Its all about our Values

The classes are over and this week we have our review sessions. And next week… exams- the most dreaded part of our studies… o come on. They are a routine now. After so many reports, assignments, WACs etc I don’t feel any fear for exams.

Today we had Careers Stocktaking Workshop, which would continue over the next day. In this workshop we were asked to focus on our values, our goals, post MBA plans and our future direction. I enjoyed today’s session a lot. The best part was that I recognised my values- I think till yesterday I was not even clear what does the word ‘values’ mean? And in a day I know what my values were. I was so excited and happy, when I realised that I clearly know my values.

Our instructor is Jennifer, a very experienced Cranfield Alumni. She did her MBA in 1993-94 and was here to guide our thought process and help us in deciding where we should focus next.

So what do you mean by values. Of course everyone has different perception and I believe there can be a long debate over the meaning of ‘values’, as it differs from one individual to other. Values are not morals- they are not right or wrong. What I have understood is that values are our beliefs or anything on which we want to spend maximum time of ours. Don’t confuse it with your hobby- hobby is an expression of value. Let me give you an example here. For me my top most value may be ‘Self Recognition’ i.e. I want that whatever I do- whether at work or in my social life I should gain recognition for it. If your value is ‘Money’- it implies that money gives you peace of mind, you are happy when you have loads of money. So money in itself may not be a value, but what you do with money, what positive effects it has on you is actually your value. One of my friends has ‘Honesty’ as his value. That means that he wants to be honest, keep his integrity intact and that’s his foremost priority- that’s his foremost value.

Hope I have been able to make something clear about values. It’s not easy to decide upon what your values are. You need to spend hours and need to think a lot…. And if you don’t wanna make so many efforts, come over to Cranfield- I am sure you will realise your values here.

There is one more easy way, that I have discovered of my own, to find your values. Just think what turns you off. What you don’t like? And then try to find the basic reason for that problem. Another example. I and my friend participated in a business competition. He wanted to gain an edge over other teams by knowing the strategy of last year winners and not through his own knowledge and efforts. I feel that is sacrificing my values of honesty and integrity. Why do u wanna shoot your target by placing your gun on someone else’s shoulder? It hurts me so much. I immediately backed off the competition and let him make strategic decisions. He may win by using others’ expertise, but I hate such wins. I never compete for winning, I compete to gain competence; to gain knowledge and to sharpen my skills. Not to win. After all its not the winning that counts. It’s the effort and the participation, which counts.

My message- decide your values, discover them, and never ever sacrifice them. You are what your values are. So don’t compromise on yourself i.e. don’t compromise on your values.

ATK….. so near yet so far.

A lot has happened in the last 15 days. There were so many submissions, assignments, reports and other tasks in the past 10 days that I could hardly get any spare time to write anything. In between there was another WAC (Accounting one).

Life is really very tough these days, and I am consistently reminded of my days in India when I used to have a lot of free time; but then this is the true face of the life of a MBA. You have to manage your time and Cranfield MBA is teaching us quite well- the time management. I may have been sounding boring as I have been emphasizing too much on hectic life and time management, but this is how the life is going on here.

Admissions at Cranfield for the next batch have begun, and I was reminded of the anxious times when I was applying to the global MBA institutes. I still remember the day when I got the mail from the Cranfield admin regarding my admission; I was so happy.

Well, that’s history now. Let’s get back to present. I think I mentioned here in some blog that I participated in AT Kearney Consultancy Challenge but could not make it to finals. On Sunday, I got the feedback regarding my submission and I was so sorry to find that our team missed the finals by just 1 point. Gutting… just a single point. I was not depressed when I found that I have not made it to the finals, but it was really disheartening that we lost by just 1 point. The evaluater said that our presentation was well recieved, but the winning teams had used more of the MBA jargons and more of the marketing analysis tools; that was where we lost the game. Our analysis was almost similar and presentation even better; but we did not use MBA tools as we were not aware of them, then. Its pertinent to mention here that the ATK Challenge was during the first month of our MBA. Other teams consulted faculty, who advised them to use techniques, which were taught to us later in the course. Had I been aware of them then, I would have incorporated all the analysis and jargons. At the end, its all about learning and performing, and I must say that I have learned a lot from ATK challenge. One learns from other teams, from self experiences and from the research required for such competitions.

Today, we just concluded our SMS (Strategic Marketing Success) Presentations. What a day it was! 8 presentations in total and all very creative, entertaining and showed the hard work put in by the teams. Our team researched on ‘Burberry’- British heritage fashion brand. The report writing was easy but the toughest part was presentation, which involved a labour of more than 10 hours. I am enjoying making presentations and am discovering a lot of new and creative styles of presentations. The best part is that my peers give a lot of attention to my peers as they are enthralled by the passion, energy and enthusiasm that I display during the presentations. These comments are not my creation, but the feedback from faculty and other MBAs.

Last week we went to London for Cranfield annual networking event. It was first such event for me, and it was good to meet a lot of alumni (especially the people who did their MBAs long time back) amid drinks and snacks.

Just 2 weeks are left for the first term to get over, as in the third and the last week we have our exams. Its hard to believe that term one is about to complete. Then, its hard to believe a lot more things like losing ATK by one point.

Discover yourself!

One of the MBAs from the outgoing batch told us that you will discover something new at Cranfield about yourself, apart from knowing inner self. I thought I know myself well and there is no such quality which may be too important and which I may have missed so far. I was once again proved wrong.

I love giving presentations and I have been doing this during my college days and in my professional life (though not as frequently as I am required to do here at Cranfield); but after coming to Cranfield I have realised that I not only enjoy giving presentations, but I can also prepare some of very creative and interesting presentations. So far I have worked on many presentations and every time I have received great accolades from my colleagues, sometimes totally unexpected. More than the presentations, people love my presentation style and tell me that my presentations are binding as well as entertaining.

I feel that should be the target of the person delivering the presentation. You should be able to keep your audience focused on you and your presentation.

I have learnt to exploit the power point maximum, and stage covering as well while delivering the presentation.

Rest, Spanish language classes are going slow n well. Our instructor is really funny and interesting.

Some finance companies visited campus last week and are now in the process of collecting CVs. This reminds me of some doubts, which people in Asia (read India) have about the job markets in UK. I have got many queries regarding the job situation in UK. I have discussed this issue in my blog earlier too, that jobs in UK are not that easy as in India, a developing economy short of skilled manpower. In the developed nations like US, UK etc. you have to run after the companies and it’s not the other way round as is in India. So you need to work with perseverance and patience before you finally get a job.

Adios, hasta pronto!

(Bye, c u later)

Ups and Downs

When I came to Cranfield, I was told that there will be some bad patches during our stay here. I did not believe these words as all what I see is sheer excitement and fun; but I must say this is true. At times you are down, down with the work load, with the competition (though its more of cooperation at Cranfield), with the thoughts of your families- I miss India sooooooooooo…. much, down with injuries and health problems and many more such stuff.

At times we feel why we took such a drastic step and opted for MBA, leaving behind our well settled lives, great careers and joyful times. Why did we leave our native places and came far off for exploring something which you may or may not relish. The next moment you realise that it’s a trade off.

When you are sacrificing so much, why do you think you won’t get anything in return? You will get whatever best you can think of- best education, best career, best network and of-course best exposure. And that’s where you lift off.

Immediately you feel refreshed, better and raring to go. I believe there are more reasons at Cranfield to keep your mood up than down.

Last two weeks have been very hectic as usual and my hectic routines are getting reflected in lesser number of blogs. This weekend we had one of the most dreaded tests of Cranfield course- WAC (Written Assessment of Cases). You are given a case study on Friday morning and you have to discuss it with your team. Then you have to write a report and submit it by Saturday afternoon. Sounds simple, just opposite of what it actually was.

In between we had Halloween night- that was first such event I had ever attended in my life. People putting on scary masks and all that scary shit…..

Usual assignments, reports and badminton…. Just go on and on.

My MBA- My Dictator

Work hard, play hard!! Work hard…yeah I am doing that, but play…I think I have almost forgotten the meaning of this word. Cos when u play, u have time for yourself and I hardly get any time for myself. I have no regrets rather I love this dictatorship. I love the commands of my dictator- ‘Cranfield MBA’, which asks me to perform beyond my horizons…the horizons to which I had put limits of my own. But my dictator has taught me that everything is limitless. The more you put, the more you get. My dictator has stretched my boundaries to the nth degree….

I wonder how I am achieving so much. I never knew I was so capable. Now I can do multitasking. I am sitting in accounts lecture and by the side studying economics too. I prepare reports, CV and do so many things- all at one go. This I feel I have achieved just by stepping out of my comfort zone, and this is what my dictator has taught me to do. That’s why I love my dictator, which has shown me my real self….which has helped in bringing more out of my self…which has forced me to not only try being a perfectionist but deliver best performance.

Last week I spent first half in preparing a presentation for AT Kearney Global Consultancy Competition. I don’t know what the results shall be; but I know that I have got the best of the exposures from this competition. I won accolades from all my colleagues for preparing a fantabulous presentation- why not? I spent more than an hour on every slide, thanks to equally intensive inputs from my best pal- Anil. He prepared some of the great charts and diagrams. The presentation helped me learn a lot about the Power Point 2007 and now I feel I have an edge over others, as I know how to exploit the power point to the maximum.

Just when I finished AT Kearney, we had ‘Salsa Night’ where I learnt the traditional Latin American Salsa. It was great fun, as usual. Weekend went in a blip of eye, though I managed to take out some time to play cricket. It was after a long time nd cricket is always fun.

This week started with the preparation of CV- as many finance companies have their deadlines nearby, and then the report for OBPPD- the deadline for which is Thursday.

It’s getting colder day by day; but does that matter when you have such a loving and caring dictator. I bow to my dictator and look forward to expect more from it.

I love my dictator, I love my Cranfield MBA…

Badminton all the way…

Not only I have been elected as the captain of the SOM (School of Management) Badminton Club, but I have also been elected as the Vice President of Cranfield Badminton Association. Too many responsibilities…. but I love it! I strongly believe that responsibilities bring you power and that boosts your ego. But now I have to make sure that I find time to play badminton and organise a few activities related to badminton as well.

As my MBA is progressing, I am feeling ‘the pressure’- pressure of studies (about which I think I care the least), pressure of time management (too many activities- n time is limited), pressure of personal life (difficulty in balancing the professional n personal life) and social pressures (friends, parties, social activities, networking… but so little time). The real challenge is to handle the pressure and do all that you actually want. Though this means that you end up having less sleep but I feel that it isn’t too tough to manage- one just needs to act smart!

This week was a Karaoke party- u know what????…..I sang!! Don’t get so startled, I know I am just a bathroom singer; but I enjoyed singing in this risk free environment. The first day I landed at Cranfield, I was told that you can try here whatever you your heart nd mind say because this is an absolute safe place to experiment. And I am just giving it a shot. Doing whatever I want n whatever I can, is the motto of my life!

So I sang the song- ‘Hotel California’ with Anil, Natalia, Jhung Ha (thank God he was there n saved some grace for us), Sepidah and many more guys n gals. It was for fun- sheer fun!!!

This week also saw us interviewing AT Kearney guys as a part of the MBA Case competition- again a new and entertaining experience. I must say that Cranfield is giving me so many opportunities to explore myself, to unwind myself, and I am having lots of fun as I am learning more n more from these new experiences.

Almost daily, I have atleast one new learning- n that’s the best part of the Global MBA. I have learnt about unique marketing strategies of Ferrari, unique aspects of games like Rugby and have learnt a lot about new nations like Russia, Argentina, Spain etc. and all this stuff is not a part of my course study. It’s the learning which you have from your peers n colleagues.

I have got mails from many of my readers, who want to know about USPs of Cranfield. I will list down here a few of them;
1. Focus on Personality development- believe me that’s the best part of this MBA.
2. Career Advisory Services- the best you can expect from any European school. Other UK n European MBAs are nowhere near to Cranfield in terms of Career services. And I can bet on it. I have talked to some of my friends who are pursuing MBAs at other B-schools and my ideas are an outcome of my discussions with them.
3. Innovative Study Modules.
4. Unique Learning style- I have mentioned about in my previous blogs.
5. Strong n very large Alumni Network.

Believe me, I can count a number of points here, but time- it always plays the spoilsport!!!

So guys I have to leave… but I shall write more…. whenever I am blessed with time. Isn’t it precious?

Feedbacks and More….

We have a course called OBPPD (Organisation behaviour and personal and professional development) which helps us to understand ourselves and each other. It focuses on the psychology of individuals, groups and the organisations. This is one area on which Cranfield MBA focuses its attention, as a part of the personal and professional development of the individuals.

In the first week itself, I learnt about various learning styles (activists, theorists, pragmatists & reflectors) and other personality types. Another requirement of our course is to give feedbacks to team members, to teachers and to everyone who is involved in MBA. This is good as it allows you to speak- about what you liked and more importantly, what you did not. Moreover, the Indians have reputation of agreeing even when they actually disagree. I think this is probably because of our culture which teaches us to respect elders and not to confront them. And we respect our elders and teachers much more than anybody else. I have found here that my colleagues from other parts of the world are more professional and somewhat disrespectful too.

The feedbacks are very interesting as I have found that people are ready to give feedback even when it’s not desired rather when it is completely unwanted. I have seen live examples of this but won’t divulge much detail here. So there is a lesson to be learnt. Give constructive feedback. Make sure that the receptor is willing to listen and accept positively. Feedbacks should never be person-orientated rather they should be task and process orientated.

I have also got feedbacks regarding this blog from my friends and well wishers, who have compared this blog to the likes of ‘Chetan Bhagat’ and ‘Harbhajan Jolly’. One of my friends termed me as a prolific writer- I think I am flattered and feeling on top of the world. Well all that I can say is that this has motivated me to write more and make it sure that I find time to maintain my blog.

There is one more observation that I have made recently. We guys [I mean all of us youngsters- I feel I m still young :) ] have become so much net-savvy that now its almost impossible to imagine life without internet these days. Can you go without internet for a day, leave apart a week? Come on! Be true. You can’t! You would be wondering all the time if someone has sent you a new mail or you got any messages on the facebook/ orkut (the two most probable social networking sites I know). And you will be dying to have a glimpse of the same!!!

I’ll share more and more….whenever I get time (God help me with some more time please! :)

Its Your MBA

Hey! Its Friday but it seems as if last day was Monday!

This is not at all an exaggeration of whats happening in my life. And I am enjoying it to the most- cos after all, its ‘My MBA’. The ‘orienters’ taught us some ‘mantras’ about Cranfield MBA:

It’s Your MBA- you have to plan it and execute it the way you want!
The more you put in, the more you get.
Don’t study, only socialise. MBA will help only for 1-2 years but the network you build will last forever.
Any score above 51% is waste of effort.

There were many more teachings but these were the prominent rather the funniest ones.

From Monday, our normal classes began and our teachers & faculty finally came into action. But the impact which our ‘fresh alumni’ made on us will last with me forever and ever. They were so energetic, cheerful and motivated people.

The classes are going on very well- faculty is great and all very experienced guys. There are lectures by professionals from various backgrounds in evenings (not daily) and I try not to miss any opportunity to listen to them.

On thursday evening, we had 70s n 80s night where everybody was dressed up in that attire. It was a fantastic evening. There were drinks, food n music and of course dance too. Great fun! We have many more such weekly events coming our way. And I am very eagerly looking forward to more of such get-togethers.

In between I try to squeeze out some time to play badminton. Even if it’s for half hour I do go, as the badminton courts are just a minute’s walk from my place and of course I love this game. There are many more opportunities to try various games and new experiences.

This week also saw ‘AT Kearney’ visiting the campus and giving a presentation on ‘AT Kearney Annual MBA Consultancy Competition’. This is a competition in which various European schools participate and the team which wins the European competition will compete with the American winner. In the first round, 10 teams from Cranfield will participate, out of which 3 will move to next round. From these 3, only one will go further to compete at European stage.

Our batch is full of active people and there were 19 teams which wanted to participate; ATK allowed only 10! So it was decided by our careers team that 10 teams will be screened out of 19 on the basis of a 5-minute presentation. My team includes Anil, Marina (from Russia) and Ugo (from Nigeria). We purposely wanted to have a diverse team and we gave the name of ‘Synergy Consulting’ to our team and our team has been screened through for the first round. Gosh…..what a great relief!!!!

The O- Week

The busy times have started to show their face, n that’s why I am late by a week in updating my blog. When I came to Cranfield, I decided that I will maintain my blog on a weekly basis- n now it seems it may be too difficult to achieve this target. Time literally here flies and you don’t realise how quickly a day ends.

Let’s start with my first day of MBA!
Pre MBA finished on 28th September and from 1st October our MBA began with the Orientation Week. Till then we were already used to a hectic schedule; so it did not surprise us much that the O-week had been planned with so many activities so that we don’t even get a second to relax. The main feature of this week was that no faculty from the institute was involved and there was a bunch of students of 2006-07 batch (they were called Orienters), who were taking care of us. These guys were outstanding. They had finished their MBA just a month back but it seemed as if they just did not want to leave Cranfield. Their love n commitment towards Cranfield gave the proof of Cranfield’s credentials.

We were divided into 3 streams- Green, Yellow n Red. First day was packed with registration formalities, campus tours and introduction to fellow MBAs. There were many new faces from UK, Europe n some batchmates from India, who could not attend Pre MBA. In the evening, we had a social get-together where our Orienters (read fresh alumni) played a band for us. Families were also invited, n some games n a quiz were also organised. During the day, we were also given Cranfield Laptops.

Day 2 started with highlights from last year, distribution of case packs (our learning stuff for Term-1) and we were introduced to our Learning teams. The concept of Learning teams is very unique and special at Cranfield. We have been organised into groups of 6, and whatever task is given to us- we are supposed to do it as a team. Whether its assignment, any report or discussion- everything has to be worked upon as a team. Cranfield lays a lot of emphasis on cooperation rather than competition and promotes group work, as the belief is (and I feel this is the truth) that you achieve much more as a team rather than as an individual. Day ended with ‘International Evening’ where everybody turned up in their local dresses. It was real fun- I had an opportunity to have a glimpse of ethnic wears of UK, Korea, Africa n many more countries.

Wednesday, we had Sports Afternoon and we spent half of the day playing various sports like volleyball, Rounders (baseball), basketball etc. We were also given a case study n there was a barbeque in the eveing. Also we were informed that there will be a ‘CABARET’ on Thursday evening where each stream has to put up a show lasting around 30 mins.

After sports, my learning team met n prepared the case study, and then we guys went to party-barbeque, n after that in late night we prepared for Thursday’s Cabaret. I prepared a short skit involving 9 people n titled- ‘Masters of Beer n Alcoholism at Beerfield University’. I’d this idea in my mind since long time back and I just converted that idea into a skit n it was real hit. People laughed to their full.

On Thursday, we had stream representative elections apart from normal studies and business games. I contested for ‘Stream Rep’ n ‘Sports Rep’ but could not make it for either. The silver lining was that we were asked to give a minute long speech, and when I came back after delivering my speech one of the contestants said that he will vote for me as I spoke very well. I was delighted that I was able to impress audience n who cares if u win or not… huhhh….!

In between, I also met ‘Career Advisory Services’ of Cranfield to discuss my post MBA plans. There are so many things to write about but I don’t want to stretch it too long. More shall come in my future blogs!

Last day of the week was graced with some more introductions and presentations and we were given our time tables. We also learnt about 3 day Learning cycle at Cranfield:

First day you learn yourself
Second day with your Team
And Third day the same issue is taught by Teacher.

Thus, you end up revising a particular topic thrice and moreover the teacher does not start from the basics, but directly takes you to the advanced levels of studies.

Isn’t it brilliant and innovative?

Curtains to Pre MBA

Well I am just back from the Thursday Social, and God! What a fun it was. We drank, ate, danced, played games and had a lot of fun. When Punjabi music was played, I really missed my country. I missed my wife too; if she would have been here I would have enjoyed more. No worries. She will join me tomorrow.
Today I got to see many different types of dances and the best performances were from Marina and a couple from South America- Louis and Veronica. Marina is from Russia and she really danced very well. It was impressive. And of course I was always there with Bhangra and other dances. I enjoy dancing.J
Our Pre MBA course has come to an end as tomorrow is the last day and from Monday our main course starts. So far we were only 48 students and all international participants. I came across people from numerous countries- Peru, Argentina, Russia, Italy, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea …. and the list continues. After spending last fortnight with so many different individuals I learnt one thing that people from non Asian backgrounds are more polite, nice at heart and very open minded. Especially people from Russia, they are very sweet and cool. And I like people who are cool… as they just go with my mantra of life- Stay Cool. One of my team mates is Russian- Victor, that’s his name. He is really cool and so straight in his words. He will simply tell you where he feels you are wrong and will definitely praise you where you are good. Similarly I met another person from Russia- Natalia. She is not in my team but I got to interact with her as we were organizers of the Thursday Social. She too is again very simple and plain in words. And of course she is also very nice and extremely polite. I feel this quality is missing in people from Asia- particularly India and Pakistan. We guys tend to appear differently from what we actually feel and actually are. I think we need to learn a lot from these chaps. Even Professors at Cranfield say that Indians normally have tendency to agree when they actually don’t.

Regarding this week at Cranfield, we started with WAC- Written assessment of Cases. We were given a task to analyze the economic situation of a South East Asian nation and my team chose Malaysia. First we were asked to discuss in a team and then were asked to present a report on that. Then in rest of the week we learnt about Case Studies- how to go about them, Globalisation and about Project Management. We spent whole of Thursday on Project Management with Steve Carver and he is really a very interesting Prof. He has an excellent humour and his teaching style is very dynamic. He gave many live examples of how the projects fail. He also gave a task to each team in which every team has to choose a Project Manager. In our team I was the Project Manager. Our team did complete the task but at costs and time, both of which were very high than the stipulated ones. Of course the time and the costs are two things which are extremely critical to every project. It was another failure but then I’d many lessons to learn from this. I also had something to cheer about, that at least I started well and it was only in execution phase where I made mistakes.
With every passing day, I have a feel that there is so much to learn and there is so less time. Time Management- Is not it so important in our lives?

My First week of Pre MBA

It all started with a bang, and just did not stop at all. Right at 845 a.m. on Monday, our Pre MBA started and the best break which we got was only on Friday at 330 p.m. We did not expect that the first few days would be so hectic. The main thing which bothered each one of us was: when shall we get time to arrange our flats, to shop, to purchase car, mobile etc etc. I missed my wife a lot at this point. If she would have been here, she would not only had taken all the responsibility, I would also not had missed my Indian Food. Here people eat bread n only bread. I miss my Parathas n Rotis. Well the good news is that Sherry is coming on 29th Sep.
First day was spent in a business challenge called- Minimax. Tuesday n Wednesday was spent in another business stimulation challenge. We have been divided into teams of 6. One of my team mates has not yet arrived. So we are 5, out of which 3 are Indians (including myself), 1 Taiwanese- Jenny and last is Victor- from Russia. You must be smiling that what sort of MBA is this where there are 3 Indians in a team of 6. Actually as told earlier, this is just Pre MBA. When all the 150 MBAs shall arrive on 1st October, the scenario will be totally different. New teams will be formed.
The business challenges were a great fun and immense learning. The major focus of Cranfield is to make everybody a team player. I had to confront some of the very difficult guys in my team and I must say I did it well. I learnt how one should be patient and a good listener and still should make it a point that one’s arguments are heard well. Though our team lost both the challenges; infact we were ranked last in our group of 4 teams, yet I had some achievements to my name. The most important was the presentation that I gave on last day of the business challenge. We were asked to present a report to the shareholders of the company that we were asked to run for last 2 days. Everybody congratulated me after my presentation as it was real fun. I exhibited dynamism and covered the stage well. I was a bit nervous before the presentation as I had never prepared presentation in less than an hour and gave a presentation to such a diverse audience. The best part was when our instructor-‘Karen’ congratulated me for the wonderful presentation and even told our Pre MBA coordinator- ‘Graham’ about it. I felt on top of world- especially after I had 2 real bad days.
I must say that a team cannot perform well until n unless all the team members gel well. Our team was very fragmented and that’s why we failed to deliver. However, the challenges were a good tutor.
Thursday n Friday went into Introductions to various courses and mean while we squeezed time to resolve all the issues relating to accommodation etc. We also played a lot of games like Football, Basketball n Badminton. But I missed 20-20 World Cup matches, the sexy 6s of Yuvraj and semi final too. Though we have a TV room here but then you have to prioritize time as its limited. Next Thursday is our social gathering where we shall all meet with our families. I am a part of the organizing committee and everyone will be there with families. These kind of parties are common in Cranfield and are famous with the tag of ‘ Thursday Socials’.
My next blog shall be after the completion of Pre MBA. Till then Bye.

Arrival at Cranfield

15th September 2007, 6:30 p.m. local London time: My flight was right on time even though it departed from New Delhi at 1:50 p.m. IST (late by 20 mins from the scheduled time). I was accompanied by Anil n Kunal. We went to the Immigration Counter at the Heathrow Airport and were surprised to see a v long queue of people mostly Asians. It took about 2 hours to go through immigration thanks to the Chest X-rays which we carried from India; otherwise it would have taken an additional 1 hour at the airport.
It was really disgusting to wait in the queue for hours just for immigration clearance; and the immigration checking officials were interviewing as if they were yet to grant visa- why have you come, how will you finance your studies blah blah….. When we have already completed all the formalities during visa application, why the hell do they ask further questions? The explanation for long queues was that the Government has applied stricter rules and checks in the wake of recent terrorist attacks.
I was worried that the University driver, who had arrived at the Heathrow airport at 730 p.m. (LST) may have left by then. Finally we came out of the airport at about 840 and to our relief, Dave (an employee of Cranfield) was standing with the board that said- CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY. Besides him was standing a smart lady, who I later came to know was our MBA colleague- Sepideh. She is from Iran and when we all boarded the mini bus the journey of learning started. First Dave welcomed all of us to Uk and after that we all got busy sharing our profiles, experiences and cultures. Sepideh told us that Iran is not the way it is projected by the Western media. The country has developed leaps n bounds and is doing well at all the fronts.
We stopped on the way at a petrol station to get some bread, milk etc. as it was already 930 n v knew that by the time we shall reach University we shall feel hungry and we wont get anything to eat in night.
Cranfield is situated about 8 miles from Milton Keynes and at about 60 miles from London. The location is a bit remote and its not v easy to access the University through Public Transport. That’s why personal cars are a necessity here. Milton Keynes is a major shopping centre for the University inhabitants, however all the items of daily use are easily available in campus itself.
We had a nice Sunday as we met all our fellow MBAs. Only a limited no. of people were there as for the first 2 weeks we have Pre MBA course, which is not open for everybody. The Pre MBA is meant for people from countries other than UK, Us n Europe. The purpose of Pre MBA is to make the international students aware with the socio-economic picture of UK and the course is purely optional. One may opt for not attending the course as well. Normal Full Time MBA starts from 1st October 2007.
We went around the campus of the Cranfield on Sunday evening. The facilities, especially in R&D really are very impressive. The University has a big air-space and I feel a fully functional airport can be built here. A no. of different types of planes, meant for training purpose, can be seen.
Next morning, on 17th September, we were asked to report at 845 a.m. So I went to sleep in time as I did not want to get reprimanded for being late on the v first day itself ;-)

The History of Patiala Peg

Did u ever get a chance to make your drink as gigantic as a Patiala peg? Well many people must not be aware of the saga of Patiala peg which has gained popularity all over the world due to its unusual large size.
The extraordinarily large proportion of alcohol was believed to be enjoyed by the erstwhile maharajas of Patiala. The volume of Patiala peg increased the appetite of mighty kings like anything. The history of the ‘name’ is unfolded by the incident when the teams of the British and the maharaja of Patiala decided to play a match of Polo against each other. The night before the match Maharajah of Patiala organised a party for both the teams. The Players of the Patiala Team had very large pegs of whisky and that too neat (without any soda or water). The British players, in an attempt to imitate their counterparts, also drank large pegs but couldn’t digest them. Some collapsed and weren’t able to get up in the morning to play the match. The ones who made it to the battlefield could not play properly as the hangover of the alcohol was too much for them to handle. From that very day the unusual large size of the pegs came to be known as Patiala pegs.
It got wide recognition among the British, as it was considered to be a wild adventure. So GUYS n GALS try Patiala, only if you are confident that you can handle it well.

Cranfield Calling…

The time has come. Today is my last day in India and tomorrow I am flying to UK- to pursue my dream, my passion i.e. MBA at Cranfield University. What I have discovered is that the more I am learning about Cranfield the more I am falling in love with it. I wonder its just the beginning and what will happen at the end of the program. So much is lined up in this short but interesting 1 year course. On the flight I shall be accompanied by Anil n Kunal. Anil (Anil Piplani), I know him since 1996 when we joined engineering together at Thapar Institute of Engineering n Technology, Patiala. Later we were tied in a relation when Anil got married to my wife Sherry’s sister- Shelley. Sherry is the younger one and all 4 of us: I, Sherry, Shelley n Anil have been together for the last 3 years- firstly in in Bombay, then Delhi n now at Cranfield.
It will be interesting to have Anil as one of my fellow colleagues during MBA and I sincerely hope our stance of cooperation remains as such and the feel of competition does not creep in.
My wife Sherry along with her sister Shelley will accompany me n Anil at Cranfield, so I feel there won’t be much of homesickness with my near n dear ones around. I hope that this may help concentrate on MBA better. Still, nothing can stop me from missing my first love- my home town Patiala.
Today, on the eve of entering Cranfield, I have many wishes, many desires, ambitions n hopes from this great Institute. I hope next year, by the time I finish my course all my desires n wishes are fulfilled. With these words n a heavy heart I am leaving India today. C u at Cranfield.

Bidding farewell

Last week I bid farewell to ONGC. My colleagues (mostly my seniors) hosted a number of parties for me. These farewell parties coupled with those staged by my friends in Delhi saw me having about 5 lunches and 8 dinners in last 10 days or so. I must have put on a lot of weight and nullified all my efforts at GYM- which I had made in the last 2 months.

But no regrets. I enjoyed each party and wish I be back among my friends as soon as possible.

ONGC- Oil n Natural gas Corporation Limited. I cannot express in words how much I owe to this organisation. I have learnt a lot here: I learnt abt the Oil n Gas Exploration n Production, drilling of Wells and all those activities that go into production of oil and gas.

Above all obviously I learnt about the Materials Management- procurement, strategic sourcing, spend analysis, category management in particular. I tested my hands in all the latest tehnologies like SAP, SRM, Reverse Auctioning, eSourcing etc.

The best thing that I got from ONGC was exposure. I got a huge exposure here: exposure to the metro cities of Mumbai n Delhi, exposure to the far flung areas of North East, exposure to the corporate culture, to the best industry practices and to the brightest minds of India and the world.

Last day, during my formal farewell all my colleagues wished me all the best and the way everyone encouraged me to go ahead with MBA, reinforced my determination to advance my career through MBA.

I shall always remain indebted to this great organisation and to its great employees.

Thank you ONGC and thank you ONGICIANs.

My Native Place

These days I am free from my job and preparing for my next venture: MBA at Cranfield University, UK. Am I? I think I am spending more of my time in enjoying life at my native place- Patiala, than preparing for the B-School.

Patiala- I am madly in love with my home town. Its such a cool and calm city- a true stress buster for me. Life here is slow but interesting. People are very cordial and sweet. There are so many nice eating joints which offer you a variety of goodies to eat- the best ones being Gopals, Sahni bakery, Vermas and the more traditional ones like Sadhu Ram's kachori and poori etc.

I love roaming around the city and at times for no reason at all. There s hardly any traffic jam in patiala but that should not be construed as there are less number of vehicles here. Its just that traffic management is good, roads are wide and well laid.

Patiala is an erstwhile princely state of India and is famous for 'Patiala Peg' (the history of Patiala Peg shall be covered in next blog), Punjabi Juttis, Traditional Punjabi products like prandis and patialavi salwars (salwar is a lower part of the suit worn by punjabi ladies). Once I met an entrepreneur who had been to a number of places around the world. i cannot forget his words-" Out of about 50 places I have been to around the world, I feel patiala is so far the best city to live in".

And he is certainly right. Most of the people are from middle class background. The proportion of lower class and upper class is very less. There s hardly any industry and people are dependent on the services sector or the government sector. Though, absence of industry has has its own negative effects on the city. The development projects are undertaken entirely by the Government and there s no private sector participation. There are so many educational institutes but the students have to explore other parts of the country n world for career as there s hardly any opportunities on the job front in this city.

One may summarise that its a best place to live post retirement.:-)

I wish I may spend my own life post retirement at Patiala only.

Love you loads Patiala

Orkut n Adnan's Death

Few days back i came across an interesting article writen by my friend, who blamed orkut for Adnan's Death. You can have a full view of the article at:

http://merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=126031

The article gives a nice description of the events that led to Adnan's death. However, to say that Orkut is to be blamed for Adnan's death has not been supported by any facts n reasoning.

Every system on this earth- whether natural or man-made has its own pros and cons. A metal spring has so many useful applications; but the same spring is also used in guns. So, to say that orkut is all responsible for his death won't be right. It was the mis-use of a facility which brought the trouble. So there should be checks on the cyber crime. The Net Users especially the teenagers should be taught regarding the advantages/ disadvantages of the Intenret. Just as the governments and societies are planning to introduce sex education as one of the main stream courses for children, we can have education regarding the internet usage and its fall-outs for the children and adults.

The alternative solution that the article speaks of (Google should ask for documents etc) is very difficult to implement. Moreover, Crimes occur even in those nations and at those places which follow some of the most stringent identity proof systems.

Hope I am right here.

P.S. The commenst on the article are in no way related to my love for ORKUT:-)
Happy Orkuting

Why Cranfield...

Cranfield….. whats that?

This question, accompanied with a lot of confused faces, is very common for me now. Whenever I tell anyone regarding my admission to the Cranfield School of Management (2nd best in UK and 37th ranked in World) I have to confront such questions. People have heard of Oxford, Cambridge, LBS, LSE but not Cranfield; despite the fact that Cranfield University and its ‘School of Management’ are one of the prestigious and highly respected institutes of the world especially UK.

This illustrates another problem among the Indian students. We don’t know many good universities and their worldwide-acknowledged courses. So where can one find information about various universities of the world. Talking particularly about MBA, one should register with World MBA Tour and do visit the exhibitions and fairs organized by them. You will come across many new institutes (the institutes are usually very old and well established but are totally new to an average Indian student), many such courses which are typically new for you.

Coming back to Cranfield, I chose this institute over 2 other options that were available with me. One offer I had was from one of the best institutes of France and other was from the best MBA institute of the Asia pacific region in Singapore. I dropped the Singapore option cos it was not as highly ranked as the 2 other options I had with me.

I also dropped the France option cos French economy is not doing well these days. Though this French Institute ranks way higher than Cranfield still I opted for Cranfield, considering the ease of adjusting to language and culture of UK and the growing UK economy. I came to know that French economy is in such a bad shape that the MBA graduates from French Institutes are going to UK or US for jobs. They hardly find any job in France. Moreover you need to be very fluent with French if you wanna take up a job in France.

The particular reasons for selecting Cranfield, apart from its rankings and location advantages, are:

1. Focus of the course on personal and professional development- infact this is the backbone of the Cranfield MBA. The institute takes pride in the fact that they help develop personality of the individuals while helping them attain their career goals.
2. IBE Tour- Its something which might not interest is as such. Every other institute has such world tours packed in their course. What is different in the Cranfield’s IBE? Well the difference that I found is in their planning and organizing that goes into their tours. Though I have not taken this journey till now, I am sure it will be a great experience as I have discovered from the posts and diaries of the current students.
3. New and exciting modules like Demand Chain Management, Entrepreneurship etc. The course modules are designed to meet the incumbent industry demands and are different from the conventional courses.

As I am from SCM (Supply Chain Management) background, Cranfield was the ideal choice for me. Cranfield University is well known for its Post Graduation course in SCM and the module of Demand Chain Management couples Marketing and SCM.

There are a large number of other good reasons why Cranfield should be the first choice for every person looking for an MBA. Well you have to do a bit of homework yourself and check their website http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/mba

After having obtained scholarship, there was no reason why I would have denied the Cranfield offer. Looking ahead to Cranfield, I am very excited. This will be a big step in my career and a great venture of my life.

Selection of the B-School

When I started thinking of MBA in 2006, I wondered which school should I select. Is there really a big difference among the various top B-Schools of India? Are the Global B-schools really a class apart from the Indian schools, as is claimed by a section of the MBA fraternity?

I started searching for B-Schools through the trusted ‘google’ and found a number of rankings of the top B-schools of the world. It was really very difficult to narrow down the choices. Still I carried on, with perseverance, and found that its not that difficult as it appeared in the beginning. For making a choice regarding the school, remember that every B-school has its own particular character and you have to identify that characteristic on your own. Search the MBA sites, visit the websites of B-Schools, devote good enough time on their pages, make notes about various schools and consult the alumni from various schools.

Other important task is to list your priorities, your objectives and what you want from an MBA. Once you know your objectives and the various characteristics of the different schools, matching them should not be a big issue. Infact, the major issue usually is: what are our objectives. What we want to achieve in life. I myself was not clear about it; but this is very important as it will not only help you in selecting the right B- school but shall also help shaping your career. It will also help while writing admission essays and applications for the B – schools. I suggest one should read the book: ‘What color is your parachute’ by Richard N. Bolles and then decide on the priorities.

Other than your objectives, here are some important aspects which one may consider while choosing the school and the course:

Duration of the course: How much time are you ready to take a break from your professional career- 12 months, 16, 24? That’s for you to decide.
Which sector are you focusing on: Finance, Marketing, Supply Chain Management- there are different B-schools having different focus areas?
What are you targeting to achieve from MBA- wanna develop personal skills, or professional traits or simply you want to grow your network?

These are just examples to help you know on what lines you need to think while selecting a B-school.

Regarding the differences between Indian B-Schools and the global B-schools- the major difference (infact it’s the worst drawback of studying at Indian B-school) is that the students and the faculty are not diverse. Almost 99% of the students and the faculty in Indian B-schools is from India and that leaves almost no room for learning from diverse peers n teachers.

Global B-schools have faculty and students from a variety of backgrounds and from all over the world and you learn as much from your peers as from the MBA course.

There are many other theories available on internet that will guide you in your endeavor. For any help, one is most welcome to contact me at vkhanna10@gmail.com

Crack the GMAT

So you are ready? Ready to go ahead with GMAT. Great.

Well the very first thing you should do, after having gone through the official web site of GMAC, is to buy the official guides for preparing for the GMAT. Believe me they are the best. Though people say that they are relatively easier than some other guides like Kaplan, Princeton etc., still they are the closest to the official format and the pattern of the questions, which you will actually find in the test. There are 3 volumes of official guides available: one which covers whole of the GMAT, second which covers only the verbal part and third which deals with the analytical section.

Go through one of the practice tests given in the beginning of the main Official guide- the first volume. It will help you know the severity of the questions asked in GMAT and the types of questions that you can expect. However, some bouncers are always there. When you sit for the real exam, you will face some totally new questions.

Now wait. After having done the practice test, close the official guide. Pick any other guide, like Kaplan, Princeton- any, which ever is easily available. Now go through whole of that guide first. After that come back to the official guides. Complete the main guide first. Again, take a break. By now you must have mastered the various types of questions that you can expect in GMAT.

Along with all these guides I recommend to join any one of good websites for preparing for GMAT. Here you can discuss your problems, doubts etc. with others and also you will come to know of the latest happenings in the MBA world. Search Google for such preparatory websites.

So you are done with one of the private GMAT guides as well as the official GMAT guide. This should not have taken more than 2 months considering you are working and are devoting 2-3 hours daily and few extra hours on the weekends. Considering your GMAT test date is nearby, start with the two supplement volumes of the Official GMAT Guide. Complete these and mind you- don’t read any other guide near to your GMAT. I have seen people burning mid night oil near to the test date and completing as many guides as possible. This is calling for the disaster. When you are approaching the test date, just concentrate on the official guides; because official guides are the one which are very near to the actual GMAT and that’s why I say- they are the best bets. Other guides, in their tendency to put difficult questions, just drift away from the pattern of questions that actually form the GMAT.

One more thing- that I have missed earlier. You need not prepare much for the essays- 2 small ones which constitute the first part of the GMAT. Just read some of the topics of the official guides on the last day. That’s enough; but do increase your reading. Try reading some national and international business papers. Read news articles as well as editorials. They will help you grasp the verbal part of the GMAT.

Rest luck should be on your side and you will be able to surpass that magical figure of 700, like yours truly did in September 2006 with the score of 740.

GMAT???

This blog is meant for those, who are desirous of pursuing a Global MBA and want to give GMAT, which is a primary requirement for applying to MBA at the global B schools.

Well if you are here, reading this blog, i suppose you are seeking admission into MBA at international level. (I am specifying MBA as 'global' and 'international' cos Indian B-Schools except a few dont require GMAT.) Before starting your preparations with GMAT, make sure you have finalised your target B-schools and its a pretty tough task i should say. Don't worry i will help you in determining your wish list.

First of all make a list of your priorities and what do you want from your MBA. Do you have 2 years of your life to spare? Or you want a shorter duration course? Remember, most of the MBAs in UK and Europe are of 12-16 months duration. In US the MBA lasts 2 years normally and the 1 year options in US are not well respected in the business community. Next question comes- why are you doing MBA? What do you expect to learn from your MBA? Do you want to pursue studies in Finance; or are you looking at honing your enterpreneural skills; or you want to become Marketing Guru? Be specific and that will help you in selecting a specific school for yourself. To know which school specialises in what, search B-school websites thoroughly; take help of rankings and the information provided by the web sites which compile these rankings.

Dont worry about the finances part while selecting the B school. Its not the easiest of the things to manage, but then its not the difficult part either. Scholarships, Loans everything is available once you get an admission.

After deciding on the target B schools, start preparing for GMAT. I will not waste time here with questions like what is GMAT blah blah, which you can easily find from the official web site of GMAT: www.mba.com First thing that you should remember regarding GMAT is that its not the sole criteria for applying to B Schools, its just one of them. The point I am trying to highlight here is that a very high/ low GMAT score does not affect your chances of admission to a great extent. While high GMAT score does help in getting scholarships, you can always make up for your low score with well written essays and applications. Every B School just wants a balanced score. Indian students face a problem here as many score well in Mathematics (as expected), but fare badly in Verbal.

Before reading the next blog, first goto the official web site of GMAT and get acquainted with the format of the exam. After that we shall discuss the strategies one need to adopt for cracking 700+ levels.