Way2Top

Today I received the settlement figures from my company. I was greatly surprised to see a considerable settlement amount. I was grudging on ISB not sending out scholarships for overseas applicants, but this amount from my company has more than compensated. For personal reasons, I am not disclosing the exact amount, but I can say that it is equivalent to almost 2 months of salary!

I have been smiling throughout the day

Invited my colleagues to Farewell (Lunch and Drink). Booked a slot and table in the restaurant on my pre-final working day. Enquired about Telephone and internet connection termination, was pleased to see no issues there.

OK, to the ISB front..I was bombarded with loads of forms to fill out. Pre-term registration, Health-form, Photo-form, Feedback-form, CAS Form (Listing career progression and 5 most preferred companies and roles after ISB etc.,). The CAS form (Career Assistance Service) will serve as the starting point for CAS personnel.

I took the evaluation test for Pre-term subjects, Business Statistics and Quantitative methods. After seeing a pathetic score, I am now seriously thinking about taking up the Business statistics Intermediate course. Even though I did moderately in Quantitative methods, I am confident that I can learn/revise the concepts on my own. So no pre-term for Quantitative methods. Well, I didn’t even bother to take up the Accounting evaluation test, I am taking up the course anyway. Therefore my pre-term expense is (4000 + 2500 = Rs.6500/=), for now!

Things are moving in fast pace. Only 9 more days to go in Belgium!

He..He..3rd post of the day!

Well, Just saw the Apprentice - 3, Episode 8. This week’s task was to produce a live music auction for FUSE TV to benefit The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatrics AIDS Foundation. Each team would be randomly given five of the biggest artists in the music industry. They would have to negotiate with each group or artist for a personal experience to be auctioned off during the live segment. The team that raised the most money would win; the losers would be back in the boardroom where someone would be fired.

There was a twist this week. The project leader should be one who hasn’t led yet. After the project leader was chosen, the project leader was asked to give away two members to the other team. This is very tricky. You would have to be absolutely mature enough to make these decisions on the spot. You have to ensure that you retain your best people with you, and sometimes making the choice is too tough!

Both teams did well to raise lot of money. But Magnacorp (previously just book smarts) did a smart job by winning two very good negotiations which almost fetched them the sum total of all five negotiations of other team put together.

The candidates that I am seeing now and that I saw before are totally different in personalities. True colours are coming out. John was pathetic last week and this week he was too dominating and he paid the price..One thing is becoming pretty clear..Abrasion is dangerous..

Hmm..so John, Audrey are out..Only two of my remaining predictions are left..Kendra and Craig..

Lesson learnt this week: Win-Win Negotiations

5 days ago, I said that the blog count stands at 5 (including me). Now the blog count has risen up to 14!! WOW! simply Wow! There are 2-3 people who are planning to start blog effective April 16th..This is just to my knowledge. I am not sure how many more fellow bloggers are out there…

This years batch is better than previous batches in terms of talent, diversity and overall quality. This is reflecting in blogs too..One striking difference in this batch is that the blogging has started way before the MBA Program has begun…Which means people are fossilizing their pre-school thoughts, feelings and emotions as well..The build-up to this year’s batch is very good. Even the feedback from current students reflect that the quality of the incoming batch is very good. The official release from ISB on the statistics of 2005-2006 batch should reveal the mystery…

ISB has published lot of details in the Admitted students section. The details like date of arrival, pick-up details, directions, Meal options, Terms and associated subjects, faculty list, books to buy are provided.

A self-assessment questionnaire is provided for evaluating the need for pre-term. Will take it up. I will go ahead with Accounting for sure. Quantitative methods and Business statistics remains to be seen.

Just filled the form for pick-up. I am travelling to hyderabad on 15th of April, by Air Deccan. I will leave chennai by 9:30 a.m and reach Hyderabad by 11:00 a.m. The flight cost is around 1700 Rupees. Not big cost. It gives me convenience and safety for my electronic gadgets like Laptop, camera (It’s been years since I travelled in Indian railways, so don’t have any idea abt it now).

After a week long hiatus, I showed up in Fitness center today. Played squash for around 1 hour. After my colleagues left, I have been playing squash alone! Main intention is to hit the ball as hard as possible..For quite some time, I am practicing with left hand, and I am quite pleased with the improvement so far!

Full day is dedicated for washing & ironing clothes and for cleaning up the whole house..Will continue my cleaning..

I am planning to blog the career related research, for IT+MBA. I will update this as a series under the tag “Careers” .

To start with I am presenting the link for career possibilities in Microsoft-India.. Microsoft India provides five major Business paths to choose from. They are India Development center, Sales & Marketing Service Group, Global Delivery Center India, Global Technical Support center and Microsoft Research India. You can read about each business path by clicking the links.

The possible careers under each business paths can be explored here. Most prominent among the jobs are Program Manager. Other positions are like Strategic Security Advisor, Senior Engagement Manager, IT Evangelist etc.,

http://www.microsoft.com/careers/international/default.asp?lang=EN&loc=IDC
http://www.microsoft.com/careers/international/default.asp?lang=EN&loc=ISMSG
http://www.microsoft.com/careers/international/default.asp?lang=EN&loc=IGDCI
http://www.microsoft.com/careers/international/default.asp?lang=EN&loc=IGSC
http://www.microsoft.com/careers/international/default.asp?lang=EN&loc=MSRI

Sample career descriptions…

“..To be the go-to security advisor to customers in an assigned territory or location. High-level consultation on security-related issues and provision of long-term strategic guidance to C-level players in the Enterprise segment of the customer base. To act as THE voice of the customer in all strategic level security decisions from MS. To be the go-to person for technical, business, and competitive information around MS security strategy, products, and offerings and, specifically, to be able to compare and contrast MS security technology and programs and competing technology and programs…”

“..The position is a high-visibility position that will require you to constantly interact with business and technical leaders, including executives, in Microsoft’s platforms team to ensure SFU product strategy aligns with the overall strategy for the platforms groups, and Microsoft’s Unix Migration strategy overall…”

But the Management jobs available in Microsoft looks like more technical and less managerial except for very few jobs in Marketing side. The MBA skills that is earned in b-school may not come in to play in the long run..If you want to be in touch with technical side of IT, this might be a good choice. Pay packets are impressive as I hear it, but no exact information available because of confidentiality maintained among Microsoft employees. Getting into Microsoft is tougher, as one has to exhibit excellent analytical and problem solving skills, which would be gauged by puzzle solving, case cracking etc.,

“How Would You Move Mount Fuji?” is a book highly recommended for Microsoft Interviews.

More later…

The Permanent return syndrome has engulfed me. I am seeing each and every object in home, office and my town in Belgium with so much affection that I have never displayed before. As If I am going to space and I will never return!

Yesterday, I pooled in all the coins that had accumulated silently for the past 8 months and was pleasantly surprised to see the figure close to 200 Euros! Hmm.. I didn’t had this in my financial planning, so I am marking this as “Unaccounted income!”.

I get Mealcoupons from my company for every month worth around 120 euros. The coupons are valid for 3 months and expires after that. I never spend more than 70-80 Euros. Over the months I have accumulated huge backlog that I had 3 months of coupons on my hand unused. I had some talks with my colleagues and they agreed to buy them from me. Another unforeseen income of around 300 Euros! It doesn’t end here…We (Me and my colleagues) bought driving theory books when we started the lessons. When my colleagues left Belgium they also left behind these books. I couldn’t throw this away..So I approached my driving school and asked them to retake the books. Surprise! They took it for almost full price..Another unforeseen income of around 80 Euros! Ha ha, I was just pinching myself..

I bought a bicycle from my colleague for around 25 Euros. Now he agreed to take it back for the same price and insisted on paying for it, but I am just taking 10 Euros as a formality. I have dumbbells which was bought for 36 euros (I never used the dumbbells though!). Will sell it for around 20 Euros. That’s it. I will give away the cookers and other unused equipments free to some new guys from Satyam here.

We bought a weighing machine 3 years ago. Each time we go to India we measure the weight of suitcases precisely to avoid any last minute surprises during check-in. I can carry up to 25 kgs in check-in and up 8 kg in cabin without any problems in Lufthansa. Now after years of sincere service, it’s time to leave the weighing machine here, if possible I will sell it to someone here..The weighing machine has serviced number of Indians who came and went back.

Whoever said Money saved is money earned! All together, the unforeseen amount comes to around 600 Euros. I am seriously thinking of buying a Digital camera now..I am waiting to see the final settlement amount from my company (permanent return settlement??). If it meets my expected figure, I will buy a camera from here..Have lots of plan for that..

I am good spender and I have never been so Calculative before..Sometimes you need to display calculative mind where it is required…In this case, I think I didn’t falter This will help my frugality for next one-year..

There is only one thing in the world which when spent cannot be regained. It’s “Time“. The Time becomes even more important when one shells out loads of money towards one’s personal and professional enrichment, like in B-school. Inspite of one’s intellectual capacity, talents, the success in any ventures in life, invariably depends on Time Management and on the Art of prioritizing and being organized. B-school is no exception.

There are certain things that I have foreseen as important to me. Based on that I tried to come up with a typical day’s plan. Instead of dwelving more in to the exact timing and details, I just assigned time to the tasks. My main intention is to figure the number of hours I will get for Case studies, readings, assignments.

Which leaves me with 8 9 hours for assignments, learnings, discussions, readings, networking, socializing, club activities etc.,

If I am hard-pressed for time, the first thing I would cut back will be on on fitness, then on blog, then on eating [Eat fast!] and then on emails…Hypothetically, I can gain 1 hour from Fitness, 1 hour from blog & emails. If that’s still not enough, I can cut back 1 hour of sleep, then 2 hours of sleep and….

There will certainly be socializing in cafetarias and fitness centers..but I am treating them as added bonus..

The biggest “X” factor in time-consumption will be parties. Hopefully the 4 hours gain from no-classes on Friday/Saturday/Sunday can be used as a compensation!

Let’s see how well I manage my time.

When it comes to English songs, I am a lost kid. I have decent collection of English songs, but rarely have listened to them fully. My first preference is always for Tamil Film music [A.R.R and Illayaraja], Hindi Music, Carnatic and then comes English and others..Needing a change from Tamil music, Today, I listened to some Bon jovi numbers and Bryan Adam’s numbers. Couple of lyrics made so much meaning to my ISB adventure. I have added these two songs to my favourite list..

Bon Jovi..
“..It’s my life
It’s now or never..
I ain’t gonna live forever..
I just want to live while I’m alive.

This is for the ones who stood their ground
For Tommy and Gina who never backed down
Tomorrow’s getting harder make no mistake
Luck ain’t even lucky
Got to make your own breaks ..”

Bryan Adams
“..Here I am
This is me
There’s nowhere else on earth I’d rather be
Here I am
It’s just me and you [read ISB]
Tonight we make our dreams come true

It’s a new world
It’s a new start
It’s alive with the beating of young hearts
It’s a new day
It’s a new plan
I’ve been waiting for you [ISB]
Here I am..”

Good news for future applicants of ISB…The number of bloggers among admitted ISBians is on the rise. I have already identified 3 potential bloggers. Today I discovered one more.

“I think therefore I exist”.

Including me (humility…ahem), the count stands at 5. The more the bloggers, the better for the school. Also, future students get deep insights into the life, learnings and culture at ISB. I also found a blog from a female blogger…Will link it up as soon as it has taken a shape..

I sincerely wish that the diversity represented in ISB should also reflect in blogs. Mine will be more like a diary, with once-in-a-while ‘pearls’. Thought Leadership is planning to run a theme on his unique thoughts..Sandeep’s is more like diary (like mine)..CodeCutter and Yuktheshwar haven’t posted much..

Well, Going by the trend, I foresee ATLEAST 10-15 active bloggers this year…Blog is an excellent medium for spreading messages, publicizing..Infact, ISB should publish official “student diary”..

UPDATE: More bloggers are coming out of the dark..
B-School Scratchpad
I, the absolute
Srini Musings
ISB-MBA [By Vingmat a.k.a VK]
Life’s Haywire

A small request to future bloggers, if you are planning to start a new one, try out www.blogsome.com. Sample is my blog..It’s fast and possess exhaustive list of features…and is based on Wordpress.

Today I was in a pretty good mood throughout the day..Got lot of things done..My boss agreed to credit my salary for this month and final settlements before March 15th..He has been very prompt towards these things in the recent times..I highly appreciate it…

I haven’t received the tax returns for the year 2004 yet, so pushing the matters on that front too..

Today was my client Director’s last working day in Belgium. He has been promoted as IM-Head for Australia & Newzealand region and he is heading to Sydney on wednesday, along with his family for 2 years.We had a official farewell party..Many big shots turned for wishing him success..I was very happy for him…Gifts and speeches were exchanged..As usual lot of non-vegetarian snacks served, had to say No..embarassing I thought of taking beer to go by the crowd, but then saw quite a few of them taking orange juice..so went for it…People were conversing in small groups in Flemish..Every now and then, they engaged in english conversations with me..They are very friendly people..It would have been great, if only I had learnt dutch..I miss the native fun involved in their conversations..Blame it on my offshore trips and uncertain working terms here..Couldn’t commit myself to regular dutch classes.. (Was never sure that I would stay for such a long time here, what with contracts extended every year)…Looking back now, the uncertainity is baseless…but during those times, it was uncertain..Strange…that’s life…The evening changed my whole mood..no body is to blame..only my mind…

I have been staying alone for little more than 3 months..The euphoria of ISB has kept me away from the claws of loneliness..But now, the loneliness is lifting it’s head up..missing home very much ..When I get back to India, I am going to make sure that my folks get my complete attention..After all, I am going to miss them for another year…It’s been years since I stayed with my family…For past 8 years been away either in hostel/mansion/rentalhouse/abroad..I can understand their inner feelings of missing their son..hmm…may be If I am a parent, I will know the real pain..That’s one of the main reasons why I am returning to India…(No, not to become a parent !, but to be closer with family)

Apart from ISB and Family, there are some more things I am eagerly looking forward to..Food, Cricket, Indian movies, the Indian atmosphere..For next one year, food is not going to be a problem..big relief

I think I should refine my thoughts before I blog..Or should I not?? Well, I don’t care ..For some more time, this blog is my Companion, my pet, my wilson (”Basket ball” in film Cast Away)…