where else will you get this chance? pitching your ideas to VCs, fighting for the idea you put forth to the best brains and intellectuals in the country, making strategies for the startup or making financial forecasting for exciting new venture ideas. The two days of Vista 2010-11 went just on a fly.

The second day was more exciting with wonderful participation from the corporates. The second day hosted four corporate events.The corporate events started with Software Czars which witnessed arduous way up convincing the judges about the strategy plan for the case given on localized advertisement based venture.

Followed was an exciting quiz exclusively for the corporates. The participation was marvellous that the elimination was a tough one to do in the prelims. The quiz master, Thejaswi Udupa did a wonderful job with interesting questions putting his real quizzing skills. The event paved way for some of the best quizzers in the country to meet again and compete.

With all competitions going everywhere, a talk for a change was required; and no one was disappointed. A wonderful, inspirational and informational talk on Challenges in preparing for India's future by Mr. Arun Shourie followed.

Another b plan competition in telecom sector which was again exclusively for the corporates was the next event scheduled on second day. The classroom once again witnessed fierce discussions, the finalists pitching their ideas and strategies.

IIMB never sleeps, Vista days are no exceptions. A post meridian corporate dinner followed, with industry stalwarts joining the student and faculty community of IIMB. It was a nice experience with discussion sprawling over industry growth to challenges to academics to family.

What else would you like to have for a day? the event continues with a plethora of online competitions continuing and don't forget, there is one more day of Vista!

The main attraction for the third day is the Media Conclave attracting personalities like Shobhaa De, Gul Panag, Ramanujam Sridhar participating! See you there tomorrow...

Vista 2010-11 is finally here!

2010-10-01T01:21:00.002+05:30

You always thought of a business school as a place to be serious and studious; Vista an event for the oh-so-serious who fight hard at the b-plan and case study competitions, didnt' you?

THINK AGAIN!

Paintball and Rock Climbing at Vista 2010-11

Paint the town red... Scale new peaks... Let your hair down.. Take a break..

WHERE ARE YOU?

Vista 2010: It begins

2010-10-01T00:41:00.003+05:30

The headlines today read:

"The total IQ in a particular college on Bannerghatta Road appears to have tremendously shot up over the last 24 hours. Representatives from the college remains tight-lipped on the change in average IQ refusing to comment on whether it has gone up or come down.

Sources say that this apparent infusion of brainpower and adrenaline will remain so for another 72 hours, and that local residents nearby need not panic. There are chances of lightning and thunder emanating from the very ground, but this will be all be safely contained within the premises of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore."

And so it begins...

Vista 2010 Countdown: 1

2010-09-30T00:08:00.002+05:30

There's an ominous silence in the air.

Logic dictates that it is more probably because it's midnight rather than the "calm before the storm", and relatively sane people are busy living out their dreams in REM mode. Hapless PGSEM students on the other hand are most probably finishing the assignments due for Friday.

Whether we like it or not, Friday will come, and the assignments need to be handed in. It goes without saying that Friday will also bring with it this year's biggest biz bash at the IIM Bangalore. Now why would we want to wish Vista away? Answer me once again, which is more important? The fest or your future??

Just one more day to go. Have you submitted your case?

Vista 2010 Countdown: 2

2010-09-29T06:40:00.003+05:30

The submissions for the events are slowly trickling in! That means some of YOUR potential competition are done with their basic plan, and are scheming how to hold their fort while the rest of you try to stake your claim.

Submit your entries soon, the last date for submitting entries is 11:59:59 PM, 29th Sep. OMG, wait a minute, that's today!

We look forward to the clash between the empires. We know you'll make it worth watching.

Vista 2010 Countdown: 3

2010-09-29T06:35:00.003+05:30

Three days left before all the good business schools in India arrive in IIM Bangalore, some to take back what's rightfully theirs, and others to proclaim that right!

What kind of B-school do you go to?

Come...

represent your B-school...

wave your flag...

Vista 2010 Countdown: 4

2010-09-27T22:46:00.003+05:30

With four days left to go for the fest, you can sense the excitement in the air. More than the air, it's actually in our inboxes... all the last minute frantic "OMG! Somebody look into this ASAP!" and "Drop the assignments, which is more important? The fest or your future?" seem to be setting up an energy that my manager hasn't seen in me during the last year. Of course, he didn't seem very pleased when I mumbled that I was working on our fest preparations.

Then he says "Bah! Four days left, that's all no?".

Yeah, right.

Come by! Check the college out in all its bustle and excitement! Witness the adventure you'll be getting into when you join in...

A big thanks to all...

2010-09-27T15:50:00.000+05:30

As Vista preparation is in full swing, there are some of friends who have come forward and have helped us spread the word about Vista Corporate Evening. It would be unfair without at least a brief mention about them.

We, the PGSEM Vista 2010 team, thank Shrinidhi Hande for readily agreeing to and for putting up posts on Vista in his blog and for coordinating with Business Blogging, Callzee, Brandworx for detailed posts about the upcoming events.

We also thank Raveesh Kumar for writing about Vista Corporate Evening in his blog.

Last, but the not the least, we would like to thank all the PGSEMers who are burning the midnight oil to make sure that Vista Corporate Evening becomes a success.

Vista 2010 Countdown: 5

2010-09-26T20:50:00.002+05:30

Vista 2010 Countdown: 6

2010-09-25T23:55:00.002+05:30

Vista Corporate Evening sponsored by Yahoo! will include the following events:

1. Corporate Quiz - quiz exclusively for corporate participants
2. Software Czars - Case study competition
3. The Next big wave - B-plan competition

Deadline for Software Czars and The Next Big Wave is on 28th Sept 2010. Rush in your entries. More info available at www.iimb-vista.com -> Events -> Corporate Exclusive

Vista 2010 Countdown: 7

2010-09-24T18:49:00.000+05:30

With a week to go for Vista 2010, preparations have reached a feverish pitch, entries are pouring from all around the country.

PGSEM is hosting the Vista Corporate Evening on 2nd Oct 2010. Are you ready to go give a try?

Vista 2010 Countdown: 8

2010-09-23T01:59:00.001+05:30

As you guys already know, Vista Corporate Evening events have been launched. What are you waiting for? The deadline for the first round of both Software Czars and The Next Big Wave is on the 28th of Sept.

Roll up your sleeves, dive in, give us ideas, get the moolah (and lot of other goodies) and walk out as winners.

Are you still reading this? Come on, start reading the case....

Events for the Corporate @ Vista 2010!

2010-09-22T20:23:00.005+05:30

As the countdown takes place towards one of India's largest bizfests (Vista 2010, duh!), you tend to feel an odd sense of the days just slipping away. And then you realize that this post is surrounded by posts which remind you of the upcoming blitzkrieg!

Yes, we can get very dramatic. It's not every day that you get a chance to go back and take part in some group events, eat some cheap food, rock your head to someone and have a lot of fun! Well, actually most of us do that every day.. the meetings, the cheap food, the "Yes Boss!", "Yes team!", "Yes, (betterhalf)", not much fun though. Well, all that's about to change! If you choose to not just read this post, but do something about it!

The Corporates now finally have a chance to get back! Here's your chance to take part in some fun-filled events, relive the exciting times during college, and network as much as you can! We have Corporate events at Vista, and we want you... yes, YOU! (Even that quiet guy lurking near his keyboard there), to come and take part!

The links at the website is here, here and here! We even made an awesome poster, just for you! Now, come over!

Vista 2010 Countdown: 9

2010-09-22T00:42:00.000+05:30

Vista 2010 Countdown: 10

2010-09-21T13:09:00.000+05:30

Vista 2010 Countdown: 11

2010-09-20T23:39:00.001+05:30

India's First Ever Product Management Conclave - Conducted by IIMB

2010-09-20T23:24:00.002+05:30

PGSEMers at IIMB conducted the first ever Product Management Conclave in India on 19th September 2010. The event aimed to leverage the vantage position of IIMB to pitch fork the aspirations of the industry to realizable heights. The event saw 300+ people in attendance and had Product Managers and Product Marketing managers from the IT industry discuss, debate, network for common goal of excellence in their fields.

Links: 'Make India a hub for productising innovation' by The Hindu
'Focus on Products, say IIM Students' by The Times of India

IIMB invites application for PGSEM 2011 admissions

2010-09-10T21:31:00.008+05:30

IIM Bangalore invites application for PGSEM 2011 admissions. More information on the admission details and application form can be found here.

Important Dates for PGSEM Admissions 2011
Sunday 21^st Nov 2010	Open House at IIMB Auditorium
Saturday 18^th Dec 2010	Start date for submitting online applications
Saturday 5^th Feb 2011	Last day for submission of applications
Sunday 13^th Feb 2011	PGSEM Test
March 2011 by prior Invitation	Alumni & Faculty Interviews
Saturday 28^th & 29th May2011	PGSEM 2011 Batch Orientation and Inauguration
Friday 17^th Jun 2011	PGSEM 2011 Batch Program Begins

CAT 2010 Notification

2010-08-30T13:10:00.002+05:30

CAT notification has come out for this year. Please note that PGSEM accepts CAT, GMAT and PGSEM test scores. Those who are planning to apply for PGSEM in AY 2011, can take up CAT 2010.

CAT 2010 will be conducted during a 20-day testing window between 27th Oct 2010 and 24th Nov 2010. The application forms are available in select Axis bank branches from 30th Aug 201 till 27th Sept 2010. For more information, please refer to CATIIM website.

Know Your Alumni Series: Part 3

2010-08-12T12:02:00.004+05:30

" Ujwal Tikoo, Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder Taggle.com"

PGSEM Batch: 2006
Total Years of Experience: 14
Current Organization: Taggle.com
Current Role and Responsibility: Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder
Role Before Joining PGSEM: Senior Product Manager, Yahoo!
Role After Completing PGSEM: Director Product Management, mChek

LinkedIn Profile : www.linkedin.com/in/ujwaltickoo

Taggle Internet Ventures Pvt. Ltd., the Internet startup Ujwal co-founded, recently attracted $8.75 million venture funding. We interviewed Ujwal for "Know Your Alumni" series.

Q. Tell us about your journey to where you are today?

The Journey has shaped in the most unexpected ways. I had not imagined or planned exactly about where I am today. I have mostly gone with the flow and I don't know how things will shape tomorrow.
My entrepreneurial venture has been a work of serendipity, though I always thought that some day I may take the plunge. I got interested in Product Management after some experiments in my career and stayed on as I enjoyed the role. Work at Yahoo! taught me the most about the web and then I dabbled with mobile to complete my understanding of how mobile internet and web convergence would happen.
It has been a *lot* of hard work and work and more work. Nothing has come easy or on its own..

Q. Tell us something about the family?

I live with my wife and two wonderful kids in Bangalore. My children are the source of a lot of satisfaction.

Q. 3 words to describe you.

Thinker, Communicator, Friendly.

Q What could have been an alternative career for you?

Teaching. I still hope that someday I would be able to do it to my hearts satisfaction.

Q. What is the most challenging aspect of your role?

Every day is new. You close one issue many new problems pop up. Sometimes its hard to not feel exhausted. Entrepreneurship is vastly different from whatever you can ever read in a news article or a book or a biography. There is only some truth in stories we read, because they are painted beautifully for an audience. Experience is the real benchmark.

Q. Describe THE incident which has influenced you the most to be what you are today.

While working in a MNC, headquartered in the US, a series of incidents made it clear to me that if I wanted career growth I would have to venture into the startup world. I was doing very well in the MNC and loved the company, so it was quite a big shift for me.

Q How do you unwind from the business pressures that are an inseparable part of your job?

Playing with my children, reading, watching TV, yoga meditation. I find Ayurvedic Massage quite relaxing.

Q. When was the last holiday you went when you were completely shut off from the outside world?

Last year I went with my parents and family to Kashmir.

Q. Lighter elements/ interesting bit that no one knows about you!

I used to be quite stressed out in PGSEM days before exams. Sometimes I wouldn’t know whether I would even do well. But I did eventually pull it off quite decently!

Q. Your personal slogan.

I kind of don’t believe too much in Slogans and one-liners. I read a lot of spiritual books and draw inspiration from lives of great men. Life throws new challenges, unexpected bits that no one slogan can make up for all that I have seen and experienced in life.

Q. Whom do you consider as your Role Model and Why?

Venkat Panchapakesan, Ex-SVP at Yahoo! (now VP Engineering at Google) has had a great influence in how I think of leadership and influence. Whenever I have spoken to him, I have felt uplifted and good. Though he would face a lot of organizational issues as a leader, I never can think of a single occasion when the pressure of those situations made him not inspire someone he met. An organizational leader has to inspire people around him to rise to their best potential, by feeling good about themselves and the challenges they are facing. I feel Venkat has mastered that art.

Venkat also cared a lot about people in his organization. During some tough times, he and I were talking and simply said "let’s take care of our people."

Also, one of things I learned from what he used to say regularly "when you reward people, don't be a socialist, be a capitalist". People are tight fisted when they are rewarding performance. Venkat's approach was refreshingly different and he applied the idea of capitalism to rewarding people.

In him I have seen a lot of traits that are looked for in a Level 5 leader

Q What was the influence of PGSEM in the professional life?

I learned a hell of a lot at PGSEM. Not only from the mainstream courses on entrepreneurship, marketing, strategy but also the courses that shaped my thinking about myself e.g. REIL, PIE, and Spirituality in Management. These courses helped me build an outlook and a personal toolset to cope with personal challenges that are thrown by today’s complex work places. Its work in progress.

Q. What is your message for PGSEMers?

IIM B has an exceptional community and PGSEM is an outstanding program. Stay in touch with the faculty and they will mentor and advise and help you a lot. What you will learn from PGSEM will immensely shape your life in the future. There are challenges in being a PGSEMer but where else would you get an opportunity to study from some of the finest teachers of management while continuing your work and meeting your financial and other obligations? Though it is tough when its on, you will miss it when its over! I would any day love to become a student again and sit in a class to learn more!

IIMB Alumni Magazine launched

2010-06-21T13:57:00.003+05:30

IIMB Alumni magazine Summer 2010 edition is launched. The magazine comes with a new look and feel and a socially relevant content.

From the words of the editorial board,

This Magazine is a journey through the turf of the social sector – Walk the paths tread by our alumni who have left their white collar jobs and made a difference to the society. Hear what Prof. Trilochan Sastry has to say about B Schools and the social sector and investigate the strategies of successful social ventures with Prof. Sourav Mukherji.

You could download the magazine or read it as a flipbook.

IIMB awarded EQUIS accreditation

2010-06-18T17:24:00.003+05:30

IIM Bangalore has received the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) accreditation, introduced by the European Foundation for Management Education (EFMD). EFMD is an international forum for accreditation of business education.

The EQUIS accreditation is based on an evaluation of business schools in several areas, including faculty, students, curriculum design, administrative resources and achievements in research. Accreditation under the EQUIS system provides an indication that recognized schools meet quality requirements that satisfy international standards.The accreditation committee had earlier selected PGP and PGSEM programs for the evaluation.

IIM Ahmedabad is the only other school in the country which has the EQUIS accreditation. The press release can be found here.

Know Your Alumni Series - Part 2

2010-06-16T16:06:00.000+05:30

This post, taken from Oct '07 PGSEM Newsletter, has been written by Srinivas himself.

Srinivas B Vijayaraghavan
PGSEM Batch: 2004
Before PGSEM: AIX Product Support Engineer (IBM India)
After PGSEM: Business Development and Marketing Manager for the automotive business unit in IBM India.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The one question that haunts most of us at PGSEM during and after the course is, "what returns am I getting from this program?" I have been no exception in terms of asking myself and others this. I believe it is an essential question which all of us should ask continually and also should answer.

My simple answer to that is "You make it happen for yourself and don't expect anything to come to you automatically". This has been a hard truth to digest. We in the program always compare ourselves to other programs in the campus that have campus placements and end up feeling that we don’t have that opportunity.
My belief always has been that, the first step in any process of change is acceptance of present reality. So, just accept this principle as your guiding principle. "What I get from this program, is what I make for myself. I am not going to get anything on a platter. What I will get is a top notch education from a top notch institute".

Once I accepted it, the next question I asked to myself was "Now, how do I go about making something happen for myself". I did the most natural thing for anyone to do. That was to ask my seniors. I got two sets of view points. One was to focus on the program, learning the concepts, participate in it fully and as far as application is concerned, look at the present role and see how you can apply concepts learnt to that role. The second view point was that while the first view point holds some merit, fact is that you might apply maybe 10-15% of your learning in a role where your business skills are not your primary/core skill. So, look for a change, while you are learning so that you find a platform to apply most of it. Providence had it that at the time I was reading Paulo Coelho's "Alchemist" which is a book about following your heart, because it already knows what your mind can’t fathom. So, that’s what I did.

I eventually chose the second view point. I had a mentor in my senior, good friend and colleague, Piyush Shrivastava, who had made a change from working on OS/2 in the IBM labs to being sales manager for Websphere Pervasive across the country. We used to interact a lot and I started my journey to move from AIX Product Support Engineer to something else. I knew that if I had to make it clean and bloodless, I had to tell my management. That I did and I was quite clear and consistent on that.

My first application was for the position of Marketing Manager for Websphere. The interviewer asked me to explain my background. When all he heard was C, Unix and hexadecimal, the interview turned into a counseling session on the path I needed to take to make it to that role, which as per the individual was presales->sales->marketing. I was disappointed but I kept trying. One thing which I used to do a lot was to look at our intranet listings (blue pages as we call it) at the org charts, role mapping and just cold-mail people. Some mails were like I want to get into this particular role, can you give me a chance.

Some were, I want to build a career in this field, tell me what I should do. At all times I used to mention that I was studying in IIMB. And I thing I always noted was that, people gave you the time. That is the power of the IIMB brand. Whether something comes out of it or not, one can’t say, but they will surely hear you out.

I tried my hand at chasing/creating opportunities in marketing, sales, operations, finance, and technology-presales. Those were trying times indeed. Lots of self doubt when you don’t make it or when you know the person is giving you advice and not the role. I have traveled across the city to be in offices for meetings which might not have had the desired outcomes, making up for lost time at work at night.

It was a 6 month exercise and finally I landed an opportunity in the business development group of the services division. I remember when I took up that role, I had to convince my 3rd level manager who was the director of the lab to release me and that I was following my heart. But, I had my apprehensions on doing the new role and the course at the same time. I was not prepared to miss out on classes in case there was a clash between a client visit and Friday. So, I shared the entire schedule for the year with my manager-to-be and discussed this with him. Credit to him and my new team, that they helped me in this aspect, to complete my
course. And in that team, I got great exposure to meet and interact with C-level execs from Fortune 500 companies across 16 industries. It was an awesome learning experience, more like a finishing school.

Post that, I went on to become a business development and marketing manager for the automotive business unit in IBM India. It has been a rewarding journey so far. And yes, I am applying a lot of what I have learnt to my work and getting closer to doing what I love doing. As Steve Jobs said, "You can only do great work if you love what you do. If you have not found it yet, keep looking".

So, this has been my short but eventful journey during and after PGSEM. What I would tell you as current and past students of this program is to see how you can make a difference. If you can make that difference in your current role, great. If not, and you want to apply what you have learnt, or quite simply, if your heart is in doing something else, then put in the effort to make the change. And always remember that you are from IIMB. No matter what program you do, you are putting in your sweat to learn, just as much as anyone is. Keep that in mind and you will do just fine.

You know, we all measure this program in different ways. Some would measure it on current salary as compared to salary before the program, or current designation as compared to past. My measurement is purely on the kind of person that I was 3 years ago and the person I am today. Vastly different! I am using that as a platform to try and make a difference.

My memories of my stint in IIMB are those moments of truth in classrooms when you understand something, the walks in the campus, quiet times browsing through tomes in the library, sitting on a stone slab, sipping tea and contemplating. Swami Vivekananda says that "The education that we need is man-making education". I
can say that my 3 years in IIMB have made me a better man. And I am fortunate that I am a part of this family.

Therefore, “Arise, Awake and rest not till the goal has been reached"

Know Your Alumni Series - Part 1

2010-06-07T13:00:00.000+05:30

We bring you profiles of PGSEM alumni through Know Your Alumni Series. This is the first of such posts.

Arvind Sainath

PGSEM Batch: 2005-07

Total Years of Experience: 7

Current Organization: HCL

Current Role and Responsibility: Global Marketing Manager, Financial Services

Role Before Joining PGSEM: Technology Consultant, Oracle (5 years)

Role After Completing PGSEM: Pre-Sales (1.5 years) and currently Marketing (6 months)

Q. Tell us about your journey to where you are today?

Thanks to PGSEM, I've been able to sell myself to non-SDLC roles including pre-sales and marketing. The journey has been quite exciting with its own share of ups and downs, but no regrets whatsoever.

Q. Tell us something about the family?

Non-nuclear family based out of Bangalore. The latest addition being my nephew.

Q. 3 words to describe you.

Eternal day-dreamer

Q What could have been an alternative career for you?

Stage play

Q. What is the most challenging aspect of your role?

Far too many stakeholders with seldom concurrence!

Q. Describe THE incident which has influenced you the most to be what you are today.

Difficult to point to one particular event. Life has been offering a string of experiences with few pearls along the way.

Q How do you unwind from the business pressures that are an inseparable part of your job? Travel. hangout with friends over weekends and stop planning long-term

Q. When was the last holiday you went when you were completely shut off from the outside world?

Few weeks ago

Q. Lighter elements/ interesting bit that no one knows about you!

That I am pessimistically optimist!

Q. Your personal slogan.

Everything in this world is absolutely relative - hence one man's justice is another's impeachment!

Q. Whom do you consider as your Role Model and Why?

My maternal grand-dad. His life style was simple yet respectful and his passion was learning - Not sure if I can be inquisitive at the age of 90 (if i live that long!)

Q What was the influence of PGSEM in the professional life?

Whatever shift that I am able to do from core-IT to management roles is thanks to PGSEM.

Q. What is your message for PGSEMers?

PSGEM is no silver bullet but then whoever got anything free in this world!