MBA in Practise

“The optimists and pessimists both contribute to the society; optimists by inventing an airplane, pessimists by inventing a parachute.” – G B Stern

  When I surface out of the subway of the underground tube, I evidently see myself emerging at one end of the Waterloo station, near platform 16 and staring at the long hallway across to the other end where, typically, trains going via Wimbledon are stationed. My switch from the underground tube rail to national rail, plying above the ground, transpires unwaveringly every evening at London Waterloo station. I’ve observed so far, the trains halting at Wimbledon are mostly positioned on platforms one to four. I monotonously board one of those trains on either of the platforms to reach Wimbledon – where my house is located!
 

  What’s so interesting about this?? Well, if proceedings are just as bland as described above then I inarguably agree there is nothing exciting. But on the contrary, the events unfold in a rather finicky way, uniting and manifesting many of the learning in MBA in that short span of time. Let me unravel the mystery: To being with, let me assume I arrive at the far end of the hallway, out of the underground subway, at 6.15 pm. I customarily now know that there are trains to Wimbledon every 3-4 minutes and by and large, they are parked on platforms one to four. I begin to trot towards the other end of the hallway. As I jog through the initial few yards, I come across multiple indicators on my top-right, transmitting departure information of various trains. I skim through that information that endows me with the requisite knowledge that there are two trains, of my interest, about to vacate their platforms in the very nearest future – one at 6.18 pm from platform 1 and next at 6.21 pm from platform 4.

  This is when I introduce and implement the first of many aspects of learning in MBA – Goal Setting! People have always preached this aspect adding a cautious connotation – to choose a realistic goal! But I believe the word realistic is a relative term. What may seem realistic to one may seem superfluous to another. Nonetheless, I am highly influenced by the words of Robert Browning – “…a man’s reach should exceed his grasp…” So, I set my realistic goal – to board the train on platform 1 that is geared up to vacate the platform after 60 seconds! Once the goal setting phase is over and just 60 seconds in my pocket, I introduce another crucial aspect of learning in MBA – Resource Planning and Optimal Utilization. I ostensibly realize, the trot will simply not help my cause and hence, to make optimum use of my 60 seconds, I changeover from my brisk walk mode to sprint mode! So I now begin to sprint from platform 12 towards platform 1 to accomplish the goal set.

  As with any project, there are unplanned hurdles. In this case, the numerous people leisurely strolling around, distinctly unmindful of my tenacious goal. Generally two thoughts would jolt the mind – either boggle down and give up or change the goal. This is when the obstinate words of Mary Kay Ash resounds in my subconscious mind and redeems my faith – “If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you’re right!” I promptly introduce another important facet – Dynamic Planning! With no clear and straight way to perceive, I instinctively pave my own path by wriggling through hoards of unhurriedly veering people to achieve my goal.    

  With the final 10 seconds now hastily diminishing, I race through to the middle of platform one and enter the train compartment with a swift hop. I hear the doors of the compartment automatically closing behind my back and it is then that my mind perceives the most delightful and enchanting feeling of all the learning in MBA – Sense of Accomplishment of a Goal! I scout for a vacant seat and enjoy the immense feeling of accomplishment. That further sows many seeds of motivation and re-strengthens the inherent faith and belief for the next day. Such daily unfolding of events, though monotonous, helps me to unfailingly reinstate many of the salient tenets of learning in MBA!

  …the gone by week witnessed a great, legendary, visionary and a talismanic leader leave his earthly abode for his heavenly abode. Steve Jobs truly remains one of the greatest inspirations for me and I sign off with one of my personal favorite from his many thoughts on life, “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary…”

MBA – Served HOT

“In war you can only be killed once, but in politics many times.” - Winston Churchill

  Never felt at home like this before! With the temperature breaking the record for the hottest day in October 2011, I was compelled to experience an Indian summer in London; an obligation I didn’t desire. I couldn’t have more emphasized and exhibited my discontent than the fact that I chose to remain indoors today and give the much appreciated ‘prolonged autumn heat wave’ enjoyed by the majority of Britain inhabitants, a confident and conscious miss. Amazingly, the last time Britain experienced such record soar in temperature was in the year 1985 – the year I was born – and then, now in 2011. I wonder, whether it has anything to do with me, fatefully! And to top it all, residing in the land of Englishmen today, I paid tribute to M K Gandhi, who had won freedom for India from the very same Englishmen!

  We were bombarded with rigorous lectures right from day one, as the first official study week unraveled without much fanfare. Every day of the week was crammed with sessions from each of the modules for semester one and the module leaders each, very ritually, handed over a heavy book packed with infinite pages. The week began with the delivery of trivial insight on the ceremonious topic – Leading and Managing People; and the sudden quip of the words of Casey Stengel in my mind educed a silent smirk – “The secret to managing people is to keep the guys who hate you, away from the guys who are yet undecided.” Next day followed and we were introduced to a rather precarious subject – Identifying and Evaluating Value (of an organization/of a nation). The discourse was particularly made interesting for the students who hailed from non-finance background, who got to taste the syntax and semantic of accounting and finance. Nonetheless, I invariably couldn’t help but ponder, gasp, and sigh on the moribund economy of many European nations, as much as the connoisseurs of finance and accounting world can swank!

  The middle of the week saw us imbue fundamental interpretations of my personal favorite theme – Marketing; fittingly titled ‘Creating Customer Value’. The omnipresent phenomenon of marketing rides solely on one crucial aspect – hope! It incessantly sells hope, nourishes the hope, further enriches the hope and more pertinently, keeps the flames of hope alive and burning. As the noted French writer Francois de La Rochefoucauld wisely understood, “Hope is the last thing that dies in a man...” And nothing exploits it more than marketing! And finally, Thursday concluded with us playing on MS Excel with zealous efforts to draw some sense of statistics. At this juncture, I must not fail to cite the famous quote on statistics by Professor Aaron Levenstein – “Statistics are like bikinis.  What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.” Guess that pretty much sums up all about statistics!

  Just as we were about to heave a sigh of relief on the supposed culmination of a long and laborious schedule of 10am to 5pm every day, Friday sprung up with a surprise – of us having to undertake a psychometric test – under the last significant module for semester one – Personal and Professional Development. Although initially deemed punitive by many, further insight about the module revealed relevant and rather applicable use of the course curriculum. On that note, each member of the MBA cohort survived on to enjoy the impending weekend!

  I, addicted to photography, couldn’t have waited any further to explore new places in London. But ominously, Saturday saw my camera give up on me due to my irrefragable negligence to charge the batteries. We frantically surmised for a solution and it was then that a brilliant idea conceptualized to elevate us from the tyranny of unfortunate predicament. We visited the Houses of Parliament, where photography was prohibited!

  …as I look forward to another arduous week of the MBA menu served hot in my plate, the statue with a belligerent pose of Winston Churchill in the Houses of Parliament evokes memories, eliciting the desire to conclude with yet another witty quote from the same man, “A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen….”