Days @ ISB

2011-10-08T17:37:00.000-07:00

Let’s talk about the economy. Home prices that were thought to always go up are steadily going down. I should know, myself being a homeowner trying to sell. Jobs are hard to come by, and those who have it are in constant fear of losing it. Home prices are at record lows, and so are the mortgage rates (4% in US compared to 10% in India). But that is not motivating renters to buy homes. Partly because of lack of job security and partly because banks are not lending as easily as in earlier days. Stricter eligibility standards adopted by banks is a good sign. But with lack of money flowing in the economy, things are slowing down. Manufacturers may not be able to secure their working capital loans at favorable rates, consumers will not spend as much, everyone will cut down, and economy will contract. Add macro-economic factors like sovereign debt of some European countries defaulting, and you have a recipe for disaster across the world markets.

We are living in turbulent times. Just a few years ago when I was in b-school, I heard people wanting to join the likes of Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Bear Sterns etc. We have lost those brand names forever. I wonder what the dream companies for students are now. There is talk of Morgan Stanley doing a Lehman. Goldman Sachs stock is touching new lows. You never know what would be the next collapse if a too big to fail bank truly fails.

What’s a common man to do? I think the answer lies in entrepreneurship. Recessions are when some of the biggest companies hatched. This may be the time to execute on that big idea you always had. To create something tangible, to be your own boss, to invest in yourself. It does not have to be a big bang theory. Baby steps to test the idea could be the right approach. I see wannabe entrepreneurs on the TV show Shark Tank and wonder why I did not think of doing it. Sometimes the idea is clever, sometimes the execution.

May be one of the readers of my blog would be the next Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs. You never know, but I do wish more and more people will consider taking that next step and not be lazy like me!

2011-09-17T20:19:00.000-07:00

I attended ISB’s 10 year celebration event in NY yesterday, and it ignited the fuse to blog again. It’s been 3 years since my last post. Time flies!

What have I been up to? A lot. Changed jobs two times. Changed cities two times. And of course my new born son is a 3 year old handful now.

I was with Capgemini’s Financial Services consulting group for about a year, based in Toronto. I must say Toronto is a lovely city, more like a cleaner and safer NY. I lived in the downtown area next to Air Canada Center, and there was always something exciting happening. Summer weekends are especially eventful. I climbed up the stairs of the world’s tallest tower, CN Tower, as part of fundraising. Took me about 40 minutes and countless breaths to finally make it up. But it was a unique experience. I also visited Montreal, which brought back memories of my Paris visit. Even the road signs in Quebec are in French.

I travelled to Bahamas, Jamaica and Cancun on separate occasions to unwind from all the work. The blue/green ocean waters and sunny tropical climate was a great relief from all the snow up in the north. Bahamas was my first cruise experience.

After all this travelling, I took up a Senior Manager position with Accenture’s Financial Services Management Consulting practice in New York. Moved back from Toronto to New Jersey, which is like a déjà vu as NJ is where it all started for me in the US.

So in three short paragraphs I have summed up the last three years of my life. Not bad.

When I met alumni from various batches yesterday, it dawned on me how far ISB has come. I realized how lazy I am when I heard about the accomplishments of some of the alumni who are much more hard working. We talked about the companies that our batch mates have started successfully and tried to catch up on what’s going on in their lives. I met Paul Romer and heard him talk about Charter Cities, which will be like special economic zones where people can have better quality of life. I think he may be up for a Nobel. Luckily I was seated at the same table as one of my favorite professors at ISB, Prof Raju of Wharton. I was happy to reconnect with professors after so long.

What else has changed in the last 3 years? I don’t believe many people had heard of facebook, twitter, youtube or ipad when I last wrote a post. So not sure how relevant a blog is in today’s world, but I will keep it going. Hopefully my next post would be sooner than another 3 years. And with the economy the way it is, there should be plenty to write about.

I am looking forward to my India trip next month.

2008-09-21T03:32:00.001-07:00

I am a dad now. My son, Ryan Banerjee, was born on Sep 9th in Delaware. It is an amazing feeling and I am so excited. Can’t wait for him to grow up and play with me.

Last few months have been eventful. In July, we moved into our new home. Here’s what it looks like.

In August came the green card, so no more standing in the line for a visa. It took a year under EB1 multinational executive category.

And in September came Ryan Banerjee. Exciting times!

The continuing credit crisis is making interesting reading, with big investment banks going belly up. I am sure business schools are busy writing case studies and future MBA students will analyze such events in great detail. The best and brightest MBAs made some wrong calls, took on too much risk and ended up losing fortunes. Could it have been done differently, will it happen again - time will tell. But expect fundamental changes in how the financial services industry operates.

There was a question on MBA salaries. If someone is getting, say, $80k in a software developer role now, how much will it get boosted after an MBA? The classic MBA answer is, it depends. You could choose to join a non-profit, and make $50k after your MBA. Or you could choose to join an IB or MC firm and expect at least twice your pre-MBA salary. Your salary mainly depends on the skills you bring to the table. If you have a niche, in-demand skill, you can make millions without an MBA. Companies pay you based on the perceived value you bring to the company, not just because you have done an MBA from an Ivy League institution.

2008-02-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

Am still in Wilmington, Delaware. Bought a house. It is under construction , but it will look somewhat like this when complete in six months.

Since the housing market is in a bad shape, I figured now would be a good time to get into a house as builders are offering various incentives. There are even some who are offering a free Hummer if you buy a house! I got quite a few upgrades (stone front, finished basement, Jacuzzi etc) in the house free. Only time will tell if I made a sound decision, as I intend to sell it in a few years.

Last week visited Las Vegas and Grand Canyon. Vegas is truly a city of lights. The hotels are huge; in fact about 15 of the largest 20 in the world are in Vegas. It’s quite a sight.

Since ISB is a young school, it did not qualify to enter international ranking exercises so far. But this year, for the first time, it entered itself into the Financial Times rankings (http://rankings.ft.com/global-mba-rankings) of top MBA programs worldwide, and it did so with a bang! ISB is ranked at number 20, ahead of established schools like Kellogg, Duke, Michigan and Cornell! It’s a nice feeling to see one’s school ranked in Top 20 in the world. However, one has to read the rankings carefully, as different rankings use different criteria, and you may find a number one ranked school not figuring in Top 20 in the rankings of a rival publisher.

Tomorrow is Super Bowl. I feel Patriots will beat Giants, but you never know. Last year I had a chance to go see the Philadelphia Eagles from a JPMorgan Chase VIP Suite at the Lincoln Financial Field. It was an awesome experience. Will be watching Super Bowl on TV though. There is a Super Bowl party at a friend’s place, and on the agenda is a post-game Nintendo Wii tournament! Should be fun

2007-06-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

Back after a long time. Am still in Delaware. Got a promotion - from Assistant Manager to Manager. Path ahead is Senior Manager -Director - VP... Long way to go!

We had an ISB alumni get together in NY sometime ago. It was nice meeting others in the area. Also met our Deputy Dean and got updates on what’s going on at ISB and future roadmap.

Bought an Apple Macbook. I am very impressed with the product. Now I spend more time on the macbook than on my Dell. Also bought a radar detector for my car and a Sony T50 digital camera that James Bond used in his most recent movie! Now I am hunting for a home theater system.

Did a bit of traveling as well. Have been to Atlanta and Virginia Beach. Also went to Philadelphia to watch a major league baseball game between Phillies and Chicago Cubs.

At work, I have been learning a lot about credit card processing. I am quite enjoying working with the business people who have spent their entire career in the industry. I am currently focusing on credit card authorizations, risk and customer strategy management, using products from FICO and Total System (TSYS).

2006-12-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

Lot of water has flown down the Ganges since my last post. I got relocated from Calcutta to Wilmington in Delaware in September. Met with many old friends here, made some new ones. Initial few days were spent in getting settled here. Renewing US driver's license, getting new credit cards, buying household furniture etc. Got a new car, 2006 Nissan Altima. Was carried away by its looks. Equipped it with a GPS Navigation system. Really cool with voice prompts for turns. Also bought a Sony LCD HDTV. Brilliant picture - better than DVD. Lots of other purchases, like a robotic vacuum cleaner, have made a good dent on my bank balance!

On the work front, so far so good. Lot of learning opportunities, especially about the credit card industry. Also, by working closely with the account management team, am getting an understanding of the dynamics of client relationship mgmt. My primary role is that of a subject matter expert/lead business analyst.

ISB alum get together is coming up, but alas I cannot participate this year. Heard the news of the Indian Prime Minister visiting ISB recently. Last batch witnessed George Bush visiting. No such high profile visit during my time at ISB :(

2006-09-07T22:04:00.000-07:00

Am headed to Wilmington in Delaware. I will be stationed there from this Monday for a long term assignment. I would be the lead business analyst for one of our major clients, a bulge bracket investment bank. This is for their credit cards division.
Like everybody, I used to receive pre-approved credit card offers in the mail, and most of them seemed to originate from Wilmington, DE. Never thought I would one day end up working there! Had passed by Delaware many times while driving from New Jersey to DC. It used to take only a few minutes to cross the state, as it is a very small state. Only attractive thing about Delaware seemed to be the zero sales tax.
While I had wanted to be in the vicinity of NYC, Wilmington is not too bad. It is 1.5 hours from NYC and DC, and 20 mins from Philly.
Am looking forward to this challenging assignment.

2006-08-09T09:30:00.000-07:00

I am back! Marriage ceremonies went off quite well. Thanks everyone for your wishes. Now I have a boss at home as well!

After finishing business school, many times I have considered retiring from blogging. But have still kept up, though only with occasional posts. What started off as an effort to capture life as a student at ISB has gone on to look at life beyond school - at post MBA career. I believe it is important to continue recording this experience, as it helps complete the picture and provides insights to MBA applicants on what to expect after getting the degree.

At work I am currently engaged in an initiative to build stronger financial services domain knowledge among employees. Domain knowledge is a key differentiator for this company and helps understand client businesses better. In a recent Forrester Report, MBAs in Cognizant were called the secret sauce for success because of the domain knowledge and business analysis skills they bring to the table.

Cognizant recently announced a change in top management. A Carnegie Mellon MBA would become the CEO from Jan. Interestingly, he is all of 37 years old. I wish I could be that successful when I turn 37. The COO is also a Carnegie Mellon MBA and the CFO is a Tuck (Dartmouth) MBA.

Cognizant as a company is doing well. As per recent earnings call, we are likely to hit the $1.3 bn revenue mark this year and have surpassed Satyam to become the fourth largest IT company in India, behind TCS, Infy and Wipro. Cognizant stock has also been doing great, and had briefly crossed the $70 mark. My stock options are becoming valuable!

I have had an opportunity to understand the offshore model better in the last one year, and it is now time to rotate into a new role. I am looking at taking up a client facing role. This will allow me to engage with clients face-to-face and to build relationships and grow accounts. The role would also involve domain consulting. I am looking at various such role options in the US and am trying to decide which way to go. Have got myself an L1A visa to this end.

Today's newspaper reported that picture-tube TVs would likely be extinct in two years. They will make way for LCD and plasma TVs. One can therefore expect significant price drops in this segment due to economies of scale. Technologies change so fast! Floppies have already become almost extinct. Blu-ray DVDs have also entered the market. We can expect a standards war soon.

Through this blog I have met many of my old friends with whom I had lost touch. Hats off to the many benefits of living in a connected world. Technology rules! I was also surprised to find many of my old friends/colleagues still reading my blog. Thank you for staying with me.

2006-06-20T01:36:00.000-07:00

I am getting married to a lovely lady on the 30th of this month in Kolkata. Which means I am going to lose my bachelors degree and she's going to gain her masters! Looking forward to this next phase of life.
Very busy with wedding preparations. Will blog again after the marriage.

2006-04-27T07:37:00.000-07:00

Another batch has passed through ISB. Class of 2007 has already started their journey. My b-school days seem like a distant past now!

The hoopla surrounding astronomical salaries during campus placements has subsided by now. It is unfortunate that the focus is towards rupee-converted CTCs of outliers rather than the more realistic median salaries. I overheard a restaurant conversation one day where a group of youngsters were discussing about “that one-crore salary b-school”. I wish they had at least touched upon the quality of faculty or the peer group.

At work front, I have been pretty tied up with various activities, mostly pre-sales. One of the upsides of getting involved in pre-sales is that you get to know many senior level managers and directors in the company. There is always something to learn from these people.

Cognizant gave away video iPods to its employees, so I am a proud owner of one now. However, I haven’t used it much. When I have to listen to music at home, I use my laptop and Altec Lansing speakers. When I am traveling, there is the car stereo where I listen to FM. And in office there is hardly any time to listen to music. This is turning out to be just another addition to the list of gadgets that lie unused at home. The others include things like VCR and camcorder. Digital camera is soon going to be on that list, as mobile phone cameras are now available with megapixel resolutions. I think Apple should think about convergence and come out with an iPod that has in-built mobile phone and camera, among other features.

2006-03-12T04:57:00.000-08:00

George Bush’s visit to ISB was a welcome surprise. I wish I was a current student this year – would have got an opportunity to be there. From the transcript, it appears he was his usual self – more so as he himself is a b-school product. He started off like “So whoever would like to begin, we can start. And if not, I'm just going to call on somebody -- like you.”. This is so like a professor cold calling! I hope the Indian President also visits the institute in the near future to share some of his immense scientific and academic knowledge.

Last week I was busy traveling. First I went to XLRI Jamshedpur for campus recruitment. I liked the campus, it is very compact and cozy. The newly built badminton court was very inviting, but alas I was there for a different purpose!

Then I had to go to our office in Chennai on business. Chennai seemed to have made good progress since my last visit there. The roads were quite clean and there was a new mall, City Center, that had come up. Didn’t have time to explore much beyond that.

Now that a fresh batch of b-school grads will be joining the work force, I have been receiving enquiries from them about what to expect when they join IT services firms. Well, I keep telling people that it is what you make of it. It is common knowledge that the main engine of such companies is quality of execution. You provide good deliveries and you get repeat business. That’s the business driver. What role do MBAs have to play in this scenario? Most MBAs don’t want to be in delivery role. They went for an MBA to get away from delivery. Most would like to be in tech consulting or business development roles.

Now pure business development is a sales function, and is typically the territory of people with strong sales background. A person with only IT project management experience is more suited for pre-sales, account mining and consulting roles. A typical MBA might start off as a business analyst – the critical link between the business side of the client firm and the technical side of the IT firm. He would understand the functional requirements and ensure that the final delivery meets those requirements. Afterwards, the MBA would likely move up to become an account/engagement/client relationship manager. One would have profit and loss responsibilities and would be judged based on the amount of revenue growth in the relationship.

This is my understanding of the typical role of MBAs in IT services companies. There would be many other career paths as well. Most MBAs have the freedom to choose which path they would like to take. Also, salary differentials of one or two lakhs don’t matter much at this stage – it is the role and quality of work that matter more. So I would advise students to choose companies based on the role offered.

2006-02-19T00:33:00.000-08:00

It’s placement time in ISB. I can sense the current state of students – full of anxiety. Within a few days the suspense will be over and they will know where they are headed after graduation. I was also scheduled to go to ISB as part of my company’s interview panel, but it didn’t happen due to some last minute changes.
While there may be excitement that a new chapter of life is going to start from April, it also means that the days at ISB are soon going to be over. It is a hard feeling – but you have to move on in life. It feels just like yesterday that I was an ISB student, and already another batch is about to graduate. Getting nostalgic!

2006-01-23T06:43:00.000-08:00

Had a good time in ISB. It was a mixed feeling – happy and nostalgic. There were a good number of my batchmates who had turned up. Played badminton at the familiar court in recreation center. Unfortunately my opponent, a colleague of mine, injured herself and had to be rushed to hospital at midnight. So the trip turned out to be eventful!
Somehow each passing batch at ISB seems to outdo its predecessors in being serious about studying. Maybe that week was particularly bad in terms of work load.

My next visit to ISB will probably happen during the campus placements next month.

Few weeks ago I visited IMT Ghaziabad for campus recruitment. I hadn't been to Delhi in last ten years, and boy, it seemed such a different city now. Infrastructure has improved by leaps and bounds. Impressive.

This weekend I interviewed few prospective students seeking admission to ISB. As is usual, the applicant pool in Kolkata mainly comprised of entrepreneurs and family business background people.

2005-12-11T08:51:00.000-08:00

Am currently in ISB campus and having a good time. Alumni meet over, but have another engagement related to my company, so staying over until Tuesday. Lot of my batchmates had turned up for the alum meet, so lot of catching up done. Met many from the current batch also, and was happy to put faces to names I have been hearing through emails and yahoogroups.
Going to the on campus DJ night now.

2005-12-03T00:37:00.000-08:00

Next weekend is going to be special. I would be back in ISB campus next Saturday (10th Dec), and will stay there for four days of fun and nostalgia. It’s our alumni meet and I am so looking forward to it.

2005-11-16T09:42:00.000-08:00

Went to Indian Institute of Management Calcutta campus yesterday for summer internship recruitment. Most of the candidates I interviewed had significant work experience. It was a different experience sitting on the other side of the table in a b-school!
Office life is same old same old. RFP responses, punctuated by domain building initiatives.

2005-10-30T03:02:00.000-08:00

When I am not able to blog for a long time, I tell myself that it is due to my busy schedule at work and otherwise. But then if I look back at my life one year ago in b-school, I realize that I have all the time in the world now. I can watch TV, sleep before midnight and do a myriad other things for which I never had time in ISB. And I don’t have three case studies to read and two group assignments to do in a single day. Still I call myself busy.
This weekend I was scheduled to visit XLRI to recruit summer trainees, but could not go due to other commitments. Will probably go during final placements now.
Just a few months ago I was considering buying a mini ipod, but thankfully decided against it. Now they have come out with the nano, which is such a beauty. But it will be difficult to stay ahead of this curve. Less than six months after I bought my car, a newer model (Honda City ZX) has been introduced at the same price point but with better features. Where does the buck stop?
Sustainable competitive advantage, internalizing network externalities, value appropriation, 4 Ps, BCG matrix, bottleneck resource, CAPM, regression etc are phrases one would hear on setting foot in ISB campus or for that matter in any b-school campus. I am getting ready to hear these again in about a month’s time when I set foot on ISB soil again for the alumni meet.

2005-09-27T03:02:00.000-07:00

Haven’t been able to blog for quite some time. It’s been very busy at work. Looking forward to some relaxation during Durga Puja holidays next month.

This weekend I spent quite a few hours at nearby IIM-Calcutta campus with some of my (ex-IIMC) colleagues. It felt very nice to be back in a campus environment, away from the chaos of city life. Familiar books could be seen in student rooms. A grocery shop on campus was named Kotler shop, after the famous marketing author, because of some marketing tricks the owner had used to sell his stuff.

ISB Info Session wasn’t very different from last year. The questions from applicants were similar to what we had in our time. A video, recounting life at ISB, was also shown. I guess my next brush with ISB admissions would be during the interview phase.

An alum sent us all a picture of ISB campus as seen on Google Earth. That got me hooked. One can spend hours on Google Earth and not get bored. It is such an exciting tool. Even CNN can be seen using it. Technology rules!

2005-09-04T00:42:00.000-07:00

Have been extremely busy with an RFP response. It has become routine to stay past 9 pm in office. The positive side to it is that the drive home is much quicker at late night with less traffic on the roads!
ISB Information Session in Kolkata will be held next Sunday, and am planning to be present there. Had missed the recent alumni get-together, so this will be a good opportunity to catch up with alums and with ISB Admissions staff. Am also planning to visit ISB during Solstice in December.
While cleaning up my messy room, I found ‘The Inscrutable Americans’ by Anurag Mathur. It begged to be re-read, and am rolling on the floor laughing at the story of Gopal at a US university. Next book on my list would be the one on life in IIT Delhi written by some past students.

2005-08-11T03:58:00.000-07:00

A ship is safe in the harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for. This argument was given to me by a fellow driver when he saw my car’s condition. An unlicensed driver had failed to apply brakes in time, and had smashed into my car’s rear when I was standing at a traffic signal. The repair estimate is Rs 40k. The car would be in the repair shop for two weeks, and the insurance does not cover a replacement car for the duration.

In other news, I am required to go back to Dallas towards the end of this month for a few weeks. I have expressed my unwillingness to undertake this travel due to family reasons, let’s see if I can have my way.

Was in discussions with a Director about business growth in our sub-vertical, and we came up with some strategies that I might pursue with a team of business analysts.

Five of us went out for lunch today, and it so happened that all five were from different institutes – ISB, IIM-A, B, C and XLRI. One common thread is that everyone had to undergo the same torture at b-school – arbit CP (class participation) involving global comments. Apparently every classroom in every b-school has these CP gods and goddesses! I was glancing through a blog of a current ISB student, and discovered that the current batch has maintained the tradition. Keep it up!

2005-08-04T10:39:00.000-07:00

Moving out of b-school and into the corporate world brings with it a lot of changes. Adhering to dress code is not the least of them. As a student, I had a free run as far as attire was concerned. In fact we also had dress-themed parties where we could bring out our wild side. One such party called for slumber dressing, resulting in us turning up in night suits, shorts and pyjamas. One was a traffic light party where we could wear red, green etc as per our marital status. Most of us went to classes in jeans or cargos or even shorts. Immediately after graduation, I had to go for a wardrobe update to prepare for the corporate world. I hated wearing business casuals, but had no alternative. Slowly, after four months of post-MBA life, I feel business casual is the best way to dress. It makes one look smart and professional, and makes me realize I am not in school anymore. But I still eagerly look forward to Fridays as we have casual Friday dressing in place.

More later.

2005-07-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

Driving on Indian streets must be tougher than winning the Tour De France. First of all, every single vehicle on the city roads use high beam. I don’t quite understand the need to do that, as the streets are quite well lit. It makes life extremely difficult with oncoming traffic blinding you and the rear view mirror doing its own bit by reflecting the lights of the car behind you. And there isn’t enough margin for error, as you are inches away from the other vehicles sharing the road. One wrong move and you can be in lot of trouble. Then suddenly some vehicle would be coming right at you using the wrong side of the road. A cyclist would turn towards your car unannounced at the last minute, and a motorcyclist would be almost a centimeter away from your car’s other side, preventing you from making any sudden movements. Then there would be a big pothole right in front that you would be at pains to avoid. The car behind and beside you would be constantly honking for apparently no reason. An unattended child would be playing around on the street. Twenty pedestrians would have abandoned the sidewalks and would be walking almost in the middle of the street, as if the streets are meant for them and the sidewalks for cars. Cars that have to turn from the left-most lane would be on the right-most lane, making their way to the left only after they have reached the lights. If the road is wide enough to have two lanes, which is a rarity, most cars would be traveling right in the middle of the road, occupying both lanes. If you hear a siren and make way for the vehicle to pass thinking it is an ambulance or the cops, you’ll find that it is actually some politician who thinks his time is more important than everyone else’s. Anyway, you can only go as fast as the cycle rickshaw in front of you blocking the way. And all the utility work like cutting roadside bushes or picking up garbage would be done only at peak office time so that everyone realizes their importance. The whole traffic situation would make any driver go nuts. I feel like I should get a medal, but then so should everyone else maneuvering these roads!

Was watching a program on TV about moon landing. I was almost convinced into believing that man never landed on the moon. But just speculating will not prove it beyond doubt. Clarifications from NASA would really help.

Starbucks is looking at entering India. Looking at the long lines outside a newly opened KFC in Calcutta, I can imagine how highly successful Starbucks would be.

I have been involved in recruiting MBAs. While talking to them I get reminded of my time in b-school. It seems like many years ago that I was in ISB. Things do move fast after graduation.

2005-07-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

Am back in India. Flew business class in British Airways – the fully flat bed and privacy are awesome!
Have adjusted fully to Indian driving conditions by now. This also means that I turn a blind eye if a taxi hits my car and runs away. Which is what happened a couple of days ago. Although I got the number of the fleeing taxi, the cops said there is no point in lodging a complaint!
At work I have to lead a team of 10 initially to oversee the project that I helped bring offshore. After a couple of months I would be given a choice of leading a larger team or going back to account mining.
The new batch at ISB seems to have got lucky as they got even better choice of professors than we had. I interacted with a few of the current students, and they seem to be enjoying their life, although they were very busy with Markstrat - the marketing strategy game.
Next week I would be making a presentation to all the MBAs in my vertical on some domain related concepts. Got to start working on the ppt.

2005-06-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

Being in Texas, I was rooting for the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA Finals, and they did not let me down. I watched the last 4 games on TV, and they were all a treat to watch. The players must have added a few more millions to their bank accounts. The only thing I don’t understand is how they can be called World Champions, as to my knowledge there is no international participation except for Canada I guess.

Last Saturday night we were driving north on a highway without any destination in mind. Soon we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere, and guessed we must have crossed over to Oklahoma. Sure enough, on our way back we saw the Welcome to Texas sign. Okla is scary, with not only no sign welcoming us, but also no sign of civilization for miles. Our next drive would be towards South, I just hope we don’t cross the Mexican border by mistake.

This weekend I will go to downtown to watch Independence Day fireworks. It would also be a good time to do electronics shopping as there would be lots of deals.

Haven’t seen many changes in the US since my last time here. Saw some new car models, like the Hummer Mini. Otherwise it is the same old. Same supermarkets, same restaurant chains, same TV shows etc. Reality TV shows have picked up though.

War of the Worlds is releasing today, will probably watch it.

2005-06-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

Everything is big in Texas. Texas is bigger than France, Belgium and Holland put together. So I haven’t even considered visiting other cities in this state, as that would entail driving endlessly for hours, may be days!
On the work front things are cruising along fine. I didn’t have to do much as the groundwork had already been done by other Cognizant people. I spend my days in all-day meetings. It’s getting boring now, so am trying to get to India as soon as I can. Might be able to push off in the first week of July.
Have been considering buying a Mini IPod, but not convinced of the value proposition. At a price point of $200, it does not provide enough bang for the buck. It might be better to take a flash drive with mp3 capability. I wonder if there are cell phones available with megapixel camera and mp3 player built in, for under $200, as that would eliminate the need to carry multiple devices.

2005-06-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow around this time I would be preparing to board British Airways - my favorite airline. It's going to be one long tiring journey, with change overs at London and Chicago. I wonder if airline systems have inbuilt logic which precludes alloting single males seats next to single women, because I have never been so lucky. Let's see if it's going to be any different tomorrow!

2005-05-31T00:09:00.000-07:00

Bought a Honda City with automatic transmission. Driving through the crowded Calcutta roads is a big challenge, but have been successful so far.

2005-05-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

My first test as an MBA is a week away. I have to visit Dallas on 5th June and stay there for about a month to have discussions with a client. The work is primarily to get new business from an existing client.My H1B process will also start soon so that I can be in the US from October onwards when the quota opens for this year. So I have to be prepared for many more client-facing assignments going forward.
This Monday I have to interview an MBA from IIM-C 2004 batch who wants to join CTS. He has hardcore banking experience, so I should be quizzing him on Fin concepts. Time to take out my ISB Fin coursepacks!

2005-05-22T02:25:00.000-07:00

Have been quite busy with a new initiative at work, but can't write about it yet (it’s some kind of a model). Other than that I got a taste of responding to RFPs at Cognizant. So that’s how I have been passing time. Also have been making friends at work. With so many new friends, I actually look forward to going to work each morning.
I thought I had heard all the jargons and buzzwords during the MBA program, but the IT industry is not one to take it lying down. During a conference call, I sat speechless when I heard the jargon being used. The favorite seemed to be bandwidth – used to refer to free time available with an employee. Anyway, I have also started throwing MBA jargon around, like ‘network effects’ and ‘value appropriation’!
The biggest advantage at ISB was that we did not have to commute to work. Everything was within walking distance. Here, after traveling through the city, one does not feel like doing anything at home. So the weekdays are very uneventful. Weekends I usually sleep like a log of wood on one day, and go shopping the other. Today chanced upon the Bombay Rockers performing live at a music store. Their ‘rock tha party’ – teri to yaad….is really catchy.

2005-05-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

I had never imagined that I will one day work in Calcutta, but here I am. The office is fabulous and I have a great seat, although I am still a few years away from the corner office! The only complaint is about the commute which is killing me. The traffic here is terrible and a distance of just a few miles can take hours.
I am into domain related work currently to understand the banking and financial services vertical better. Most of it is straight out of what we learnt at ISB in various Fin courses. It is good to see these concepts in real life action.
One of my ISB batchmates is getting married here in Calcutta, so have been attending his bachelor parties at various nightclubs here. There is indeed a wild side to this otherwise sobre city!

2005-04-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

Got my first choice of vertical and location – Banking in Kolkata! Few people have been so lucky to get exactly what they wanted. JP Morgan Chase is the largest account in Banking, so I am probably going to work on getting more business from them. My intention was to be based out of NY-NJ area, and it seems to be heading that way. They are also open to processing green card, so I can be there as long as I want and come back whenever I want.

I have to fly to Kolkata on the 3rd of May. I had deliberated a lot on whether to take Chennai and be close to the power center and to some of my close friends who are going to work in Chennai, or to go to Kolkata and have fish curry whenever I want. Finally fish and rosogolla won over career and friends! I am going to miss Chennai as I had started liking this city.

Am planning to go for Toyota Corolla automatic transmission version in Kolkata. But first have to see how long I can be there before being packed off to the US. I would ideally like to stay in Kolkata for next few months, let’s see how things work out.

Cognizant’s results for Q1 came out recently and it clocked a good growth rate. Cognizant seems to have one of the best front-end teams in the IT services space. The latest person to join the senior management team has the following background – MIT, Morgan Stanley, INSEAD, BoozAllenHamilton, Mckinsey, Cognizant! What a list of brand names to have on one’s resume!

I have almost lost touch with ISB. Spoke with someone from my batch who is in the orientation team, and found out that the next batch is undergoing the same things as we did – team building games like Ongo Pongo, going to Bottles and Chimney, talent night etc. The culture lives on…

2005-04-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

Joined work on the 18th. Had mixed feelings – good to be back to working life but painful to commute through the city. The office of Cognizant looks trendy. After filling in numerous forms, we were made to sit through presentations by business people as part of induction training. Some of the presentations talked about mergers&acquisitions, high-level strategy and competitive advantages that Cognizant enjoys over its peers. Some of it is going to be on proposal writing, verticals etc. We will be using three tools at work – MS Word, Powerpoint and Excel.
I felt a great sense of satisfaction that I chose to join Cognizant. They truly value MBAs, which is difficult to find in other Indian IT services companies. ISB alums have done very well at Cognizant – within a year of joining, they have got opportunities to work on corporate strategies like China strategy, acquisitions, setting up of new practices, penetration of difficult accounts, handling of P&L responsibilities etc. Almost all MBAs are placed near client locations in the US and Europe soon after joining. This helps in getting more business by being near to where the action is.
I didn’t know that Cognizant hires MBAs from only six b-schools in India – ISB, IIMs-A, B, C, L and XLRI. Our batch of new joinees, which has people from all these six schools, will continue with the induction training until 2nd May.
The biggest issue now is which vertical to join. I can still go to Kolkata where they have Retail vertical, or go to Pune in Banking vertical or stay in Chennai and take up Healthcare or Logistics and Manufacturing. By next Monday I would know where I am going to be.

2005-04-12T00:06:00.000-07:00

Reporting from Chennai. My joining is less than a week away. Cannot go to ISB for next batch’s orientation. Will try to go during Solstice, the alumni reunion, in December.

Chennai is not as bad as people make it out to be. True, there is the language issue, but otherwise the city is very livable. Living here is like living in continental Europe – most people cannot understand a word of English or Hindi. Sign language is the way to go. The roads are in very good shape, so one can drive at high speeds, traffic permitting, without any fear of potholes. One unique thing about Chennai is the abundance of two-wheeled vehicles. So much so, that in some places the first lane is reserved for them.

There is not a single FM station in English or Hindi. Thankfully TV has all kinds of channels. There is a market in T Nagar called Pondy bazaar. Very lively market, but a renaming is called for! The malls are modern and huge, and the beach is refreshing. I have been trying out different eating joints, from Subway to Sheraton, and have been pleased so far. The fast depleting bank balance is a cause for worry though!

Have been spending time reading our yearbook. It brings back memories of our ISB days. Life can never be the same again. The placement report is out, and we seem to have done well.

Will go to Pondicherry tomorrow, and then maybe Tirupati.

2005-04-03T01:28:00.000-08:00

I am an MBA now!!! Oh, what a great feeling!
My next post may be after two-three weeks.

2005-03-31T20:13:00.000-08:00

This is possibly my last post as an ISB student. It was one great year, and I have mixed feelings now as I leave this place. But one has to move on in life.
Thanks everyone for keeping up with my story, the ups and downs and the academic pressures and the late-night parties. The number of site visits has crossed the 30,000 mark – all of you visitors were very much a part of this ISB experience, though only through the web.

2005-03-29T14:10:00.000-08:00

Today is Graduation Dinner. Time to bring out suits.
Meanwhile I got another offer from Wipro, this time for UK as Senior Business Analyst. The work would be to grow an existing account. But I am still in favor of Cognizant. I hope Cognizant lives up to my expectations!
I have decided to join Cognizant on the 18th of April itself. Would try to keep this blog updated at least weekly after joining work. Between now and then, I would be very irregular in blogging though.

2005-03-27T11:08:00.000-08:00

Chennai it is. Cognizant wants me to join them in Chennai on 18th April. I have requested them once again for Kolkata, and for a joining date in May. I think postponement of joining date will be possible, but not the location. So here I come Chennai!
My last exam will be in a few hours from now. That will wrap up my ISB educational experience. There will only be parties after that. My folks will join me on Wednesday, so eagerly looking forward to it. We also have our graduation dinner at a hotel here on Wednesday. This week is going to be crazy.

2005-03-24T10:35:00.000-08:00

Classes at ISB are over. No more classes! Today was the last. Don’t know whether to be happy or sad. I have an exam on Monday, but there is no preparation required for it. So I am basically done with my MBA!
Haven’t given it a thought as to what I will do here until I leave. Rather than meticulously plan my days, I will leave it to spur of the moment decisions. For instance, today I had planned to go swimming and then go out for dinner, but instead spent my time playing badminton, tennis and squash.
Yesterday also I decided to go to my section party at the very last minute. It was in a place called Dhola-ri-Dhani, which has a Rajasthani setting. They had cots under the sky, which afforded a view of the night sky. It felt so good to lie down and watch the stars!
The interview experience session was a flop show for me. I thought I was doing a good job giving great tips on how to bag IT jobs at ISB. When I finished speaking, I turned to the cameraman signaling him to stop recording. To my amazement, he had fallen asleep! Either he had a good lunch, or my lecture was boring enough. I have a feeling it’s the latter, because it was irrelevant for him. Anyway, now I know how difficult it is for professors to keep the class interesting.

2005-03-22T02:16:00.000-08:00

10 days to graduation…and counting.

The dinner cruise organized by Admissions was great. But something very stupid happened on our way there. A bus was supposed to pick us up from ISB to take us there, and unknown to us, there was another bus at ISB to pick up the executive education people for some other destination. We thought it’s our bus, and had traveled quite some distance when the fuming director of exec education called up the driver. We had to return to campus because it was their bus. Our bus apparently had been canceled but nobody had informed us! We later took cabs.

Yesterday while shopping at the local convenience store, I was speechless for a moment when I saw Kleenex toilet tissue on display. I had to read the label to make sure it was not a fake. It’s amazing that we now have brands like Kleenex, Sun-maid Raisins, V8 vegetable juice and Gatorade, among others, available in India. Except for size, there is not much difference between Indian supermarkets and their US counterparts these days.

I will not be coming for orientation for next batch students, the reason being I am getting only one month break, which I want to spend with my family. However I might drop in for a day or two.

Tomorrow I will be videotaped by the placement office while I explain how I prepared for placement. These interview experiences will be used to help next batch students.

One of our profs, Jagmohan Raju, is currently teaching Marketing at Wharton, and is one of the most popular profs there. He uses a method of photo cold calling in Wharton (as well as at ISB), wherein a student’s photo will be shown on the board and that student will have to answer a question. Today another prof here took it one level further by cold calling a student who had not come to class. This student was telephoned from class and asked a question, while the rest of us listened in on speaker phone! It was just for fun though, and we enjoyed it so much!

2005-03-19T03:15:00.000-08:00

D-Day report, which is partly written by me, is now available at http://www.isb.edu/campussbuzz1/newz_dday.htm . Still to get the Goa report out, and there’s a new one on Net Impact’s activities that needs to be written about. Also have to bring out the last edition of Business Tech Club’s newsletter. Since there is no more studying to do except to attend a few classes, I guess I can take care of these write-ups.
The Admissions Team is taking some of us who helped with application evaluation to a cruise dinner on Monday night. It pays to volunteer for such activities!
As far as city of work is concerned, Chennai should be my first preference as that is where CTS is headquartered, meaning I get more exposure to top management. Also, my fellow batchmates who will be joining CTS will also opt for Chennai, so I will have company. Kolkata will not have anyone from my batch. But I have still given Kolkata as my first choice to CTS HR. Let’s see where I finally work. In any case, the HR said that I will be placed in the US within 3 months of joining. Although I don’t trust anything that HR says, the alums in CTS also confirmed this, so I shouldn’t bother too much about the city I am allotted.
Tonight there is a jam session at the student village. I heard them practicing on the drums, and was amazed at the talent we have here. And tomorrow morning we celebrate Holi!
Still deciding whether to go out to the city tonight or to stay put here and spend the time at the recreation center. Probably the latter.

2005-03-16T11:11:00.000-08:00

Got hold of Brimful of Asha by Cornershop after a long time. Last time I heard this was in a disco in Boston about five years ago. I wonder what the band is up to these days.
I have been assigned with the task of writing something about the current mood on campus and the activities going on. This will be sent to the incoming batch. Writer’s block has made me look for others who can do it, but so far no luck.
This Friday I would be done with all my assignments and one end-term exam. Life will be cruising peacefully after that until graduation.
I still don’t know which city I would be working in. I was told that if I have a strong preference for any city, I will get it. But I can’t decide between Kolkata and Chennai.

Quote of the day: 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot

2005-03-13T11:50:00.000-08:00

We have received instructions to get our no-dues form signed by various departments, and to also get laptops formatted towards the end of this month. It serves as a gentle reminder that our days here are numbered. Life will be so different just a month from now. It will be back to basics – 9 to 5 Mon to Fri jobs, driving through city traffic, watching TV at home and making all new friends in the new company. One has to move on in life.
Current Mood: Poignant
Current Music: MLTR – That’s Why You Go Away

2005-03-11T11:57:00.000-08:00

There is a circular road around the academic center here at ISB. This road is one-way, but you would almost everyday see vehicles going the wrong way at breakneck speeds. An accident is waiting to happen. The road sign was displayed at such a place that many vehicles missed it. So I spoke to the deputy dean about it. He asked the operations people to get it fixed as per my suggestions immediately. I used this opportunity to push for US style road signs and painting of shoulders etc. I don’t think all my wishes can be implemented, but at least the one-way problem should get fixed, thanks to the responsive administration.
Of course as soon as we step out of ISB campus, traffic rules go for a toss. One way or not, traffic will be coming at you from every possible direction. Thankfully there are still no accidents because of the low speeds of the vehicles.
These days I am inundated with case studies. Had to read three cases today, all of which require write-ups to be submitted. Enjoyed two of them, Booz Allen & Hamilton and Cathay Pacific. But the third one was on a ceramic company, a good contender for the title of the most boring case ever. Still got time to play a few badminton games and to watch the movie, Girl Next Door.
Tomorrow night we have a beer and kebab party at ISB. So my plans to go out to the city nightclubs on a Saturday night will have to wait one more week.
Have an 8:30 am class in the morning, that too on a Saturday!

2005-03-09T12:50:00.000-08:00

Attended a two hour meeting today with the powers-that-be of ISB to discuss the admissions strategy for the class of 2007. Two of my suggestions were noted, one of which is to tie-up with the Indian Army to get quality military applicants, and the second is to place online ads in places like businessweek.com until we enter ourselves into rankings.
Also looked at the statistics of the class of 2006, and was happy to note all-round improvements, be it the average GMAT score, the number of applicants or the number of women.

2005-03-07T12:38:00.000-08:00

As predicted, we lost the semi final match by a big margin, that too when the state level player was limping due to an injury. They deserve to be in the finals.
Today in one class we had a case discussion on ITC’s e-choupal case, and the CIO of ITC himself showed up in class to give his insights. The next case is on Infosys, and then on Wipro.
Incidentally, last week Wipro offered me the role of Business Analyst within their Microsoft account, to be based out of Seattle. It was a long term onsite role that needed to be filled immediately after I graduated from here. I declined the offer for a couple of reasons, one being I wish to work in the NYC region, not West Coast. The other reason of course is my desire to work on biz development, while this role had only 30% account mining component.
In the latest crash tests in Detroit, most small cars fared poorly. Only two small cars, Toyota Corolla and Chevy Cobalt performed well enough to earn the second highest rating of “acceptable”. The worst small car was Dodge Neon. Corolla is already in India, while Cobalt will soon be here. I am sure their marketing team would be working overtime on emphasizing the safety factor in their future ads.
I don’t have any class tomorrow, so I can peacefully watch cricket all day.

2005-03-06T11:49:00.000-08:00

Four days just went by. The amount of unread emails is still unmanageable. The only thing I have done is to play, play and play some more. We won the first round of Men’s doubles in badminton, but lost in second round to a batchmate who has played at national level. I am happy we won at least one game against him in the best-of-three match.
Today was mixed doubles, where we narrowly beat one team to enter the semifinals. The semifinal is against someone who has played at state level, and the final would be against another national level player. I am sure I will lose the semifinals, the only thing I am concerned about is by how big a margin!
Saturday night I had big plans. We were to first have dinner in a place called Copper Chimney, then head to a pub, Ten Downing Street, for coffee, and finally to the discotheque T2 in Taj Krishna for drinks and music. But eventually only the first pit stop could be accomplished. Will try next Saturday again.
My two weeks in Chennai after graduation might be cut short by a week as I might go to Singapore with my family for a short visit. Have to start looking at travel websites for things to see there.

2005-03-02T12:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was extremely busy, I had to read three cases and finish two assignments, all in the space of 24 hours. I also squeezed in badminton playing time somehow. And today I had to attend three classes, one of which was in the evening from 7-9 pm. Again included badminton in my schedule! There is an intra-ISB badminton competition from tomorrow, so looking forward to some intense games. I am pretty sure of losing in first round in mixed doubles, but men’s double should be a different story.
Next four days I have no classes, so will be able to catch up with my last couple of days’ unread emails, which currently stand at about 600, mostly thanks to yahoo group mails.

2005-03-01T12:24:00.000-08:00

Uploaded couple of b’day pics.

2005-03-01T12:12:00.001-08:00

Post Dunking

2005-03-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

Beer bath

2005-02-27T12:03:00.000-08:00

Read three cases and completed one assignment today. The most interesting case was on Redhat Linux. Reading such cases makes me feel good about returning to the IT sector and not going to the field of Finance.
Yesterday’s party had free booze flowing, so some ended up overdosing. I saw at least one girl puking on the dance floor. I guess it is all in the ‘spirit’ of celebrating the last few weeks here - in fact I also had the most I have ever had. We are going to have many more parties in the next few weeks.
I am slowly losing interest in badminton. There was a time when I used to almost always win my doubles matches, but haven’t played with my skilful partner for a long time, thus losing quite a few matches these days. The hot weather just adds to the woes.
Most people are doing travel bookings for leaving ISB. I would be going to Chennai on the 4th of April, and will stay there for a couple of weeks before heading to hometown Calcutta. It is so exciting to think of being back there, as I haven’t been there ever since coming to ISB.
My birthday is just a couple of days away, on the 2nd of March, which means I will get dunked on the midnight of the 1st. I can only hope that nobody would remember it’s my birthday and I would escape the torture. Wishful thinking!

2005-02-25T10:50:00.000-08:00

Admissions decisions for second round are about to go out. A new batch is ready to take over after us. Every batch seems to be better than the previous one!
I did not take any Fin course this term. Instead of Fin, I chose Managing Multinational Firms, just because of less work load. There’s no exam for it either, so the choice was easy! The last term is going to be an easy one for me because of my choice of courses. In fact, I am already spending more time in the recreation center than ever. 2.5 hours of badminton every evening followed by half hour of swimming. Then dinner and movie. The only problem is that one of the courses requires us to read a case and submit an online assignment before midnight the day before each class. So every alternate day I have to spend a couple of hours on that.
This year’s first ISB mirror pool party is tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

2005-02-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

Sampled a lot of classes and decided to stick with two of my selections – Managing Innovation and IT Services. Dropped e-markets and will instead bid for International Finance. Couldn’t resist the temptation of studying some more Finance!
There are no classes tomorrow because of the bidding add-drop phase. Some of us will head to the local multiplex to watch Aviator.

2005-02-20T10:26:00.000-08:00

Went out yesterday evening for shopping to update my wardrobe! Had this awesome papdi chaat at Central. Will try to return there soon for some more mouth watering dishes.
While playing tennis today, a young chap joined us. He looked like a student, but wasn’t. Turns out he is the latest faculty to join ISB. He was working with World Bank in DC before coming here. He is also a blog reader, so I have to be careful of what I write here!
Afterwards, during dinner, a not-so-young person asked us if he could join us at our table. Turns out he is a faculty too. Had an interesting one-hour conversation with him about various things, from Indian community in Dallas (where he teaches), to Houston Rockets to loan forgiveness program of Stanford to the booming Indian economy and finally whether he is going to cold call in class!
The last term break at ISB is over, and the last term starts now!

2005-02-18T12:50:00.000-08:00

Finally turned in the Capital Raising AT&T case, which means I am officially done with the penultimate term here. Next couple of days are totally free. I have got this wonderful new Yonex badminton racquet that makes me want to play all day long. But tomorrow I will try to spend some time on tennis and swimming instead. Also need to set aside some time to interview next batch’s applicants. Have been giving all kinds of excuses to the admissions department all these days!
Read this piece on relationships in b-schools: http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/feb2005/bs20050212_7814_bs001.htm? . It is indeed tough to get something going – people are known to take their laptops to even honeymoon to finish up assignments.

2005-02-16T11:55:00.000-08:00

Been chilling out ever since exams got over. Still tied up with take home exams, but was able to get out of the campus tonight for a movie (‘Black’) and dinner at a Punjabi place called Angeethi.
Yesterday saw off a lot of people leaving campus to go to their home towns or to Goa. Probably only 20% of the students are left in the campus now.
The CEO of Lufthansa is visiting the ISB this week. Lufthansa will soon be starting direct flights out of Hyderabad to Frankfurt. Pretty good news for all the IT companies here.

2005-02-14T10:40:00.000-08:00

Today’s ITES exam was one hell of an exam. Am not sure if I got any answer correct! Multiple choice questions had as many as eight alternatives, all of which looked plausible, but you could only select one. It was 90 minutes of torture. I am afraid what tomorrow’s supply chain exam has in store for us. Afterwards I have two take-home exams – Management Science and Capital Raising.
I haven’t yet decided what to do during the last term break at ISB. I will be free from Wednesday through Sunday. Am likely to get bored here because almost everyone is leaving the campus. Might just catch Air Deccan to Goa for a day or two of relaxation.

2005-02-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

Just before exams is when I find the time to watch TV, surf random websites and talk for hours on the phone. The first exam is just a few hours away, but am not scared as it is IT related.
Summer has arrived in Hyderabad. Have to keep the AC on all the time. It will only get worse going forward.
Few days ago we had to fill graduation form, stating how many guests we are expecting etc. Graduation ceremony will be on 2nd April, and we will leave campus by 6th. I can already visualize the tearful farewells! Some of us will return on the 15th to help with orientation of next batch.

2005-02-12T13:40:00.000-08:00

A delegation from Pakistan Software Houses Association visited the ISB today. They are the counterpart of Nasscom of India. Some Nasscom officials were accompanying them. I had the opportunity of receiving them, giving them a tour of ISB, and having lunch with them in the executive dining hall. They seemed very impressed with ISB. During my time at ISB, I have had opportunities to meet and have lunch with lots of dignitaries and top management people!
Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. I have no plans other than to appear in ITES exam and prepare for SCM exam which is on Tuesday.

2005-02-10T12:10:00.000-08:00

There was an interesting case study in Capital Raising class today about Enron. The MBAs in Enron were overpaid, which is probably why they did not blow the whistle despite knowing that something fishy was going on. If only ethics were a core course in b-schools!

2005-02-08T11:42:00.000-08:00

Two more days of classes, and term 7 will be over. Exams start on Monday. Just one more term left at ISB. I am gonna miss ISB very much, but then one has to move on in life.

This term I had morning classes that start at 8:30 am. Since we try to maximize our sleeping time, it meant rushing for class at the last minute. But I am not one to go to class without having breakfast first. I try to reach breakfast room by 8:15 am, but sometimes it becomes 8:20 also. By the time I put all the food in my plate from the buffet, it is more like 8:25. Have to finish eating by 8:28 and rush to class just in time. Just as I am exiting, I see some of my classmates hurriedly entering. I wonder how they have breakfast in one minute, because they are in class at 8:31. Then I come back to eat some more during the 10-minute break at 9:30 am, and then again after class at 10:30 am. I don’t know if I have good or bad time management skills, but am getting efficient at it.

2005-02-07T11:56:00.000-08:00

Patriots won Super Bowl once again! I could not watch it, and the repeat telecast is clashing with my supply chain class tomorrow morning. I would have bunked the class but there is an online beer game to be played in the class, so it is mandatory to attend. I wonder if there is any website where one can watch it.

Today I switched on my TV after a long time, and while surfing aimlessly, came across VH1. Thank god we have at least one channel that will play English songs all day. MTV and V hardly play any non-Hindi music nowadays. There is only so much Hindi movie soundtrack that one can listen to. B4U Music channel already carries decent Hindi music, what was lacking was a VH1 kind of channel. VH1’s success in India can pave the way for MTV2 down the road.

2005-02-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

I am ashamed of myself. I tried my hand at driving a friend’s stick shift car, but failed miserably. I just keep forgetting that the clutch is there for a purpose. This is what exclusively driving an automatic for a few years has done to my mind.

Today morning I got up at 7 am to play tennis with a friend. Evenings are reserved for badminton/squash/swimming, so had to find time in the morning for other sports.

I have now seen almost 90% of the movie DVDs in our library. The rest are stuff I can’t tolerate. Since next week is exam week, this is good time to stop watching movies.

Next term’s bidding is done with, and I did not bag any finance course. All three courses are tech courses. I can bid for a morning class for Fin as that is empty, but will decide about that after sampling the class. Anyway my Fin major is already complete, so no worries.

2005-02-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

Went to a discotheque, B&C, yesterday night. It was full of ISBians! I should have danced with a lady there who was dancing alone for a while but I don’t know what came upon me that I stayed away. I thought I would first get a little drunk before hitting the dance floor. By the time I was ready to get into groove, it was midnight and the place shut down. Most people headed to another club called Dublin, but I couldn’t go because my group wanted to get back to campus. And thus ended a disappointing night. I have almost decided not to go to Goa either, so life will not be much different in the coming weeks!

Went to see Chevy Optra today. Was disappointed. Only the exterior looks good, the interior is a let down. There wasn’t even any airbag in the model they had on display. I wanted the automatic version for a test drive, but that model was not available. Anyway, at 12.5 lakh, I can very well go for a Toyota or Honda. And since I am likely to go overseas soon, there is not much point in paying that kind of money for something I am not gonna use much. So I will continue to look around for an appropriate car.

2005-02-03T18:40:00.000-08:00

To Goa or not to Goa is the question. Many students are going to Goa in the term break. I am not very interested, but might just go depending on which of my friends are going.

2005-02-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

Life is slowly returning to pre-placement days, with end-term exams only about a week away. Just finished an assignment, and now editing the video of yesterday’s pizza & beer party.

2005-01-29T21:41:00.000-08:00

Just noticed that the number of visits to this blog has crossed 20,000 ! Thanks everyone for reading about the life at ISB and for posting your valuable comments.

I purchased a Seagate 200GB hard drive that I will use as an external drive to back up my emails, our batch’s pictures and videos, and other stuff. It will reach me on Friday, can’t wait to lay my hands on it!

There is a course next term on Macroeconomics and Policy Instruments being taken by Dr C. Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. Although I am not taking it up, I might go and sit in the class. This is part of the Professor of Management Practice program at ISB. Couple of months ago Rajat Gupta of McKinsey had taken a course under the same program.

I am throwing a pizza party at my apartment tomorrow night for 10-15 of my batchmates. Should be fun.

2005-01-28T11:51:00.000-08:00

Today some of us went out into the city with no particular agenda. Stopped by a mall called Hyderabad Central. Met many other ISBians there, who were also having their day out. Didn’t know what to do next so headed to a Chinese restaurant called Mainland China for dinner. Again met ISBians there! Then went to a coffee shop, Barista and killed some time there. Did not feel like coming back to campus, but there was nothing else to do with most establishments already closed for the day. So had to come back at around midnight. Now have to figure out how to spend the weekend. Have had an overdose of sports, so need to find some other activity. I have picked up a recommended book of a previous term and started reading through it now as I had not got the time then!

Yesterday I attended a talk by the US ambassador to India. It was interesting. Details are available at http://www.isb.edu/campussbuzz1/newz_usembassy.htm

2005-01-26T09:32:00.000-08:00

Until recently NFL to me meant NY Giants, Dallas Cowboys, SF 49ers and the Super Bowl. But then I saw a news item that NFL matches would be played in India. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The surprise was short lived. NFL in Indian parlance was not American football, but rather soccer matches between the Mohun Bagans and East Bengals! Reminds me of a school displaying their name prominently as ‘US School’. Closer inspection revealed that the initials US did not mean the United States. The school’s full name was Uma Shankar School!

Placements are almost complete, with only a few remaining to be placed. We are going to resume student village parties once everyone is through.

My daily schedule hasn’t seen much change. Evenings are entirely devoted to sports. I have added ping-pong to my portfolio of tennis, badminton and squash. From tomorrow I will also start swimming!

My choice of car to buy has come down to one among the three - Hyundai Santro, Chevy Optra and Toyota Corolla. If I were in the US, Chevy and Hyundai would not even have entered my mind unless it was a Corvette we were talking about. And I would have preferred a Honda over Toyota. But Indian situation is different. Optra looks neat, and Toyota will be reliable. Will continue to do research before deciding which one to go for.

2005-01-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

In all the interviews, my favorite question to ask the interviewer was ‘What’s a typical day like in your company for a ?’ . This used to take up quite a while to answer, which was a welcome break from me doing all the talking. If someone asks me the same question now about a typical day for me right after placements, my answer would be – wake up at noon, have lunch at 1, go back to sleep at 2, wake up at 4 and go to the café for coffee and samosa, bring a DVD from the library on the way back, at 5 go to play badminton, at 7 go to play tennis, come back at 8:30, get a hot shower and go for dinner, come back and watch the DVD till midnight and then go to the pool to dunk anyone who has birthday today, play squash from midnight till 2 am, come back and watch another movie and finally hit the bed at 4 am. Busy lifestyle indeed!

2005-01-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

I finally accepted the Cognizant offer. Had lengthy discussions with their HR on various issues, spoke with alums not only in CTS but also in other comparable companies, and was convinced that there cannot be a better choice for me. There is a strong probability of getting placed overseas within the first three to six months. The role was the deciding factor: assistant manager – business development. I can get into account management, client relationship etc very early. And the CTS people I have met, from business heads to HR, are extremely professional and courteous. I have a feeling that I took the right decision.

I missed the Verizon interview. I was not too keen on appearing for the interview, but still dressed up and went to the interview room at 11 in the night yesterday. I was told that the interviews were delayed, so mine would probably take place around 2 am. I came back to my room to finish up an assignment. I didn’t check back after that, and the interviews were over before I knew it!

It was a great relief to accept an offer. Now there are no more interviews to go to.
Tomorrow is this week’s last classes, so I’ll chill out over the next four days.

2005-01-17T10:06:00.000-08:00

Interviewed with Satyam. I didn’t expect them to agree to a BD role, so I asked for the position of Relationship Manager in Australia. Did not get it. Should have asked for BD as they did offer that position to a few. Anyway, it was unlikely that I would have joined Satyam over Cognizant, so it does not matter.

My Cognizant acceptance deadline is 6 pm on Wednesday, and Infosys is coming at 7 pm. That means I can’t interview with Infy. Verizon interview has been scheduled for tomorrow, so that will probably be my last interview. I don’t know nothing about Telecom, so it is going to be an interesting interview.

I am also going to Cognizant’s Hyderabad office tomorrow to discuss and negotiate the terms. It is unlikely that they will change the compensation, but at least I can give my location and vertical preference. I will probably give Calcutta and Chennai as the top choices, and Financial Services as the vertical of choice.

Now that we know where we’ll end up after ISB, it’s time to think of mundane things like buying a car to get to work. As I am not comfortable with stick shifts, am looking at automatics. The current choices are Honda City and Hyundai Santro.

2005-01-15T08:02:00.000-08:00

CAPTAIN'S LOG:STARDATE 2005.01.15: Placements are going at a good pace. In just a week, probably half the campus has jobs. The IT companies are the major recruiters, some hiring 15-20 students. The names I can recollect are Microsoft, IBM, Fidelity, Yahoo, Amazon, Mindtree, Trilogy, CTS, Wipro, Deloitte etc. There are many more lined up for the following weeks. Salaries have been good enough. Many have doubled their pre-ISB salary. Some people have declined high salary offers (high means >15 lakh). Few have got job titles like Geography Head. Many have two job offers and are in a dilemma. Those who are yet to land a job of their choice are anxious as to what they’ll get.
Placement season gives a good excuse to go to class without reading the case study for the day. The next few weeks of classes are going to be interesting in view of this.
Satyam got a few names, including mine, from the recruiter’s handbook, and said they would like to meet us tomorrow when they come for recruitment. The positions will be based in Asia Pacific. This is probably going to be my last interview before I accept CTS, so I will surely meet them tomorrow and see what’s on offer. I got short listed for an interview with Verizon as well, but they won’t come to campus before my CTS acceptance deadline, so won’t be able to interview with them.

2005-01-14T10:21:00.000-08:00

Goldman Sachs sent their regret email to me. My last interview with them had been my life’s worst interview, so I kind of expected it. They had quizzed me on pure technical computer programming stuff which I was not prepared for. They said although the work will not require it, it’s a good idea to be in the know. I think I am pretty good at giving general interviews, and pretty bad at technical interviews, so it was bound to happen. The same issue cropped up at the Microsoft interview as well, and I did not make it to the subsequent rounds. They too commented that a program manager at MS needs to be extremely tech savvy in order to win the respect of the technical team. The good news is that the GS job went to my closest friend and I am so happy for him.

I came to ISB with the intention of moving into a business development role in a major IT services company, and am happy to have achieved my goal. Deloitte meanwhile improved their offer, but I still did not take it as it is not a BD role.

2005-01-13T10:28:00.000-08:00

Deloitte made me an offer. I requested them to take it back. Although the Deloitte name is huge and I would have loved to be a part of it, they just don't have the role I am interested in. I would be much happier with Cognizant. Cognizant has extended acceptance till Wednesday, so I would be able to interview with a few more companies until then.

2005-01-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

Just interviewed with Deloitte. It's a delivery kind of role, so am not interested. I just hope they don't end up making an offer, as that will put me out of the placement process.

2005-01-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

Since I have not heard from Goldman Sachs so far, I have given up on that one. Waiting for Microsoft’s decision, and looking forward to interviewing with some more IT companies this weekend. My aim has been to get into business development (BD) roles in IT services companies. Cognizant (CTS) is not known to be a top player in IT services, nor is it the number one choice for most engineers. However, when it comes to BD careers for MBAs, many believe CTS is the way to go. I had been discussing the various IT services companies with my batchmates at ISB, and CTS’ name always came up first. So in a way, CTS became my dream company among IT companies. And I have been offered BD role – just what I wanted. That said, I have time till Monday to accept the offer. I would see what other offers I get, if any, and then decide where I want to go.

2005-01-09T09:50:00.000-08:00

Finally got a job offer! From Cognizant. Very happy right now!

2005-01-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

McKinsey took six from our campus today! It’s raining jobs. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to convert my short lists into jobs. Microsoft interview was the type where one cannot judge one’s performance. If selected, I will have to go through three more rounds next week.
Oracle was something I wasn’t too keen on. They seemed willing to give a seven figure salary, but the work was not exactly to my liking. So I quoted an expected salary high enough to put them off.
IBM’s first round was a group discussion, something that I am dead against. So I was not enthusiastic enough to rise up to the occasion. Consequently I was not short listed to the interview round.
The only good news today has been that I have been short listed for Cognizant Technology Solution’s interview for tomorrow. This is a hot favorite among MBAs, so looking forward to it. Fortunately it’s a direct interview, no group discussion!

2005-01-07T05:03:00.000-08:00

Short listed by Microsoft and Oracle for an interview tomorrow! I did not expect that I will make the Microsoft short list. I’ll have to move Mount Fuji in order to get through their interview. Oracle’s position is not exactly what I had in mind, so I am not too worried about that. I never expected that I would be interviewing with Day Zero companies, in fact I thought my first interviews will start only next week. Looking forward to an all-nighter now.

Update: Have got interview with IBM as well. So I will be interviewing with all the three Day Zero tech companies! There is hardly any time now to prepare for these. It is going to be difficult to convert these short lists to offers!

2005-01-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

I am finally in the placement preparation mood. Just finished two take-home exams, one was to evaluate Google’s business model, and the other was to value a Mexican mineral water company that was to be acquired by Cadbury Schweppes. Now there is nothing else to do this week but to prepare for interviews.
Yesterday I was surprised to receive a call from Oracle asking me what salary I would expect for doing pre-sales work with them. Oracle is a Day 1 company here, so it was good to know they might be interested in me.
I had been missing New York’s FM stations since leaving the US. It never occurred to me to see if they stream live on the net. Found out today that at least one station, 100.3, does, so enjoying it right now. However, my favorite station, 106.7 lite FM, does not seem to have any such streaming yet.

2005-01-02T12:24:00.000-08:00

I am having the time of my life. Placements start in a week’s time, tomorrow is end-term exam, most people seem busy, but I am having a whale of a time. Sleeping for 8 or more hours, playing badminton, working out in the gym, calling up long lost friends, and watching MTV and back-to-back movies. It’s bliss, but ISB has kept us so busy all year round that when I get so much time to kill, I go crazy. Although I don’t have exams except for an easy one, I should be preparing for placements at least. But I keep pushing that till the last minute. I have not done a single mock interview or company research or course review. Disaster is waiting to happen.

2005-01-01T08:33:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year. That means three more months to go at ISB. When we started last year, the extreme work pressure made us wish it all got over soon. But now we wish it would continue longer. Where else would we get 275 like-minded, fun-loving friends? It’s hard to think of the day when we will depart the comfortable environment of ISB - no more student village parties, no more class participation, no more being up all night. ISB experience has been one hell of a ride, and we would gladly do it all over again.

2004-12-30T12:15:00.000-08:00

Last year around this time I was in Paris. This year in Hyderabad, and I wonder where I would be next year. Tonight we have the father of all parties for celebrating New Year’s eve. Drinks are on the house, so the New Year will start with a hangover.
Some of our batchmates will leave tomorrow to join Kellogg and LBS for the exchange program. From 30 degrees celsius of Hyderabad, they’ll freeze at negative fahrenheits in Chicago area. LBS bound people have been advised to carry umbrellas!

Happy New Year to all!

2004-12-28T21:44:00.000-08:00

I am applying like crazy to all the tech companies, some fin companies, some consulting companies and some others. I have almost reached the limit of 25 active applications. I guess I should have used discretion in applying.
This term is turning out to be the most relaxed one. The courses I have chosen give me ample time to enjoy life outside studies. So yesterday played badminton for two hours, and killed time chatting with friends. Incidentally I only have one exam this term, that too a very easy one. Tomorrow is the last day of classes for this term.

2004-12-27T07:48:00.000-08:00

In the movie American Pie, there is this Eastern European girl student who undresses in front of a web camera, and is seen by the entire campus. That must have been high on her list of most embarrassing moments of life. In the movie she leaves the country permanently after the incident. Well, I too had an embarrassing moment yesterday, albeit of a different nature. We were supposed to download a personal data form, fill it in and attach resume, and then upload it to the site of KPMG in order to apply for their job posting. However, there was a bug in their site, which allowed the whole world to download the last uploaded form and resume. Unaware of this, I had uploaded my documents early in the night. After an hour I started getting calls from my batchmates about the blunder I had done. I immediately overwrote my document with a dummy one, but it was too late – probably half the campus had downloaded it by then. My personal data, including information about my parents, was now public! I now empathize with that American Pie girl, and wish I could leave the country and may be join her in Eastern Europe.

2004-12-27T07:21:00.000-08:00

One of my batchmates has started a new blog, check it out at http://onmarinasandsinfullmoon.blogspot.com/

2004-12-24T11:33:00.000-08:00

In the past four days, I have applied to four jobs in four different industries – tech, mgmt consulting, banking and general management. Intention is to talk to these people to explore the opportunities for MBAs in these industries.
Went out to the city tonight to unwind. Saw Ocean’s 12. Did some shopping for the interview season. And ate at Subway.
Time to listen to 12 Days of Christmas.

2004-12-22T04:48:00.000-08:00

Finally all the PPTs are over. It was like an extra course this term.
Yesterday the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh visited ISB. Security forces were all over the campus. Instead of listening to him speak, I spent the time in the café chatting with friends. The President of India is supposed to be visiting next week, I’ll attend that.
The courses I took for next term are Capital Raising Strategies for Corporations, IT Enabled Services and Supply Chain Management. I am on my way to a Fin-Tech major, but I think I still have scope of changing it to Fin-Mktg by taking more Mktg courses in last term.
Placement policy this time restricts the number of job offers per student to 2. In addition, we can only have 25 active applications at any time. With so many good companies on campus, choosing which ones to apply to and which to finally join will be tough.
My interview with GS went well, and I have been short listed for the third and final round of interview. This will again be a telephone interview with their NY office in early Jan. Nothing like working for GS, so looking forward to it.

2004-12-20T10:05:00.000-08:00

Have been short listed for second round of interview with Goldman Sachs! It’s going to be a telephone interview tomorrow evening. Looking forward to it!
Attended only one PPT today, that of Office Tiger. The CEO himself came to make the presentation. He’s an MBA from Harvard Business School, and was working with GS before starting this venture. The job would be one with lots of responsibility, and we will have to lead a team of about 200 graduates/CAs/MBAs/equity analysts right away. Within five years we would be among the top 5 people in the company. Looks promising.
Boston Consulting Group’s deadline is tomorrow I think, so need to work on the cover letter for them. Most of the other deadlines are on the 28th of December.
Bidding of next term’s courses happened today, and I got the ones I wanted. Now I have to start forming study groups.
Those of us who worked as volunteers for Poseidon, Solstice and ILS have been invited for a dinner with the deputy dean on the 23rd. The deputy dean also jokingly offered me a job – to join ISB, but he said he cannot pay me like GS!

2004-12-19T12:21:00.000-08:00

Fidelity, IBM, Computer Sciences Corporation and Mahindra British Telecom – these are the four PPTs I attended today. It was an overdose of PPTs, but thankfully tomorrow is the last day for these presentations. I think there are more than 10 scheduled for tomorrow. Some of the big names for tomorrow are Novartis, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley etc. Will probably end up attending at least two tomorrow. We also need to decide on slotting of companies for interviews – which companies to invite on day 1 and so on. IBM and Microsoft will likely be the day 1 companies for tech, McK and ATK for consulting and so on.

It’s close to Christmas, and I can picture the festive atmosphere in the US and elsewhere. I wonder if it would be a white Christmas in NY this year. Thankfully here in Hyd we don’t have to worry about cleaning layers of snow from our cars during this time. In fact, wearing a T-shirt outdoors is enough right now, we don’t even need any winter clothing. All good things come to an end, and so will our ISB stay. I have a feeling I will be shoveling snow this time next year somewhere in the US.

2004-12-18T11:42:00.000-08:00

GE, Nokia, AT Kearney, Kanbay, Bank of America, Citibank, Castrol, TCS…the PPT list goes on. These days there are 5-6 PPTs each day. Since we will be out of placement process after two job offers, it is important to choose carefully the companies to apply to.
I am on the ISB Admissions Application Review team, so am supposed to be reviewing applications. Hadn’t done any for last few days, so did a bunch of them yesterday. All the applicants seem to be strong, at least the ones I have been reviewing. I think there is some kind of self-selection going on, wherein only the most accomplished people end up applying.
Went out to Pizza Hut tonight for dinner with friends. Wanted to go to Ocean’s 12 as well, but couldn’t. Instead, got a dvd of Snatch from the library and watched it at home.

2004-12-17T01:44:00.000-08:00

Good to be back in campus. Bangalore has deteriorated since my last visit there few years ago. Too much traffic, crumbling infrastructure and a very small airport terminal. The experience was made worse by flight delays. Anyway, the GS interview was refreshing. It was mostly off the resume.
Missed Google’s PPT yesterday. They were giving away free T-shirts to everyone who attended! Deloitte also had a PPT yesterday. In fact these days there are almost 4-5 PPTs in the same evening every day. I am planning to attend Infosys PPT tonight, and may be also Kanbay.

2004-12-15T07:35:00.000-08:00

Nothing to report. I am all set for the interview tomorrow in Bangalore. Meanwhile applied to a company called Sierra Atlantic, which was looking for account managers for their US operations. Mindtree Consulting is also looking for similar roles in the US, and I might apply.

2004-12-13T10:21:00.000-08:00

I have been busy preparing for the interview. But also found time to attend the alumni get-together called Solstice. We had a rocking party until 6 in the morning on Friday, and a rock show by the band Euphoria on Saturday.
Meanwhile the press release that I had written for the ILS got published in papers like Economic Times and Hindu. It was an experience in itself to send the reports to them within minutes of the Summit getting over.
Meanwhile, many computers in the campus have been infected with the sasser virus. I am taking my laptop to the IT department tomorrow!

2004-12-10T07:54:00.000-08:00

I skipped the dinner with the CEO, as I got busy with the ILS website at that time. ILS is the ISB Leadership Summit that was held today. I was fully involved in the website for it, which you can view at www.isbleadershipsummit.com . You can also see pics and event report by visiting www.isb.edu .
This year Goldman Sachs had posted an IT position too, based in London. I had applied for it, and was surprised to get a call today inviting me for an interview. Two of my closest friends got the call too. The interview will be in Bangalore on Dec 16th, and they’ll pay for the flight. Well, I’ll try my luck! My first MBA interview, that too with GS – my dream company!

2004-12-09T02:33:00.000-08:00

Attended PPTs by Cognizant Technologies and Satyam Computers. They were as boring as any other PPT. Both of them are ready to hire as many as possible, for various roles, and negotiable salaries. I don’t feel like applying to Satyam, but will probably apply to Cognizant.
I am among a handful of students selected to dine with the CEO of vCustomer tonight. I would have preferred to dine with some lady instead, but will go ahead – he might have a daughter too!
Then later tonight there are two PPTs – Sasken and ICICI Prudential. If I have nothing better to do, I might drop in at those too.
Tomorrow is ISB Leadership Summit. I have been involved in it to some extent, and currently working on fine-tuning its website. Weekend is Solstice, which is the annual alumni reunion. There is a soccer match between current students and alums at the adjacent Gachibowli stadium, parties and stuff.
I still carry all my US credit cards, hoping that my credit history will not suffer. But in India it’s best to use Indian cards, so I applied for an ICICI-ISB card. There is a pic of ISB on the card, so it made sense to go for it. This weekend ICICI will come out with another card for ISB Alums. Cool!

2004-12-07T08:38:00.000-08:00

Have been unable to get time to do ISB application reviews so far, hope to do a few tomorrow.
Attended PPTs by Amazon.com and Computer Associates. It’s hard to decide which companies to apply to, and which to finally join. Anyway, I applied to a stretch company today – Goldman Sachs. They are probably laughing at my resume right now.

2004-12-04T11:57:00.000-08:00

Had a very embarrassing situation today. The six sigma training turned out to be a damp squib, and a couple of us were showering the choicest abuses on the instructor when we were in the restroom. Suddenly we realized there was someone in the stall, and out came the instructor himself. The next hour of training was spent trying to avoid eye contact with him!
Attended an Admissions meeting today, where application evaluation criteria was discussed. Have to get cracking on the applications from Monday.
Due to the training, I missed Verizon’s PPT, where alum Ramki had come. In the evening went out to a friend’s place for home-cooked Bengali dinner. That’s it for tonight. Have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.

2004-12-03T10:21:00.000-08:00

Applied Portfolio Management class today talked about arbitrage opportunities in the company RJR Nabisco. This company keeps coming up in many Fin courses because of its famous Leveraged Buy Out. If you haven’t seen the movie Barbarians at the Gate, see it to get a sense of the drama behind this company’s LBO. In fact, many professors became seriously rich using arbitrage opportunities that they were able to spot.
McKinsey’s PPT was pretty good, as one would expect from them. Their average work hours are 60-70 a week, which is less than in investment banks. In any case an MBA prepares us to work endlessly, so working 70 hours would be a respite for us. We were also provided high tea after the presentation, and given a McK logoed coffee mug. I have a feeling this is my last brush with this company, although they said they would also look at people not in top 5% of the class.
Tomorrow we have Verizon and ITC Infotech lined up. I am going to miss both because of Six Sigma training and dinner engagement. I have this Six Sigma Green Belt training all day Sat and Sun. Conducted by KPMG, it is a paid program not related to ISB, but conducted at ISB for those interested.