What a Package!

If you like the title, thanks and read on… if you don’t like it – this was suggested by  Devi but still read on.

Today, I attended the key note address of Eximus. Yes! for a change i did attend a talk held on campus. The funny thing was, I was drawn to it because the Chairman of FabIndia was one of the two keynote speakers. FabIndia has always fascinated me. They have been able to carve a niche for themselves in the textile space and have been a successful INDIAN TEXTILE BRAND.I was all excited about the talk. Once I reached the auditorium I also came to know that there was this person called Manish Sabharwal, who was the co-founder of India’s largest private employer.

The talk by the fabindia was personally a let down as I didn’t find it too inspiring. Also, he dint delve much into how Fabindia became a success-story world wide. Nevertheless, he gave us insights on how they work with the artisans and make sure that they are also benefited by being a part of this organization. Overall it was ok! Then came the real surprise and the reason for this post – Manish Sabharwal.

Disclaimer: This post is more of a experience sharing and would love to read it 5 years down the line kinda post. Immaterial of how eloquent I am or the reverse, it would be difficult to capture the package

For starters, Manish is a Wharton graduate and right from his early days he wanted to be an entrepreneur. He used his summer to understand the Indian labour market and post his degree he started Lifeline which he later sold it to Hewitt Associates. Right now he is the chairman of TeamLease Services – India’s leading staffing company providing a range of Temporary and Permanent manpower solutions to over 1000 clients. TeamLease started operations in 2002 and now has 80,000 employees in over 600 locations. He started off with something like this – ‘Postmortems are more certain than prescriptions! I would not talk much about my firm but rather share my thoughts on Entrepreneurship’. Thus began of 20minutes of high-octane stuff!! He was brilliant right from he word go. Be it the way he took a shot at this co-founder (Mr.Asok) to the ease with which he quoted Woody Allen, he just had every single person in the adui in awe!

He believes that there is no right timing or idea to become an entreprenuer. You don’t need new lands but new eyes to spot an idea. he believes that the current Indian canvas is abound with opportunites and that its upto us to get started. he shared an insight on how his friends in Wharton beleived that they would get into Entreprenuership the moment they settle the $100,000 debt. He said that the same figure would become a rounding off error the moment you are on your own!! He stressed on the importance of thinking big and going for it. if you are taking a risk, then pretty well take a big one! An interesting analogy that he drew was between a baby and a Dwarf. The difference between a baby and a dwarf was not in the food (money) but it was in the DNA. We should aim to create a baby and not a dwarf.

He then moved on to talk about 5 of the many characteristics required to be a successful entrepreneur.

1. Opportunity
2. Team
3. Organizational Design
4. Strategy
5. Risk

He spoke at length on the importance of having the right team. The most common mistakes that all entrepreneurs commit is that they take  on board like minded people. The moment this happens, the vision of the organization becomes uni-directional and it becomes all the more difficult to spot new opportunities. He quoted Steven Spielberg – “Good directing is 90% casting”. He described how he had to kiss so many frogs to find the right people for his team. Incidentally he also touched upon how the skills needed in school are so far away from those required in life. In school, individual brilliance is what counts but in real life you need people with whom you can have healthy disagreements, people who are better than you, people who are worse than you, all sorts of people!!

Coming to strategy, he said – “It’s your gun in the knife fight. Irrespective of what you do, you need an advantage without which you are at the same level as the others.” Then he said something that I feel is so significant in this educational setup, ” You need to realize that even if you win a rat race, you are still a rat”. Its about finding that individual talent!

Finally he spoke of risk – ” You cant wait for all lights to go Green before you leave home! You need be convinced that things will get better as you go and more importantly just hope that you keep going till you get lucky!”

It was an amazing talk.. a truly inspirational one. It forced us to think about our notions of success in life. The final message was just about the icing on the cake. “You can never regret for things that you do, because you can always change them. You always end up regretting for things that you didn’t do”.

If only…….

Kindness Missing

In moments or phases of success and achievement we forget the importance of care and consideration towards others. Being in a business school, I witness so many such people who are so competitive when it comes to academics but fail miserably when it comes to compassion and taking time out for others. I don’t mean to say that they are not humble and I am not trying to generalize this sort of behavior. My attempt is to throw some light on and try and find out why some people turn so rude and in human when people look up to them for some kind of support and comfort. I am not asking them to be what a mother is to her child, all I am requesting them is to understand and appreciate the importance of staying human. In a world driven by money and time, a place where people don’t have time for each other and a time when the no of old age homes and juvenile criminals is on the rise, I don’t understand as to why people think they are invincible. Why don’t they understand that the day is not too far away when they are stripped off all their royal attires and will stand naked against the mighty wind and all that can save and comfort their soul is – Kindness.

I am not asking people not to be honest and express their true sentiments. I am only requesting them to put themselves in the opponent’s shoes and try and understand what they are going through. When somebody is down in the dumps it is only logical that you don’t go and tell them that – “You are such a loser and I knew it right from the start.” Given that we are managers in the making it is very important that we develop this attitude and ability to appreciate others EMOTIONAL NEEDS. I am convinced that as we go along the only thing that technology cannot predict or replace will be EMOTIONS and that would be THE differentiating factor.

One year at the B school

I cant believe that I am done with 10 months in this wonderful campus and as my senior batch packs their bags and bounties I wonder… What does all this add up to?

One of the very few things that I was asked to keep in mind before coming to this school was to make sure that I don’t lose my identity (virginity deserves a separate blog ) during the course of these 2 years. I think that, that is the best piece of advice you could ever give to anybody entering such a professionally competitive setup. I was lucky to have that advice and I should say that I am lucky enough to still maintain my identity.

So what is Identity? In German you could call it Eigenschaft. (The word Eigen Vectors has its origin from this word). We go through this constant process of change and adjustment and hence most of you might wonder what exactly identity is all about? Well I have long pondered about the same.. what do you mean by preserving one’s identity. Its one of those questions which leaves me grappling in the dark. I was finally able to get to terms with this question with this analogy and only time will tell if this is the right kinda one.

Every organization has its own Mission statement and then has a lot of organizational objectives. These organizational objectives can keep changing but the basic purpose of the Firm.. its Mission should not. And every firm tries to stick to its mission. The successful firms are those which change with time but align their actions in line with their mission statement. Similarly, all of us have a basic identity.. which just cant be changed or rather should not be changed. and if we are able to move along with Time keeping in tune with our identity I am sure that there is only one way that we will be able to take and that would be the path of success.

Sadly, I find that a lot of people have lost focus and are lost in the myriad of options and give into circumstantial pressures. They are confused between Means and Ends and end up looking at the ends irrespective of the fact that they are treading a path which seems rosy but is just a trial version of things to come.

Hopefully they will awaken to the situation and take corrective action. But the problem is that the End is so damn attractive that the means no longer matter.

Summer Placements

If I remember right, on Nov 19th there were 1,90,000 people competing with me for the 100 odd seats (OC category) at IIM-B. There was so much pressure and expectation… and it was reasonable..cause all of us were trying to get a toe hold into one of the premier business institutes and once we are there..we can be rest assured of an amazing career… we would no longer have to fight for a job..we would have choices.. we would choose our own destiny…we would be in control… we would dream on……

I made it. Yes, with my limited IQ and EQ i somehow managed to impress the interviewers and along with 263 other people i was poised to create a wonderful life for myself. There was joy around me..it would not be wrong if i said that the moment i got an admission letter..i was JOY… ich werde freude… i somehow took joy along wherever i went… There was never a moment in my life where i felt so important.. I thought i had achieved something 180000 people could not achieve..

But…. i was wrong.. the joy was ephemeral.. the moment i landed here i figured how competition is itself a competition for competition..and the concept of Day 0 was thus born……

If you remember i had said that I thought that I could choose my destiny..well if you could get hold of a rubber as big as this wide universe.then I need it … cos that thought is completely wrong. My joy was short-lived.

It all started on a Sunday morning (of all days). It was 11-11-07..and the lions were let loose. There was enough to feast on.. and it was just a matter of time till each of us had our share of the booty. I could not sleep the previous day. I went to bed around midnight but caught up with sleep only around 3 am.

My interview began around 10 ish in the morning and by 11 10 I had an offer in hand and I accepted it cos that was my only Day zero call and rules prevented me declining a Day zero offer. The process itself is so complex that there is a large element of luck. Starting from when you interview with a particular firm to the fact that who goes in before you!! But to think of it, placing 100 odd people in less than 10 hours is not that easy and Luck’s role is inevitable. To their credit, those who were running the show showed tremendous amount of dedication and commitment. There were instances when by the third day some placement representatives had developed swelling in their toes and cramps. But the best part was, the show had to go on and they performed their part.. It was indeed inspirational.. Most of our perceptions regarding the placement cell underwent a 180 degree change. Yes, there were a few who thought that if not for this random process they would have been placed in better companies. I could have been on of them.. but all i can say is that, it was not by design. The whole process is designed in such a way that there are bound to be casualties. I know it is easy writing when you arent one of them. But the sooner we come to terms with this the better it is.. Nobody said summers was a true reflection of your capabilities.. in fact.. I never imagined that i would become an Investment Banker… My heart said Marketing and I prepared a consult oriented resume..but such is the way of life.. there are things that happen and we have no control over them.. its best to treat them in an objective fashion and learn to move on..

Coming back to people involved in the process.. There was this classmate of mine who was a stud… amazingly knowledgeable and hardworking.. He/She had about 7-8 day zero calls..but he got placed only on the second day of placements.. How could anybody explain such discrepancies? There was one more thing that I realized… Summers is all about Personals!! You need to be effective communicators..and the fact that IIM B is going to place more importance on English skills is a move in the right direction!!!

On the whole placements is a random process where three things play a major role :
1. Your level of Confidence / preparedness
2. Your communication skills
3. A little bit of luck!!

One important thing to keep in Mind during placements is that.. DAY ZERO is not everything.. Companies like PnG went back empty handed cos they did not find suitable candidates for their marketing division. It is very important not to get swayed by peer pressure and choices..yes it is easy to say…but trust me it is very important to stay connected with your inner self…. in fact…somebody once told me… the best thing that could happen to anybody in a B-School is.. to finish the course and come out with your individuality intact.. It is a struggle…a struggle between wannabe images and your own self… and sadly.. its the former that ends up winning in most of the cases… Yes,,,people wont agree..but that is the fact…