Adieu IIMA

A dear friend reminded me of nostalgia when he saw the word Adieu. Last 4 days have suddenly become very hectic thanks to the PXCL tourney (done on the lines of IPL) and the Capstone module. Add the farewell dinners and photo sessions the day becomes really looooong.

PXCL was another master piece of Xian creativity (this time it was Vinay's & Venky's). The eight a side 8 over tennis ball cricket tournament was done in total "Indian" style. Right from players getting bid to matches played under flood lights in the evening and of course entertainment (sans cheer leaders). ITC was kind enough to set up its promos. This event brought all of us together one last time on the campus before we left.... and leaving on a high note !

Captstone simulation enables each team to virtually run a company in eight rounds, each considered as one fin year. Great experience as the exercise nearly brings most dimensions of running a business to class room. Like real business, this one is addictive as well.

This one year at IIMA has been one of my best years at life both personally and professionally. Personally, because we made some good friends and lived a good life. Sudha rues her leaving the campus more than I do. And of course little Ujwal would not even comprehend that his friends group is going to dis appear. Readers of this blog would know of how much this one year meant to me, professionally. The other day at the farewell dinner I spoke of few things I experienced here - 1. Inputs on business leadership (the 'tools' as well as learning to 'think', the IIMA way) 2. Personal growth (self discovery and how I relate to world around me) 3. Mentoring and guidance from some profs on career. I am glad I chose to come here and not to other schools I was looking at.

Biju asked me if I would like to continue this blog. At this point I am not sure. May be I would, or may be I start another one. My family (including my parents & sister) would be around to cheer me when I graduate on the convocation day. I would probably be more regular here during next few weeks. But for now, as I sign off for now, one of my fav Floyd numbers.. wonderfully done...

As we draw closer...

5 more days to go...if only there is way to stop time. Well that sums up our feelings just now.


an Ode to mother....

Excerpts from a submission

Folks, here is a personal take away (discovered during a submission) I thought I should put here.

Leading To Make a Difference (excepts from a note "Why leaders can't lead: The unconscious conspiracy continues" Warren Bennis)
True leaders lead fully integrated lives, seamlessly fitting their careers in their professional lives. It is important for a leader to see the inherent limitations, ambition, talent and capacity for learning puts on the real growth of the individual. He must strive to make these qualities his servants rather than master. A leader identifies his true calling by leveraging his strengths. He also leverages strengths of his people by encouraging them to think. He has the vision to rise above the intrinsic narrowness of the life around him.

Reflections: One year at IIMA, I have been feeling the constant internal dialogue between academic input and my real world experiences. Perhaps that is the reason why these reflection notes are designed in the first place. Sometimes I am challenged in the usage of expressions to mirror these internal conversations, but reflection notes are the best that can get to capture this essence. I must admit all this has accelerated my personal growth like never before in my life and now there is a yearning to keep this going all the while. I wonder how I would accomplish this.

One way is to read select literature and books. Another is to surround myself with people with who I can have such conversations. And yes there are reflection notes (I can consider writing them in my diary on weekends may be). The importance of stepping back amidst busy life and cultivating the ability to collect the pearls on the way cannot be underemphasised. I would say this realisation is the greatest gift IIMA has given us.

Finally, I have IIPed

It's been a long while since I have been here. My apologies for the unusually long absence. I have just finished my IIP (International Immersion Programme). I have been to Amsterdam Business School for the academic component and did my internship in India. Well, it has been a eventful five weeks to say the least. You see, I am building a case for long absence.

First, it was a week at ABS. I am stunned by the quality of the faculty (pleasantly surprised actually). A friend at ABS tells me that they have carefully picked on the faculty to teach us this time. Feels really good in the end to be taught by one of the best corporate law profs in Europe(McCahery), one of the most reputed finance profs (Florencio Lopez Silanes), who I am told is touted to be in the reckoning for a nobel prize for his work on origin of corporate law. Amsterdam was so hectic that we could barely pull out time for other things that Amsterdam is known for.
Amsterdam was exhilarating in many other ways. I have met some interesting students, few desi ones at ABS and a Pakistani student on exchange. The school's support staff was amazing, thanks for all the help Kirsten, if you are reading.

The next phase of IIP was back in India. I was working on a supply chain project in the garment industry. For reasons of confidentiality, I cannot talk much about the project. On a personal note I have been able to get into a nice fitness rhythm, but for the recent injury. So grounded for three weeks before I start running again. Can't see my new pair of Nike & iPod+ turning into a sunk cost, if not anything else.

I have also been getting requests from the PGPX III students about information and other help. Whilst all of the 2's are happy to share most information, it would be useful to have a 3's rep. to collate issues of common interest and liaise with me / us.

As 2007 fades away and a new year begins, for most of us it's a new beginning. Here's also wishing our syndicate partner Rajesh a speedy recovery and healthy new year.

Internship offers & PGPX III Admissions

We did a press conference today. You'll see details in media very soon.

Salient points:
International Immersion PGPX II

1. All students received at least one offer, with some companies being turned down.
2. Significantly higher interest this year with 38 international project offers and 34 domestic.
3. Wide diversity in sponsoring companies ranging from IT, Retail, FMCG, BFSI etc (Microsoft / EDS / Intel / Unilevers / Future group /Morgan Stanley KPO/ Yes Bank / Cisco / Posco / Frankfurt Stock Exchange and so on)
4. IIP module is unique component of PGPX which has a week of academic input at a foreign university and 4 weeks of project work at a sponsoring company. Last year a good number of these internships were converted into pre placement offers.
   

PGPX III Admissions

1. Increased applications this year - 1352 from 849 for last class.
2. Average gmat score 731 (among the highest in the world)
3. Single class (section) next year
4. Appx 40 students currently working abroad
5. 10% are women students
   
6. Foreign students % - No change from PGPX II

With this, PGPX is emerging as one of most sought after MBA programme for experienced people, at least in India for now. Also, the interest among recruiting companies for internships & placements is overwhelming. Companies are discussing dates for recruitment as we come back from IIP by December 3rd week.

Color on Canvas says it all !

As we near completion of term3 and head towards different destinations for our International Immersion Projects, it dawns on me that the time left before we graduate would be less than 3 months from the time we return to campus after IIP (in mid December). As the countdown begins, I hear from the pioneering class on how dearly they miss the campus life. It kind of feels touchy & feely already ya. We've hit off as class from the T-Nite time and developed family level relationships. Here is a tribute to class X, mostly done by the spouses group. These works were created during T-Nite time.

1. You can have the cake and eat it too. Many faces of Class X.

Credits: Spouses group (Neelima & Payal)

2. As we draw closer to convo, smell the the confidence and dreams in the air !

Credits: Spouses group (Neelima & Payal)

3. Beating the market..

Credits: Chatty

As Professor Seshadri mentioned, learning and skill acquisition has been the key focus so far in first 3 terms. Not surprising, considering we have taken a year's time out to do this, at this stage in life. But keeping material engagements (read placements) to the end of the programme, where they should actually belong has been a hallmark of this year's sojourn.

Good luck to each of us, as we discover the road ahead and make a new beginning. Amen.

The Ethical dilemma

One of the most heated and passionately debated topics ever in the PGPX class, the ethics class was close to most us, for obvious reasons. Whether it was Olivia Jones (the protagonist in the case) dilemma or numerous experiential examples shared in the class, one thing was clear- the definition and understanding of ethics is not uniform and homogeneous. However, the notion of ethics that one holds seem to affect others positively / negatively, to certain degree and measure. This makes the effected party to respond and thus a debate on correctness of ethics is already on cards. As a manager of a corporation engaged in international business, one is expected to run into this debate many a time. It is perhaps important to recognize the heterogeneity of the meaning of ethics people hold.

I would see two outcomes as a result -
a) Being aware of one’s own definition should help clear out of questions and debates as one would have clarity of thought and her position on a debatable stand point
b) Respect other’s ethical stand point and not make value judgments. Even a Supreme Court judge very rarely is pushed to pass a judgment on ethical stand offs. Other mortals can clearly wait and resist the temptation.

Tête` - à - tête with McKinsey & Co.

Consult dada, McK was on the campus a few days back, for an informal interaction with Class X. The idea was to have a chat, so that Xians had an opportunity to clarify their minds on a consulting career with McKinsey. McKinsey must have got some feelers on our class at the same time. What was interesting is that this is not a pre-placement talk but a precursor to it. Can you believe it? I mean, many of us appreciated the investment McKinsey is making to getting to know Class X.

How about a switching into a consult career? How would your work-ex be relevant in what you would doing at McK? How does it go 5-6 years from the start? How do you crack McK interview? and the list goes on. Two members of the PGPX pioneering class attended the discussion and their presence and input gave people some more clarity on what is this career all about.

The interest (mutual I suppose :) ) was evident from the fact that the meeting over shot well over the scheduled time. Beginning 9.30 pm, it lasted 3 hours + despite submissions / exam next day. So, overall the discussion went off well, gave us a lot of clarity. I must add that people in Class X, seem to weigh all the pros and cons of this career before saying 'go'. It depends on the age, previous quality of work-ex, aspirations (and the pecking order there) and family circumstances for one to make this call. I am sure a good number in the class would be taking shots at the most admired consult.

But for now, it was a good start, although not the maiden one. BCG had the honours of making the first PPT (or any other interaction) with class X (way back in August).

What does it take it to be an Entrepreneur?

Indeed we are lucky that Jerry Rao, an un-usual entrepreneur (who took up to Entrepreneurship at 45) was teaching us entrepreneurship. More interestingly, he was using an HBS case Jerry Rao: Diaspora and Entrepreneurship in the Global Economy. There are several learnings from the class. Jerry credits most of his evolution to his first & last employer Citibank, for whom he worked for 25 years after passing from IIMA in 1973.

1. Flexibility with respect to autonomy at work
   
2. A nurturing environment (Citi sponsored Jerry for a PhD)
3. Jerry built lasting relationships and a network that stood for him in good stead. Jerry built a great reputation which later on helped him when started up.
4. Jerry had rational and not adaptive expectations (belief in the principle that past does not predict future)
5. Jerry developed new skills and abilities as he moved from one job to another (functional / geographical changes). He was willing to jettison zones of comfort and make personal sacrifices.

I have found Jerry's thoughts on Entrepreneurship very insightful.

1. Have a clear sight of downside while starting up. Ask yourself "can you manage the downside?"
2. Going public (too soon) brings it's own sets of pressures- a) it can prevent you from making strategic decisions (Q-Q pressures)
3. Willing to give up cushy (corporate) lifestyle during initial years (very relevant for Xians)
4. Trust and relationships built with different people all along your career would be quite useful.
   

I have chosen this course for sheer admiration for the prof. And this is turning out to be more than what I could ask for. Plus the quality of class discussions is hitting an all time high, thanks to the very talent peer group.

As Bryan Adams would say, some years down the line I am going to reminisce those were the best days of my life....

All New Look for Term III

That's right! As I get ready for the next half of MBA life, I said let me get a new look... for my face as well as for my blog....

And before I realized, the week long break disappeared. I am off to Ahmedabad tomorrow; term III will begin on 27th Aug. I chose 3 electives for term III out of a selection of 19 options. We have to make up a total of 2.4 credits or 60 sessions. Since I am looking at FMCG and Retail industries as my key focus areas post MBA, I opted for Retail Management as one of the electives. The Prof who will be teaching entrepreneurship is gawd level and hence this course as well; besides it fits into my long term scheme of things. And finally Strategic B2B, again because it falls into my key focus group - Marketing and the prof is rated pretty high. So, you would have noticed electives decisions are influenced by the quality of prof... that's one learning I had from two terms at IIMA.

So, tomorrow I gonna carry tons of book from PGPX office (for term III) for starting prep for Monday's classes... here we go.

Bonsai Manager

Mr R GopalaKrishnan, Exec Director Tata Sons was on the campus during the first week of August. He interacted with the PGPX class for half a day and also spent time talking about developing intuitions as managers and how we can use it for making effective decisions. He being a great believer in role of intuitions in management, pour in all his experiences into his maiden work, "The case of the Bonsai Manager". Gopal uses his deep understanding of nature in driving home his point and he has been absolutely brilliant at that.

I was particularly impressed by this man's thought process and articulation skills. He held the class captivated for about 2 hours, as he took us through his learning from stint at Levers and now at Tata Sons.

His brother R. Srinivasan is another wizard (I've heard him a couple of times - even this man is a great thinker and orator) but works for another Indian giant ITC. Looks like getting big, runs in the family !

T-Nite and end of Term II

Last 3 weeks have been perhaps the most hectic times since the MBA grind has begun. First it was T-Nite and then the last week grind of term II and finally the exams. Phew ! it has been a physically and mentally sapping stretch.

T-Nite (for those of you, who wouldn't know of this IIMA tradition) is short for talent nite. All the incoming freshers exhibit their talent in this 4.5 days marathon that calls for extreme planning, coordination, high talent levels and more importantly class camaraderie. The 4 PGP sections and PGPX class compete; leaving the whole campus on a cultural frenzy. Interestingly, only towards the end, one discovers there are no loosers; as everyone discovers new ways of relating and bonding with their classmates. Class X is supported with the 25 odd spouses on the campus who have rocked as well as class X. In fact, they have proved why they are called better halves! Class X surprised everyone (as it did last year) and ran the favorite after the second day. In the end, we ended up second but we are happy to discover our elements and live those glorious moments to the fullest.

T-Nite took its toll on most of us - some with bad throats (the cheers leaders), many with viral fevers and other pains which I would like to avoid talking here ;) Unfortunately, nothing seems to stop the academic grind at IIMA; we realised this as we went along... came back after t-nites and worked on submissions for the next day!

Before we recovered from the ailments exams were staring in deeply. One after another, for 8 days and the ordeal was done finally on 17th Aug with the last submission. What a way to end term II!

Finally, we all have hit our home towns for a well deserved break. I could also catch up on my blogging... expect more rambling during next week :)

Presenting Class of 2008...

Class X's profile book is ready and will soon be available on IIMA's website. Get an early peek from here.

It is a week long break for us now between terms II & III. I am chilling out in Hyd and hopefully blog as often as I wish ;)

Cheers.

PS: Some people have asked me for profile book of Class of 2007. Here it is.

Enter IIM, Ahmedabad.

Finally the moment of reckoning happened. I have landed at IIMA last night at 9.15 pm, I was promptly received at the IMDC reception and was helped with my entire luggage in to my allotted family accommodation. The day ended at about 1.30 am when some of us in our class finished yapping with some seniors. The milieu is soaking in already, you see. The day was up beat in mood with some great placement info that was shared with media.

This morning I registered myself for the programme and was done with all other formalities; everything took about less than an hour. The flat we have been given is about 600 sqft smart apartment and is more than well furnished. But the heat of Ahmedabad really sucks! The top floor flat does n’t help much.

Finally before I sign out tonite, let me bring all you guys to some sad reality. If the day was hectic and tiring, the term I course materials and books are more than overwhelming. It is not funny!

The grind begins!

What does it take to get into PGPX?

During last couple of days, some of the applicants to PGPX III have been contacting me and wanted to get a sense of what takes to make it. Well, having got selected to the programme does not automatically qualify me to answer this question, but like many other subjects, this one too interests me and thus I have a point of view.

IIMA's website, IMO contains some important information and cues about what it looks for in the applicants. I don't think there would be too many differences from what top global B schools look for in their students; but yes it would be worthwhile to begin the discussion with those which would be more IIMA specific.

Work Ex: IIMA website says that the programme objective is to develop bright, enthusiastic, and aspirational executives into management leaders and change agents in the global arena. It is a full time residential programme for executives with substantial work experience leading to a One Year Post-Graduate Diploma in Management for Executives.

http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/pgpx/pgpxone.htm

Paraphrasing the above, the output from the programme is intended to produce leaders who can be global change agents. And an input required to produce this output would be executives who have substantial work ex(9-10 yrs was avg during first two batches). I would tend to imagine IIMA might like the avg work ex of PGPX III around the same, as it would clearly offer a differentiated product in Indian / Global scenarios. Only IMD ( avg 7 years) and LBS-Sloan (avg 14 years) would perhaps feature in this league of offerings. This in few years would establish clear differentiation in the minds of applicants, recruiters and others on how PGPX is different from ISB and from IIM's PGP programmes. The placement story of PGPX I is a vindication of how differently the recruiters look at the output of this programme. Hence, if you qualify in terms of age (Min 27 yrs), WE close to what IIMA is looking for would be an advantage. Of course exceptions are always there. I know 2-3 students in my class with work ex of 6-7 years also, but of course they are aged 27 or above.

International exposure : The desired output of wanting to create global leaders also mandates some understanding of how business is done globally. The average international WE of people in my class is about 3.5 years. A careful look at the programme structure would tell us that the international immersion programme (http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/pgpx/sponsers.htm) is meant to prepare the participants to take on challenging assignments anywhere in the new globalised world.

Diversity: As Indian economy continues to roars the way it has been, opportunities to do business and work here would always entice people from around the world. And IIMA would be surely list among the best B schools they may consider to study at. The ascent of CEIBS (http://www.ceibs.edu/) and its popularity among the western world is a part of recent history that may repeat itself ! IIMA, I am sure sees this opportunity and would go all out to admit interested and suitable international applicants.

Among Indian applicants admitted to my class the class diversity in terms of age ranges from 27-54. People from diverse professional backgrounds such as defence personnel, Civil servants, bankers, entrepreneurs make up the class in addition to junta like me from different industries and from different functions.

Academic excellence: One habit IIMA would love to keep. Having got used to a reputation of academic excellence ( 1/3rd of Indian Management research comes from IIMA), IIMA's natural orientation would be towards people with high academic calibre (barring exceptions like the one writing this blog !). There is an open emphasis on high gmat scores (http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/pgpx/faqs.htm#4). So, this one is a no brainer. PGPX would expectedly, has the highest average and median gmat scores for a one year programmes with comparable work ex (7-10 yrs) at around 700.

Disclaimer: Needless to say, but to avoid confusion I would like to reiterate that above views are personal . There may be differences from IIMA's selection criteria as I did not serve on IIMA adcom. More importantly my own views might themselves change as I experience the programme. The intention of this post is to help applicants with apping and may be have a discussion around the subject to clarify some aspects. It is recommended that applicants to write to the PGPX office for any information directly at: pgpxquery@iimahd.ernet.in

Check list before joining- PGPX, IIM, Ahmedabad

There have been many things to tie up before joining PGPX or any other MBA programme for a family person. Here is an attempt to put some of those things at a place.

1. Make up your mind early: It is always better if you are a family person to plan your B school admissions well in advance. I mean apply in R 1 for all target schools and may be in R2 for safety schools. In case of PGPX, we got admissions by end October and my decision to join was made by end November looking at admissions situation with other schools. That has left me more than four months to plan and organise myself before moving to AHD. For middle level execs like me, it is always a good decision to inform the employer about your plans well in advance so that replacements / alternate arrangements take time (at least 3-4 months).
2. Actively Network: I can vouch from personal experience that, the earlier you get to know your batch mates the better it is. The power of collective thought & action is sometimes beyond our imagination. And Internet & telephony make it truly a global village, hence no sweat about geographical isolation and distances. Just get there and meet your class mates, virtually and exchange/share view points. In an intense one year programme the time saved for ice breaking could be more than handy. Plus, there are a plethora of other areas where one can be better prepared towards MBA as a result of active networking.
3. Pre term stuff: There is some prep material IIMA requires one to come prepared. Conventional wisdom tells that it is better to do some work on fin/stats courses if you have no prior education in that area. Thus, if you can manage 30-45 days of leave/ off before joining the programme, it would be a world of help. Because I dare say for many working professionals to manage work and pre term may not be so easy !
4. Loans: The earlier you start working on it the better it is. As far as PGPX is concerned there are banks like BOI & SBT who give good deals. I know some of my class mates getting equally good if not better deals from banks like Andhra Bank. There are typically two kinds of loan requirements - Educational & personal. The former covers tuition fee and the latter living & other expenses. The rates of interest could be different for each of these loans. And the need for guarantors would arise if the loan amount crosses a fixed threshold. I am told, last year BOI has put up a stall during registrations to dish out hassle free loans.
5. Schooling: If you have school going kids it would be better to get in touch with schools in AHD around Nov/ Dec itself. Choice of school usually depends on a)Age of the child b)Preferred board c) Limitations if any on distance from IIMA d)Fee affordability. I have secured my 3.5 year old child's admission in Eurokids during January. We have paid some part of the annual fee during this time.
6. Relocation: If you plan to relocate it would make sense to talk to packers & movers at least one month before you need them. We have decided to pack and keep the stuff in our hometown for one year. And time really helps in negotiating deals.
7. Secure current loans/ EMIs: Take a realistic assessment of all your monthly outflows for next year. How much can you pay? Check if you can negotiate any moratoriums for 1-2 years on existing loans. Repay some loans form current savings if it makes economic sense.

It would be good if we can work on a systematic information / communication module for the next admits of PGPX. I am sure as the programme evolves these aspects would get better and stronger.

It's raining jobs at IIMA !

Trickles of placement information from IIMA about PGPX placements is catching every one's attention. I have received numerous calls since morning from friends and well wishers, either wanting to understand the full story behind placements and some inside information. This is after some media reports claiming a PGPX student getting a US$ 300K job offer. I wish I had the inside information.

PGPX follows rolling placements and hence it would be juvenile to expect full blooded stats on placements before the roll stops. I am not expecting answers to queries about placements that we have and slicing and dicing of information before we go to AHD. There is a view point within some of us in our class that IIMA should publish (once the placements are over) data on placements with median, jobs classified on Finance/Consult/Industry type, geo based classification etc just as foreign B schools (INSEAD / IMD / LBS) do. Because averages and highest salary figures do not tell the full story !

1.http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Now_IIM-A_grad_becomes_a_crorepati_/articleshow/1647387.cms

2.http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14393604

3.http://70.87.69.50/DNAMoney/artMailDisp.aspx?article=16_02_2007_001_012&typ=1&pub=704

4.http://70.87.69.50/DNAMoney/artMailDisp.aspx?article=21_02_2007_001_022&typ=1&pub=704

BizTrek Meet

The incoming batch of the PGPX programme met at IIMA during the third week of Jan. The meet provided a platform to know our batch mates as well as to interact with the pioneering batch & faculty. The meet was extremely successful in achieving it's objectives. Thanks to the Internet, a significant number of PGPX II participants contributed thoughts / ideas in the run up to the meet. The initiative a voluntary effort by PGPX II batch, was a result of good coordination and high level of (virtual) interaction. The faculty & PGPX I responded to all the questions we had and also shared with us IIMA's core beliefs and philosophies. The interface, in addition to providing a context to developing an understanding on many aspects of our learning & stay has also provided an opportunity to get to know a lot of people and forge new bonds.

A lot of pre-work in addition to of course studying the pre-term course material has been identified as an outcome of the visit. This should hopefully give us a head start in the programme. My maiden trip to Ahmedabad was laced with some wonderful climate. Is January the right time to visit this part of the country? ....may be. In the 24 hours I had spent on the IIMA campus, I would have barely slept for 4 hours. Couple of us from our batch decided to hang around the cafe in new campus and yap after the interaction with profs got over. We closed around 2 pm before we hit the beds. .... if that is any indication of the times to come, the difference being the purpose for keeping awake !!!

I am personally grateful to Girish, Narayana, Krishnan, Viral, Mayank, Prashant and other panel members for spending time despite their tight schedules and patiently taking our enthu loaded questions. But we promise to enrich this package and pass on the legacy of PGPX to the next batch.

Placement Season hotting up on IIM-A

Over the last two days there have been articles in Business standard and on the net about the impending placement season for the PGPX Pioneers. Well, although we don't get many sound bites from IIM-A itself, media seems to have anticipated the stakes, potential and general public interest IIM-A's latest offering has.

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?leftnm=lmnu7&subLeft=8&autono=269342&tab=r

http://www.business-standard.com/opinionanalysis/storypage.php?leftnm=4&subLeft=2&chklogin=N&autono=269405&tab=r

http://datelinebombay.blogspot.com/

It seems after reading these articles, that some people perceive PGPX to be in direct competition to ISB's one year programme. More so, in the light of IIM-A launching PGPX after ISB's success in India.

In my opinion, both programmes target international applicants and seek global reputation thru' their respective programmes. However, the difference is that the inputs (applicant age, WE etc) and course content & design (PGPX is more rigorous than ISB's PGP, going by contact hours )are very different. Also, while ISB still has predominantly people with around 4-5 years WE, PGPX has students with around 10 years WE. Talent at both schools is bound to be good, as both schools draw from a wide pool of good applicants and have rigorous selection criteria. However the difference is that students are looking for lateral jobs and recruiters are happy to value and reward the pre-MBA WE. Here is where the kind of jobs PGPX students might get could be different from those the PGP students at ISB & IIMs might get. I am sure this hypothesis will get validated in next couple of weeks.

I have been chatting with my prospective class mates and most of us share similar thoughts on placements. The incoming average salary of PGPX pioneers is around Rs.17 lakhs and my guess for our batch is that it could be very similar. Most of us do get calls from head hunters once in a while and with some effort we can make a job change, leading to a growing rem trajectory. And all this WITHOUT an MBA. Further, most of us are star performers in our current organisations and are NOT seeking MBA as a recourse to anything else. The question then is, why are we doing an MBA?

1. Although there could be exceptions, many of us are NOT looking for career switches. As for myself, I definitely want to stick to ops and then may be get into general management, for a simple reason. I would like to leverage my core competencies / strengths to my advantage in a vibrant market. I know of IT consultants in my batch who share similar thoughts like mine.
2. Most of us realise a good B school will provide reasonable opportunities. How we use them and subsequently perform in our roles/ jobs is dependent on our mettle. Hence fretting too much on rem package at campus may not be great idea ! We know it can't get worse than what it is now !
3. More importantly the concepts learnt, the bonds forged, the networks developed etc would be far most value adding and help us in the long term.
4. We have not been in touch with academics for some years now. The one year grind is going to develop a strong conceptual orientation for sure. I know senior people in my organisation who are good because they have an ability to get comfortable with hard core stuff like statistical probability with a bright young employee and yet not loose sight of the macro picture. In fact the ability to skim through the detail using the concepts and link them with the big picture is what some of these people are good at. I am looking forward to develop some of these skills during the next one year.
5. Finally, in a growing economy like ours, which is where most of want to belong, if the focus is on building competencies and skills, appropriate valuations will automatically happen. That should set the agenda for us.

I wish the pioneering batch all the very best for placements and their future endeavours.

PGPX- How does it compare on numbers?

I was reading Business Week online and realised that the PGPX is quite unique when a bean counter sits down and compares numbers. Sample this, for instance.

30 plus schools
Age /WE/ GMAT /(Admit/applied %) / Yield%/ Intl.% /Women%

IMD 31 /7.2/ 680/ 27/ 85/ 98/ 18
PGPX-II 33 /10/ 700/ 10/ 85+ /4 /6


Others schools
INSEAD 29/ 5 /702/ -/ 75/ 78/ 22
ISB 27/ 5/ 706 /26 /76/ 1/ 20
Harvard -/ 4.5/ 711/ 15/ 91/ 33/ 35


IMD, the other MBA programme with average age of its students more than 30, has an average gmat score of 680. PGPX, expectedly needs to have more international diversity( I have not counted the NRIs). Hopefully this will improve over the years. Surprisingly even gender diversity seems to be elusive !

Clearly, IIMA has chosen applicants with good WE and good gmat scores, a combination of the both the worlds, 30 plus & Others ! Also with such low selectivity (lower than HBS) and yields that could be upwards of 85%, PGPX could stand out as one of the toughest & most prized programmes to get into. Well, I must confess I am definitely feeling good about it.

I have not talked about the fee and cost to pocket for a student. Most obviously with its current tuition fee at INR 1 million, PGPX is extremely cost competitive and hence would provide the best ROI.

So, for a B school applicant, besides individual context specific parameters such as Post MBA goals, desired geography of work etc, this could provide an interesting insight into how a programme that is less than one year old, stacks up with the best in the world.

Disclaimer: The numbers compared are taken from the Internet sites of BW and IIM-A. The idea of this discussion is to use them illustratively and nothing beyond. It is not the intention of this post to debate the accuracy of the numbers presented. My apologies for any inadvertent mistakes.