ankur Warikoo

Seth Godin (who aptly has the words GOD in his lastname) wrote this 8 years back…and reposted on his blog today. Brilliant piece. If there was ever a sermon I had to deliver (much to the agony of people around me), I would simply read this out!

“…Do you work with people who are still in high school? Job seekers only willing to interview with the folks who come on campus? Executives who are trying to make their boss happy above all else? It’s pretty clear that the thing that’s wrong with this system is high school, not the rest of the world.

Cut class. Take a seminar on french literature. Interview off campus. Safe is risky…”

Read the full post here

Came back from ISB this weekend, after interviewing Round 2 candidates for the batch of 2011. Its funny (or is tragic the word) that inspite of the sheer amount of open source information available out there…courtesy Pagalguy (and the likes), more than 50% students dont come prepared, in the real sense!

One of my favorite ways to start an interview is with the following question – “How have you prepared for this interview?”. More often than not, the response will be pagalaguy, alum interaction, current batch friends etc etc.

The next question then is “Identify 5 questions that you have prepared for best, through all your sources”…and the great part is that most come up with the same 5 odd sections. But thats where it ends.

When told to come up with their responses to those 5 questions, the lack of preparation shows. Its not really lack of preparation because they say all the right things…walk the safe path. Its essentially lack of clarity.

At the very basic level, ISB is looking at 2 things

1. Why MBA?

2. What after MBA?

– Why MBA –

THIS is the most important section. It is NOT funny how many people want to do an MBA just because they are bored of what they are doing, feel they have to finish their education as early as possible or think of it as a magic wand that will allow you to shift from IT to Investment Banking!

DO NOT state rehearsed answers – “I want to acquire business skills” “I need an MBA to prepare a business plan” “An MBA will teach me leadership and management skills”!

Understand that an MBA will not do any of these. Thinking that an MBA makes you a leader is equivalent of thinking that a bat makes you tendulkar! An MBA is a tool…which will allow you to apply yourself and become what you have to.

There are no right answers to this, because everyone has their own right answer. So dont give answers that are socially desirable. Because we are not recruiting you to make please the world…we are recruiting you for you!

Also be practical. Consider one example – ISB is not a cheap school and if you take a full loan, the EMI comes to 35K or so! So when I hear a budding entrepreneur state that ISB will help him flesh out his business plan and then he will start right after, my first reaction is “and what if you plug this 20 lacs into your business”…”what’s plan B”…and thats where the discussion stops!

– What after MBA –

Oh cmon…how can you NOT know the answer to this! Worse still, how can you not know everything about what you wish to do. 300 students want to enter McKinsey, but do you know what it takes to get in! Get a reality check.

When we see an IT guy with 10 years of experience who wants to join marketing, or a sales guy with 4 years of experience who wants to enter corporate finance, the obvious question is…what will this 1 year offer you that you think this change is possible! And they have no clue! They just think that an MBA will do that automatically for them!

This question…the most fundamental one that everyone expects…is easily the worst answered in my experience. People havent thought through it…they are clueless…which would have been fine had you done your homework and figured out where people similar to your background eventually go and what they do! But not knowing it and sitting at an ISB interview is totally unacceptable.

Equally important is to have a Plan B. If you will not get the industry shift, then what? If your business will not materialize, then what? If you do not get a 12 lac job, then what?

How can students not have a Plan B. Ok…I exclude the tiny section that tends to balance itself on overconfidence, but for the remaining, the question is more of a “oh shit…i didnt think of it” reaction! CMON!

This year, I most likely will see 13 students join the next batch, interviewed by me! I make it a point to note their contacts and look them up the next year. And I wish the ones that we have rejected had a chance to sit through the interviews of these 13 individuals and realize what a big difference clarity in thought brings!

The punchline – Be extremely sure of what an ISB MBA will do for you…and why you need it in the first place!

All other questions can be omitted…they are simply fillers!

PS: I love helping out students who are preparing for ISB (selectively though), because for me the school’s future is decided by who goes in! If anyone out there feels I could be of help, please feel free to contact! I would be more than happy!

Got a call this morning from ISB that the FT Rankings for 2010 have been released and ISB has moved up the ranks to close at Global Rank 12! Fantastic

The top 15 schools according to the rankings are:

1. London Business School
2. Wharton
3. Harvard
4. Stanford
5. INSEAD
6. Columbia Business School
7. IE Business School
8. MIT Sloan
9. Chicago Booth
10. HongKong UST
11. IESE Business School
12. Indian School of Business
13. NYU Stern
14. Dartmouth Tuck
15. IMD

You can view all the ranking here

And here is an evaluation on the top schools from a placements perspective

Comparison from a career progression point of view

And from a value for money perspective

Its fantastic that in less than 10 years ISB has reached the levels it has. Ofcourse, the ranking do tend to hide a lot of qualitative aspects that ISB might suffer from, but then I am sure other schools also have their own deficiencies! Keeping all these aspects in mind, I love the fact that ISB has done so much in such a short period of time…and needless to say…I AM PROUD TO BE AN ISB’ian!

Top 10 rankings next year! :)

Very Interesting Delivery model that ISB has introduced today…the PGPMAX (Post Graduate Programme in Management for Senior Executives)

Basically the program is designed on a schedule that minimises disruption of work and personal pursuits. Participants will typically be on campus for a 6 day schedule of classroom learning once every 6th week. The 6-day schedule will include full days of teaching and evenings will be used for guest lectures, projects, and group work. Participants will be required to stay on campus during those 6 days.

I dont know if such a program happens anywhere else, but this is fairly innovative (and at Rs 25 Lacs/USD 53,800 fairly expensive too). Wonder how many takers will it have…!

Putting myself in the shoes of a senior (read busy) executive, honestly, I have my doubts. Spending 6 days away from work, every 6 weeks is maybe a little too much to ask for. No wonder the concept of executive education is so successful, because its short term and meaningful impact.

But yah…ISB has impressed people even with its innovative (atleast for India) 1-year MBA program….so I would love to be proven wrong!

All the best…

In yet another instance of financial fraud that have emerged like Akshay Kumar’s Films in the last year, Galleon Group’s billionaire founder, Raj Rajaratnam, was charged Friday in a sweeping, $17 million insider-trading case (btw notice how amazingly fast a concept like wikipedia updates on even biographies!)

I have never heard of this dude, but apparently he is a billionaire! So strange that he would do this for 17 mil…! So either its a false case or the hole is deeper than visible!

Also arrested in the case is Anil Kumar, Director at Mckinsey. Now a director at Mckinsey is pretty big…its a senior partner level…something that is achieved only by nomination and election. So this could be a big dent to the company (woohoo!!)…imagien clients resting seriously confidential data in consultants hands, only to realize that the same information is being used for personal gain! Well, honestly, this shit happens all the time, but being caught is not cool. Especially when you are Director Mckinsey

Unfortunately, Anil also happens to the Board Director at ISB. Which SUCKS, because this dude’s working will impact the rather fragile branding perception that ISB is going through this year. Its rapid rise in the first 6 years brought with it a lot of critics…people who love to lap onto the fact that ISB has been now involved in 2 financial scams…starting with Dean Rao and Satyam and now this!

ISB has started its band-aid solution by asking Anil to step down, but the damage might have been done! Especially when it comes to people commenting on whether “this is what ISB teaches its students!”

It hurts! But such is the price you pay for being in the limelight!

http://rankings.ft.com/global-mba-rankings

..am 1/4th of the average salary quoted there..

such joy..!!

~a

PS: Work is crazyyyyyy…this has been by far the deadliest project at ATK. in every which way…! am just praying for a calm end…

when DM was promoted to principal earlier this year i remeber him telling me…
“as a manager i got to know your batch closely…cause i was involved with the day-to-day activities of the engagement. however….yours will be the last batch i shall know directly. cause now…as a principal…i will be ‘away’…”

that how i felt when the new batch of ISB came in…at some level i would always be away…

i do know some guys in the batch…and have a lot of expectations from them..more so since they happen to be from my high school…! but 4-5 in a batch of 430 doesnt shake a mountain…

anyways…

To the batch of 2008…(with a high probability that most will not even know of this site’s existence!)

this year is going to be something you could have never imagined…
…a ride that will leave you exhausted…and craving for more…
…dont let go off it…at any time….

…and wear sunscreen…

~a

i am a sucker for relationships…and i have always told my mum…never fret over anything that can be bought by money. always regret relationships that you havent worked on…

after almost a month…it is these emotions that compelled me to write. (un)fortunately…this wont be an anecdote…surely wont be amusing…so there…dont tell me tht i didnt warn…

the ISB current batch graduated yesterday. a sad feeling…because i know this will be the last batch that i will ‘really’ know..! and it was nostalgia for me. not just memories of my time…last year…and the sheer deluge of emotions that i faced..it was also the association that i had built with the batch ths year. i am sure i wud be known as the alum who was on campus every friggin month…(yes…i still work for ATK…yes…they still pay me!)

made some really lovely friends…got more respect than i deserved…but most importantly…never felt alien in the batch. i may not know everyone…but always felt home…! the people were all lovely…atleast infront of me..! and i felt at home also because i had spent one of the best years of my life at the very same place…

and then today received the CD for the play that the current batch had towards the end of the year, from SS. friggin hillarious stuff..! it was so awesome going back to those times…and its these times when you realize the imprint you have had…cause of your actions. in your head everything is all fine…cause it was you yourself who enacted the ‘real’ moments. but…as is always the case…people dont have it all figured..! and thus is created a multiple image profile of the same person….

maybe this multiple image profile allowed me to be different people to different set of individuals…

…maybe this was the basis of my association…

…not just this batch…but my own as well…

ISB Co2007
thanks for being you….i loved every bit of interacting with each one of you…and you shall remain as a special memory…

feeling very nostalgic today…missing the moments…! cause i know it wont be the same again…

life moves on…

~a

no no no no no….busy….heck no….

ummm…yeah…vacationing…and hence lazy….more like it…!! not that life stopped…so hv a lot to share…so much that i hv forgotten most of it…

Solstice

Cudnt have asked for more….it was jst perfect. everything abt it…! meeting everyone again..walking down those roads again…as if you had never left…spending time doing just about nothing…! it was bliss all over. i guess the only thing that i like about work is the fact that i can now afford to fly kingfisher frm hyd to delh…instead of air deccan. its another case that i flew indigo…! but u get the point..!! student life…no matter what said and done…and no matter how many friggin assignments…is still far better…! and i hv been saying this right from my MSU days…!

the following month seems to be ISB travel month. Will (hope to atleast) visit it atleast 3 times before the final placements. A is getting married this 28th…so plannin to attend that too…!! wuuuhuuuu

New Years

Now…dont get me wrong here. Its not always that a consultant will get 10 days off…in the middle of an engagement. but things worked out. for the better. yes…i was working…frm home…so things werent as tight as they are once in Dubai. so had an awesomely chilled time. wonderful…! and yeah…the NY party was great…and i hvnt seen as much fog as i did tht night..!! it was crazy…..my left hand kept shouting….where the f is my right hand man…!!!

Misc.

Yesterday I met the weirdest guy in the history of mankind. in some loose sense i would also call him the man with balls of the hardest steel

so its airplane waiting time at the airport lounge. and the test is placed sexy. with another 70 runs to win and 4 wickets in hand…it could have gone any way. and kumble was bowling like god…so everyone was hooked on. there is this sweet 32 inch LCD screen…with all the sofas in front. however…there is one which is right below the LCD…facing all other sofas.

now i do understand that some people dont like cricket. or lets say dont enjoy it as much. and thats fine…seriously. i think they should just change their nationality if they are indians…or continue to live with a foreign passport…and they will do just fine.

but no…this gentleman…indian…in his 50s maybe…decides to show the world his mind. so when some 50 odd souls are watching the screen…following the match…he enters the lounge…and sit on the sofa right below the screen. so now…he is facing the entire crowd…!!!

dont miss this historic moment in history people…! there is a screen with decent volume…and almost everyone is wathcing that. and there is this dude…who is facing everyone…and looking right into their eyes…

and then he does it…the act that will catapult him to the hall of fame. he shakes his head….left to right…and goes….tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk….for almost 20 odd seconds.

HE WAS FRIGGIN PITYING US…

one half of my brain was giving his a standing ovation…the other was imagining the plight of his kids at the loss of their father…!!

crazy….

and surely balls of steel….

but what was he thinkin…???

~a

at times i wonder what my mum will hv to say about my blogs…and the number of times i use the big O word…!! my guess is she will be shocked at the fact that i know about the word…let alone using it every second line…

anyways…

my current client had participated in this huge international exhibition by the name of cityscape. we particpated (and had quite an awesome stand…including the hostesses..!!)…and had roped in a photographer for the entire 3 days duration.

for the entire 3 days….i had a ball with him. went through a crash course…and loved the fact that there were shit loads of stuff that i wasnt even aware of…!! and tht gives me a kick…cause i know that i work on those and i will be better than what i am…!! ofcourse…it wud hv been tragic if i got to know that i know everything that there is to it….and still click the quality that i do….which wud mean tht i suck…!!!

after cityscape the engagement happened….(yes..if you havent read the dec edition of TIME…this will be news!)…and hey…am talking abt my engagement…yes…yes…me…!!!

it went well…everyone was happy…tht includes me…and the parents of all delhi girls…!

came back…and will be flyin to ISb this weekend for the reunion…(WUUUHUUUUUUUUU)…but…my latest learnt talent will be put to use…! so got myself some sexy professional rolls…and a new set of batteries…! had intentions of clicking at will when on campus…

things were to change when i loaded the film on the camera yesterday. i jst cudnt resist…and for the next 2 hrs jst played with my camera like never before..! its funny how a material thing can bring you so much pleasure. i mean…alright..a dildo wud fit in the same description..but this is a camera i am talking abt…!!

fascinating stuff….!

orgasmed again…

~a

PS:
1. project got an extension…will be in Dubai till feb end.
2. am going on a long leave starting 25th…all the way to 2nd jan
3. registered 40% returns in the market…in the past one week…
4. met with E after a long time…and it was amazing
5. did i mention…life’s good…?

it just had to be something to do with coming back…so heck…here i am…

i had almost blogged yesterday. dont know how many of you have this keeda in them…but i somehow like things to start..ummm…dont know how to state this…

its like…i cud hv blgged on the 28th as well…but then the 1st of nov sounded too cool a date to blog again…esp if u hv gone missin for 3 weeks. its like..when u walking..u dont want to step on the tile boundary…or u just want to walk on the black tiles…and want to start your work at 4.30…when u wud hv easily done so at 4.23..!!

ok..i hv OCD…cut..!!

___

so imagine the scene.

me on a chair…cross legged…jst managin not to fall off…(did i mention tht i hv put on friggin 2 kgs since ISB…and tht is after my GM diet wherein i lost 3!!!)…on my laptop…chkin my mail…and infront of me…this huge door…all open…allowing me to face one of the prettiest beaches i hv been to…

am on our annual offsite. at the Leela – kovallam beach, kerela.

there is something abt these 5 star god damn hotels tht pisses me off…! why the hell do they give me tht look…”dude…u wud be better off working for us…than staying with us..”…when they see me in slippers…and a tee tht might hv a hole or two. i mean…wtf…i hv jst come frm a 4 hr long flight…and yeah…i agree…i might not be looking my best…but then thts me. dont stare atleast. worse still…dont make faces to show tht i am some kind of a anti-marketing freak..who shall destroy the 20 odd yrs of reputation tht u hv…!!

and so much so for their intelligence…they bloody put me up with another colleague of mine…AND…same bed…no no…better still…same friggin sheet to pull over. what is it..annual gay sex meet…(SL…didnt i tell u last night..!!).

the room is quite weirdly designed..! who puts the wash basin out of the washroom…i mean..WHO..!! after u disrobe…and ease urself on the pot…u realize…oopsie…washin hand wud mean another round of hot gay masti…cause u hv to bloody go out…in the room..!!

and then ur mom has always told u….after a nice shit…dont ever touch anything except the soap..! so as u reach out for the towel…your conscience…(or is it ur mom’s??) gets the better of u..!! for once i had to kill it..! but not before my roomie…(who i shall beddie frm now on..for reasons unknown)…gets to see my ‘better half’..(which btw..is quite diff frm my ‘working half’)..!

friggin Leela..!

its 4 days here…after which i dont really know where i wud go….cause of some meetings tht hvnt been scheduled as yet…! but these 4 days does sound like good fun. hoping for a really good time…and a 200 basis point increase in vaseline’s revenue..!!

am bringing sexy back….yeahhhhhh

~a

11.30pm
The Shangri-la, Dubai

the tv infront…switched off…the bed untouched…wood finish working table…a few pennies…a virgin kitchenette…the cupboard half open…jst the tablelamp on…

click

lights off…close my eyes…jst the darkness with me…

click click

the table infront of me…books on the shelves above…the incense stick almost done…matress behind with the lamp above…10 watt bulb…windows open….the girls outside…and i can feel the breeze…have to get the assignment done…but this is just so soothing…hv to read up for tomorrow’s class…but what the heck…its 3 in the morning…

Koi nahi hai koi bhi nahi
Na pass na durr
Ek pyaar hai
Dil ki dharkan
Apni chahat ka jo ellan kiye jaati hai
Zindagi hai jo jiye jaati hai
Khoon ke ghoont peay jaati hai
Khwaab kaanton se siye jaati hai
…
…
Yadoon ka jungle yeh dil
Kaanton se jal thal yeh dil
Chubtay kaanten yadoon ke daaman se chunta hoon
Girti deewaron ke aanchal mein zinda hoon


its these times that i realize the power of the human mind…
yesterday…for a moment…for just a moment…for just a very special moment…
…i was back at isb…
…i went back in time…
…and it was just so amazing…

…just so amazing…

yeh hai meri kahaani…

~a

my feet were literally shivering as i walked towards A-01. i cudnt even dare to see who lives there now…but there was this sudden rush that i experienced…when i sat on the very same stairs infront of the b-blk…

it was suddenly 6 months back…and it was the same time..the same place…the same me…and yet it somehow didnt belong to me..!! but it still was an awesome feeling…

spent 2 days at ISB…officially down for the Kearney recruitment talk…and had a BLAST! the sheer feeling of being back was too overwhelming. more so for SB who just cudnt stop feeling senti. the first night..he drank a bit and then we walked around the campus for some 45 minutes…in the rain…while he narrated stories from the 1st batch. and we were lucky enough to catch a dunking…post which he jst said..”now i can die in peace..!!”

the 1st evening was well received. the turnout was decent…but the enthu was contagious. somehow this batch hasnt failed to impress me with that.

its beautiful…how this single place…holds so much of fascination for me. the sheer thought of being there again makes me wanna do it right away…

ofcourse…on the flip side…i cudnt spend as much time with some people…as i wud hv liked to. so sorry AD, SS, SL…very soon..!!

54 hrs…6 hrs of sleep…

never felt so fresh before…
…awesome feeling…

~a

last week was my first touch with work pressure…and i mean pressure thts worse than a guy who hasnt shat for 7 months…!!

am working on a model. a project feasibility model. we wanna see if the project tht we abt to undertake makes business sense for us…and if it doesnt, then how can we ensure that it does. so basically…whatever happens…we will do the project…!! we jst hv to show tht it will work as well…

as wud be obvious…any such feasibility model….will hv its dose of P&L statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements…and the works.

now anyone…who has ever come in close contact with me…including the one i passed while coming out of the elevator this morning…knows tht my sole purpose in this world is a 3-step process…

Step 1
find out who was the guy who made the 1st balance sheet in the world…! the P&L statement or the cash flow statement ‘inventors’ will also do…

Step 2
find out if he is still alive…! chances r tht he is not…!

Step 3
find out who are his living descendents. and then aka ‘the da vinci code’….bloody launch the worst ever cult group to wipe tht entire race. in the process…also attempt to remove all possible traces of accounting in this world…and alongwith them…the god damn accountants…!!!!


which…translated in english language….means…tht i hate…i mean…ohhhhh soooo muuuchhhh….HATE…acounts…! it was my first B-grade at ISB…and if it wasnt for AP, GC, AG and the likes…i wud hv sunk without a trace…!!!

so…it was torture…all the way…and its not funny when u come up with your version of the model…and are told…”uuuummmmmm….cash balance…can never be negative….but good try…DODO…”

it was so bad…tht the past 4 days hv been the following:

- dreaming…no no…nightmaring…about the spreadsheet….! nightmares about my life being a bloody balance sheet wherein my weight is adding on….to the liabilities side…! cash flow statement…and what the F is capitalization…

- sitting in the loo…ostensibly shitting…for 45 mins…with my ISB accounting book…!

- at the shop, after realizing tht i am out of monies…asking R..”tere paas cash flow hai…????”


the model is done…and i think…its comes out well…! thank god…

~a

PS:

1. for all those concerned…i think its almost a proven fact now that consulting is possibly the only field which required you to hv paid attention during your MBA. possibly speaks for the reason why they always look for the toppers…!
2. AD topped the marketing course at ISB. which speaks for the fact that he hasnt been studying…cause it wont hv happened if he did…! :)

u always hear about it…but never wanna believe. and then it finally happens…and u r left thinking…”shit…it was true..and i never believed…”

my current team is an all IIM team…and if you are in consulting…the chances of this not happening are equivalent to that of america’s hottest model with vital stats of 40-40-40..! and its an awesome team…i love all 3 of them…cause they r fun…and extremely smart…and very very professional and hardworking.

however, it jst happens…and invariably atleast once a day…when i get that random..”oh tu to yeh kar lega…tu isb se hai…”…”tu likh le yeh slide…tu to isb se hai…english to sikhaate honge…”

given me…i jst laugh it off….or better still…join in….”nahi…maine english waala elective nahi liya tha…”..! but then i do think…i hope thye r not serious. i mean…i hope at some level they really dont have that iim vs isb attitude.

whats fuels this thought is the fact that my 1st team…which too was an all iim one (40-40-40…yeah…the same joke..!)…never did anything like this. yah…there used to be those…”these guys are kings yaar…they r frm isb…used to ACs all day and room service..”…but then…extremely rare. meant more as a filler statement than anything else…

anyways…probably i am thinking too much into it. work has been quite demnading…but not hectic. the standards r really high…which is good in a way. although its really demoralizing when you dont reach up to them. i can say that i havent been performing the way i would want to…

leaving for home in 2 hrs…! life is a travel bag…

life’s good..

:)

~a

its a tough job…and now i realize why…

when companies come on campus…motherhood statements are made by the dozen..

…”we are ranked first in the north delhi pin code 110004 IT shops based off the DDA market”
…”our employee satisfaction is amongst the highest in the world…says our VP, who is no more with us”
…”revenues hv grown by 12%…which is indicative of the times to come…(yah right…the industry grew by 30%…so we can foresee the times!!)”

but then…some are genuine…which is what makes their job that much tougher. i mean…amidst the pleathora of companies that come and do a belly dance at ISB…its not easy for the students to distinguish the good frm the fibbers…! when everyone is talking about the same thing…how the hell does one decide the pecking order.

and this…ultimately…and unfortunately…results in a simple criteria. more the money…better the company…or atleast…if not better…thats where i am gonna go…

was just reading an interview of Anne Deering (http://www.filefactory.com/?dad350), a partner at A.T. Kearney…and she describes ATK as an 80 yr old start-up firm. which is so true. i can see it for myself…everywhere the mood is that of ‘oh we hv to bring this child up…and gotta do it soon’…!

and when asked as to what kind of people do we look for, she names stuff such as curiosity, passion for learning…etc etc..! oh for god sake…we hear this from everyone…so whats different…

its only when you start working in the firmdo you realize that all these things are the only one that shall hold you good…! you have to be curious about what you do…when given a job you have to ask…”tell me whats this for…why am i supposed to do it..”…cause as an SBA you will be at times required to do stuff that doesnt quite excite you…! crunch numbers…make presentations…google like for 3-4 hours…for stupid data..!

but then in the long run…and i can so totally see it already…the ones who do well…are the ones who know what they are doing…and why they are doing it…! cause thats when you develop an appreciation for the kind of work you do…


so yeah…back to what the main theme was…its really tough to know when is a company simply lying…or when is it being truly genuine. unfortunately…unless you hvnt experienced a similar firm…its very tough to juxtapose 2 firms and see which one is better..


the best way…i can guess…is to ask the alums. cause we r experiencing what you guys shall experience…! and believe me…this feedback about the company shall be extremely crucial…

~a

PS: needless to say…ATK is not the only consulting firm which talks genuinely about what they want and how they function. every other consulting firm i can think of (well almost…surely the top ones)…would be very true when they tell you what kind of people they look for…and how they go about looking for them..!

my biggest fear…right here…infront of your eyes…

i was tagged…! and i didnt even know what that means…till i saw my name in the Big B’g blog…

so here..!

I am thinking
how many years will it take mumbai to realize that not having a proper drainage system hits their bloody GDP by some 26763 basis points…!

I said
to myself…wud i ever wanna stay in dubai if given a chance…
no…and this was even before i asked the question…

I want
to have a house big enough fot my parents and wife…in the next 2-3 years…and i want to name it “warikoos”

I wish
to travel all across the world…and visit atleast 300 countried before i die…! precisely why i wish this…not want this…!

I miss
the days when i used to go to the temple…and pray to god…”please make me superman…i promise i will help others and not misuse the powers”. this was early 90s…right after i had watched superman II…! watching superman returns this weekend…brought back some reall sweet memories…!

I hear
myself…all the time. i question muself all the time…and i answer myself all the time.

I wonder
what would life have been like if i hadnt met R…! if i hadnt come back frm the US…if i had continued with tennis…if i didnt anchor tht stage show in school…if i had got thru the IITs…if i didnt join ISB but the other schools…if i hadnt got thru ATK…if life wasnt what it is today…

I regret
nothing…absolutely nothing. i just wonder…!

I am
just another guy…

I dance
like crazy when i have to. precisely the time when medical sciene cannot explain how a certain human can have more than 2 left feet…!

I sing
a lot…more than people think i do…and i feel i dont do a bad job. R is probably the only one infront of whom i have sung…else…its the car and me…!

I cry
a lot lesser than i used to. but i am proud of the fact that i can cry infront of people..its not a sign of weakness for me…! and yah…the sight of a lost child…always makes me cry…!

I am not
right all the time…

I write
a lot…! and with my new sexy fountain pen…i sure do write a lot..!

I confuse
myself whenever there is a sound coming in my car….have a horrible sense of direction in tht sense…! i surely wasnt a dog ever…this is my 1st time as one…!

I need
to make people happy arnd me…thats my battery..!

I should
make sure i never hurt anyone…cause it sucks when i do…! it really sucks…

I finish
every task given to me…as if there isnt anything else left to do in this world.

I tag
Pratik Patankar
Arun Dhar
Girish ‘IT’ Krishnan
DHIONLYONE

~a

which is what is the good part about consulting…

my 1st project…absolute quant based. heavy modelling…excel files running into 120 spreadsheets and 28MB..! 5 nights spent at office beyond midnight…just missing the morning sun…! (ok exxagerated…but then u get the point!)…a requirement of 24/7 eyes open view…on numbers…where they come from…where they go..and what they do to the results.

my 2nd project…(and ISB’s fav word)…’strategy’. getting free from office (actually…to be precise…literally being thrown away from office) at 6.30 everyday so far…! but a lot of thought…a lot of qualitative analysis. underatanding the market…and providing solutions.

stark contrast…!

but great fun..nevertheless….

this weekend was the delhi meet for 2006 batch. was awesome fun. some 30 odd people turned up…and lasted till midnight. the venue was laid back waters at the Qutub hotel. sweet place…! and we got a separate corner for ourselves..! was really nice to meet up with everyone…catch up on lives…where people talk about their work…and the lack of it…!

might get a chance to go to hyd…for a client meeting. which would mean spending the night at ISB..for sure..! was reading S’s blog and the entry jst made my heart go ‘pain’…! would love to spend time…jst the way it used to be…jst a few months back…! sleeping on the LRC couch during the exam prep time…! the chit chat…rarely stepping upwards of an 23 IQ level…post dinner…! the ‘warikooooo’ shout…right outside my window…! E’s room/junkyard/rubbish can/bacteria incubator/awesomest hangout place at ISB…! G’s ‘ohh u shut up’…and S’s ‘thats an ugly fat ass potato’…!

godd…its work…and i am wasting client money on isb sob stories…!

:(

wanna be back…wanna be back…

~a

Those were R’s last words when we last talked. I wanted to listen to him…I genuinely did…! And its scary that I haven’t kept the word.

Anyways…won’t even attempt to go into the whys and the wherefores…! Lets look at life lately…

Work has been awesome…! The project is nearing its end…it was a short 4-week strategy project…but then a lot of work. Specifically excel modeling. In the past 3 weeks I have already spent some 5 days coming home at 11.30…12ish…! But then the good part is that the weekends are free. And I do remember the experienced set of consultants back at ISB always telling me so…”work like an ass on weekdays…and then enjoy the weekends”.

Its not stressful…not if you enjoy what you do. And as a consultant…you got to love what you do…and be quick at doing so as well. So…while I knew shit about natural gas…leave alone its status in India…I can now identify each and every natural gas plant in any Indian district…atleast in essence! And I know what simulates its demand…and I know what the scenario shall be 5 years from now…10 years from now…even 25 years from now…!

That’s interesting for me. In just a month…I have met the CEO of one of the world’s most powerful power company…have understood the Indian scenario in and out…and have established a working model that helps the client solve his problem. Just a month…!

On the other front…good news. I am kind of engaged…in the sense…our parents met up and stamped the relationship (finally!)…! So now planning for the big event shall start…which wont be anytime this year though…but probably early next year or so. Lets see…!

Saw the DaVinci Code last night. Wonderfully done…though definitely not as descriptive as the book. But then…that’s always a struggle right…! When you have to shrink 650 odd pages in 2.5 hours…there is bound to be some miss. Overall though…I loved the movie. At some level believe in it too…actually always believed so…even before the book (Read: Chariots of the Gods by Erik Von Daniken)

Quite a few current ISB students have been calling me up regarding how to study for the exams…(HAH!) and about ELPs. Just incase someone needs free advice…here you go…

Here is my general take on good grades…!

1. Stay awake in class. that’s half the battle won. and believe me…its not an easy task. if u concentrate all 2 hrs…u need to catch up that much less.
2. Do your assignments and cases seriously. think beyond the obvious. mostly for cases. when u read a case…take your time and think about what you want to share with the class…your perspective. that will give u practice for the final exams.
3. Ask the profs for a sample exam. Insist on it. Will always help.
4. Get comfy with numbers. ISB is largely quant driven…so this will help
5. Pray..!

Till next time…and promise it to be soon…

~a

the one thing that i realize…work wont really be ISB…and hence…posts wont be that frequent..! nevertheless…this time around…it shall be the quality wins over quantity scenario….

so…work started may 01. thats labor day…and in the words of my boss…”we arent laborers…so we dont get a day off!”. alright…accepted…!

the office is plush. in one of the best office complexes in delhi. the 14th floor allows u to measure the dust particles per microcentimeter…in the atmosphere…standing beyond a 12 inch thick glass that doesnt allow even the smallest ‘particle’ of airconditioned air escape the office. on the house tea/coffee/juices…u ask for water and they fetch an unopened kinley….and u go…”no..i want water that doesnt taste…the one that my grandad used to have for his morning gargle..!”

the day was pretty much spent on logistics…bank account opening…credit card opening…forms that allow your family to make money if u die…or r hospitalized…! and that was pretyt much it. the new joinees r pretty smart people. 2 frm IIMA, 1 from IIIB, 1 frm IIMC and 2 frm ISB. thats delhi. mumbai has a slightly different ratio…with no one frm isb in there.

come tuesday and we left for gos for our orientation. stayed at the taj village resort…pretty decent place…and had it not been for the humid weather, i wud hv largely appreciated the greenary arnd as well. anyhow…so we took the kingfisher flight…which has a stopover at bangalore. the entire flight took us 4 hrs…which btw is 2 hrs less than what it takes one to fly half the world..! what was best was the flight back…5 hrs…!!!!! and it got delayed by 1…which basically meant that we spent the time it cud hv taken to reach london…in simply sitting in an aircraft…watching the indian laughter challenge…! sic!

and then…we hv to give to mr mallaya. i mean…u get balls of steel to get yana gupta to speak hindi…let alone show how to unbuckle a seatbelt. the words tht she used were last used in 2000 BC…when the aryans were taking their first bullock cart ride…! i mean…who in gods name…uses “sunishchit…!!!” nowadays. i am sure in some part of the plane…a lady wud hv gone….”there…thats the name of my 1st kid…!!!”

and the funniest part was blowing the lifejacket. it looked like a lipstick ad…! guys who travel kingfisher…watch out for this…! funny…

so anyways…moving on…! the 1st day was awesome…the taj guys had planned a treasure hunt for us..to bond and all…! and with 11 guys and 1 girl…bonding was meant to take whole new different heights…! :) but it was awesome…we did mountain climbing…rapelling…some tree climbing…and rope jumping…and weird shit. wonderfully organized…and loads of fun. in the end we did manage to ‘bond’ well..

and then the next day we had a raft building session. which was mind-blowing. we mad a raft using tyre tubes and bamboo sticks…and the entire operation was to reach the other side of the backwater and fetch a flag. we did manage to travel 20% of the distance when the currennt took over…and we realized we had covered the distance that we were supposed to….horizontally…!!!

the classroom sessions started…meant to sensitize us to the consulting process and the A.T. Kearney way of doing things. V and D did a terrific job…they held us together…and thats a difficult task when u r sitting in a conference room…next to the pool…in goa…wearing formals…(typically the people outside wudnt be wearing as many clothes combined…as wud be one of us sitting inside…!!!)…

and then the exercises…and the feel good factor created around what we shall be doing in the time to come…etc. it was great fun…and along the way we realized…and this is a frank opinion…that Kearney didnt do that great a job selling themselves on campus. i mean…as of today…set aside the fact that i am now part of the organization…i can say that Kearney is surely up there. one of the best consulting firms in the country…and a leader in quite a few verticals. our position in auto and energy is quite widely accepted as being the best…and it reflected frm the kind of work we have done…and the feedback we have received.

overall…i felt proud being part of this team. even the people who have worked here for sometime say…that the best part about the organization is that everyone is happy. which is so very important…and at the same time so tough to achieve as an organization.

we all left saturday…and it was an amazing 5 days spent. totally worth it. have to thank V for organizing the entire thing and putting in..what was clearly…a lot of hardwork and time. atleast from my side..it paid off wonderfully…

monday today…looking for the real work to start.

life’s good…

~a