One Year Of PGSEM: A Retrospect

Its more than a year of my PGSEM journey. Over one year of jam packed and stress filled life. PGSEM is like a "sanyas" from the social order. Even though I knew that PGSEM course was gonna be hectic, there is a big difference between imagining oneself being in the war trenches than the real deal. Even got my first set of grey hairs, don't know whether the two are related :P. But one thing I surely learnt was to juggle things and most importantly time management. Working for a korean firm and studying for your MBA from IIM usually dont go hand in hand, and previously I never felt  for a need for a 26 hr day, but nowadays I do. "Multi-tasking" and time management they say are the golden words for any management student and thanks to this real life setting have already been put under stress test. Its not as if my time management is coming on top every single day, in many instances failing miserably. Everything is planned nowadays, cycling days, running days, vacation/travel days, rest days, study days and so on.

Now after 5 Quarters (5 more to go) of getting grind I was wondering what were the positive changes that I have undergone so far. The first in the list definitely the raw arrogance and confidence when dealing with non-IIM guys :P. Now people will ask how is that good in any way?????!!!!!!. Well for an usually introvert guy this is a big confidence boost that makes you think you are above all else. Only hoping that it wont turn me into one of those obnoxiously arrogant person :P.

Apart from the actual courses where u learn a lot dealing with marketing, economics, finance, strategy, human resources, entrepreneurship,operation management, corporate law and so on you also get lot of gyaan from the highly qualified and inspiring professors this college boasts of . As one professor had put it "Life is not just about MBA and hi-salaries...at the end of the day u have to die peacefully":). The true purpose of MBA as illustrated by another prof was to broaden ones scope of understanding even if that is shallow rather than "narrow and deep" view one had undergone doing the engineering days. Somehow I felt I didnt have many inspiring teachers/lecturers/professors during my school and college days who majorly concentrated on the exams point of view and not about the true learning which is how it should be.

The other major thing is I have started is to think big. After doing engineering my dreams were limited to being a software engineer with a decent pay-check, but after joining into this course you start to think stuff like entrepreneurship, which was totally out of scope previously. I have started to be more forthcoming with my ideas (even the crappiest ones :P) and less worried about how people judge me for those ideas. The concept of "Let Go" has finally started to creep into my mindset for stuff I have no control and have no point of thinking about it again and again.

Some of the assignments the prof asks us to do are also very meaningful and reflecting on oneself as an individual. In one such course I had to get feedback (both negative and positive) from friends, colleagues and family members. After the initial apprehension of the participants in providing a negative feedback, I finally got frank feedback which were surprising and shocking at the same time. I don't think I could have taken the negative feedback sportingly, if I didn't have positive mindset towards change. The inspiration to change has to start from within. No matter however big the external push is unless there is spark within there wouldnt be a significant change.

With 5 more quarters of this journey to be completed I am exactly half-way through. To be frank PGSEM as a course is a tough thing to do, but at the same time it is all the more satisfying. As some senior had put it "PGSEM is an investment into the future and not just for an immediate change", and I am hoping that change will be with respect to not just my skills in marketing and strategy (the fields where I am trying to specialize), but as a human being too. Worth every paisa of the 9.5 lacs I am paying for this course :).

The PGSEM Trailer

Finally we got a taste of a PGSEMers life, a trailer of sorts before the actual movie whose total running length is 2.5 years. A movie which will have sleepless nights, stress, fun, satisfaction, extra curricular activities, competition, learning process and finally the twist ending :P.  The orientation program as illustrated above was held for 2.5 days (some pattern connection with 2.5 years ???!!!!! ) from 27 May 2011 to 29 May 2011.

Even before we were to officially enter the college life we were provided a pre-session assignment to be completed and submitted before the orientation. There were just 5 questions , but those 5 questions really gave an insight of what to expect from the management education. Couple of them were number crunching problems such a balance sheets and so forth. The most interesting of the 5 was the question regarding "how would you promote IPL if you are made the chairperson?"... even though having no basics of marketing it was fun brainstorming on those points. Also we are divided into 4 houses and each was to come up with a name , a war cry and a captain. Our house name was "The One"er-sena  (combo of matrix and the ramayana :D ), an improvisation provided by yours truly and which somehow won the majority votes even after having some stiff competition.

Landed on 27 May morning in IIM-B campus and thus started the initial session with welcome speeches from the seniors students and the PGSEM director Prof Agarwal. This was followed by official inauguration of PGSEM batch in presence of the IIM-B director Pankaj Chandra and surprisingly my companies VP Dipesh Shah, who incidentally is also a PGSEMer. After an inspiring speeches by all the guests the inauguration concluded and this was followed by alumni interaction and they were damn frank with their answers. The below is the gist of the interaction :

• PGSEM doesn't provide immediate change in terms of role or salary. One shouldn't expect a 10x salary hike or become VP of the company after completing PGSEM. For immediate changes one should try PGP rather than PGSEM.
• In the long run PGSEM is very helpful for ones growth and the long run here might infer years together.
• The chances of a PGSEMer to jump to some other domain altogether such as finance, HR etc is very slim. For that a person is better to opt for PGP.
• Not many companies recognize PGSEMers or recruit PGSEMer specifically. If you are competent enough you will get the job.

This insightful alumni interaction was followed by some group activities such as antakshari, dumb charades etc and so on and a midnight blog(go to the end of the page) to finish of the first day. Also met a lot of my fellow batch mates, but to remember every one's name was an impossible task. Could manage just 3-4 hrs sleep which became the norm for the next day too :P.

Majority of Day 2 was filled with CSITM workshop, an event not specific to PGSEMers and we had lot of management gurus out there to present their research papers. Some were really interesting and some were outright ridiculous. It was different world altogether for us engineers having never attended a paper presentation other than technical topics. This workshop dragged the whole day and by evening we had sport competitions(with me representing the team in volleyball and badminton ) between various houses. This was followed by treasure hunt which started at midnight and dragged all the way till 2 am. This was really fun, more or less the unofficial introduction to the entire IIM-B campus which we had to explore in the death of night. Searching gardens, lampposts, football grounds, ATMs and what not. Searching the 100 acre campus with very minimal lighting was not an easy task and both the security guards and the stray dogs (who have made IIM-B as their home :P ) were a confused lot seeing so many people running from one place to another in the middle of the night.

After the treasure hunt we were needed to prepare for a  long and lengthy case study, and hence our first official study night out which extended all the way till 3.45 am. In the morning we hurried quickly to attend Prof Murthy's class on how to go through a case study and it really was an awesome class. The entire interaction lasted for nearly 4 hrs and everyone was spellbound and interested till the end. That is the quality of IIM-B prof's, Mr. Sibal :D.

This was followed by some more group activities and in the end our group "The One"er sena had won the house cup by just a very small margin . Great :). Had a 15 hr sleep back home to compensate for the insomniac nights spent in the corridors of IIM-B. More or less it was a stressful , but still a very satisfying experience. Just like my treks or cycling expeditions :P.

Posted below the blog post which we as a group wrote as a hilarious uptake of our first day experiences in IIM-B and also this won the best blog prize in the House Cup. The blog has various grammatical mistakes , highlighting our sleepless plight in the middle of the night. This is the original blog without any corrections or even font change :P.

"

Wanar Sena Diary

Day 1 (27 May 2011)

Disclaimer :  This blog is a plagiarized work of One’er sena. Any resemblance to any other blog, living or dead is not a mere coincidence.

 The virtual eWaner Sena came into life in the IIMB campus. Wanars were looking around for trees in the sprawling campus, when the kind hearted IIMB administration blessed them with executive suites with bed and cupboard with a mirror.

But the happiness did not last long.  Alas!!! wanars were presented with big fat books instead of soft yummy bananas.  If that was not enough, even before wanars could settle down, seniors announced the “3 idiots” who secured the highest marks in the pre assignment. Wanars clapped and decided to move on. When their primitive brains were trying to understand the course overview presentations, they faced the daunting task of remembering the names of all fellow wanars. Little RAM and primitive neural networks of Wanars found it impossible to map all the names with their companies and years of experience. 

When wanars were trying to get a little rest in the cool air of the AC in the cozy environment of the auditorium, seniors offered a cup of tea and snacks. Wanar sena rushed to satiate their hunger, but alas, only few biscuits were left. Competitive fellow wanars with advanced locomotive skills had already snatched away the snacks.

Filled with disappointment and sorrow on their faces, wanars returned to the cozy auditorium. Hunger was taking its toll. Now SAC (Student Assassination Cell) barged in and bombarded with their intellectual messages on the primitive brains of wanars.

Hunger was building up and rats started playing inside stomachs of the wanars. Good news. Lunch was served under the trees. IIMB made sure every wanar gets a full stomach lunch and to the wanars delight mangoes were served for dessert.   

Wanars headed right back to C11 room to meet the chairperson.  Their high expectations were shattered when reality finally dawned on them. Poor wanars thought that the course will make them VPs and CEOs, but were told that they will be lucky if they become managers after the tiresome and grueling 2.5 years of torture.  But wanars were happy that they will get a chance to go abroad in Wanar exchange program. Wanars were given a chance to interact with the distinguished Alumni. Wanars found out how they can transform to become smart individuals.

In the evening, after a sumptuous dinner, wanars were taken for a fun ride.  There were competitions between the wanar groups. Wanar leaders proved their uselessness in front of a larger wanar community. There was passionate participation from fellow wanars. Every wanar was ready to die on a war cry from their leader.

After a competitive memory game, wanars were tested on their singing talent, and movie database.  Some wanars showcased their inherent acting and mimicry skills to earn points for the most coveted house cup. When the clock struck 12 and eyes started shutting down themselves, lightening struck and thunder roared. Wanars were given a task to write this blog.

P.S. : Thanks to all our seniors for organizing the wonderful events. This blog is written for fun and no offence intended

Thanks

Group 2 Team 

"

Aboard PGSEM,IIM-B Ahoy !!!!!!!!!!

After getting my engineering degree I had sworn I would never get back to college.. All I wanted was to join a cool company and earn handsomely and lead a lavish life. No exams, no assignments, no lectures, no bunking but I had no idea these are the things we miss the most. So again I got an opportunity to lead a college life thanks to a admission offer for PGSEM(Post Graduate Program In Software Enterprise Managment) course at IIM-B, pretty much a dream come true.

Before finally zeroing on this course I had a lot of decisions in front of me. The first was whether a higher education in technology or management, the decision was quite simple. I envisioned a need for management education to have a career boost, with a rapid pace of evolution,  technology of today is crap of tomorrow (no offence meant here :)), but the management education remains more or less stable. The next choice was the management options in front of me:

• Management Education Abroad

 Management education abroad is quite expensive and I am not comfortable taking a loan of 30-40 lacs for the same. Also it didnt make much sense going abroad for the education since I dont have any plans of settling abroad.

• Full time MBA's in IIM's  and other top colleges

As goes the saying "Its easier to get into worlds top B-school than getting into IIM's", it is pretty much clear how fierce the cut throat competition is. Everyone wants to do it thanks to the brand name and huge pay package afterward. Getting through requires a level of dedication and hardwork, which leaves everything to chance and which I was not very keen of trying.

• Full time MBA's at local colleges

I was pretty confident of easily getting in these colleges, but the fact that after completing this I might end up with the same level if I had continued working. So didn't seem like a career boost. Also the brand value is a bit less.

• Part time/Correspondence MBA at local colleges

Blah !!!!!.. didnt even consider them.

• Executive MBA(PGSEM) at IIM-B

Now finally comes my choice. Getting into this program seemed do-able the competition rate of 25 to 1 seat. Selection process includes written exam which can be CAT/GMAT or the PGSEM specific exam in the month of feb every year. Customized for Software Engineers. With this I would be working and studying simultaneously. After considering all my options this seemed like tailor made for me.

But this program had some negative points too.

1. No campus placements, since companies wont provide employees sponsorship/permission if there was one.
2. Since this involves "earning and learning" simultaneously, it will be a tough job to balance both, especially if one has already started a family.
3. High cost (9.5 lakhs for 2011 batch), but quality management education is never cheap.

Preparations began for the written exam in Jan 2011 1.5 months prior to the exam. It was pretty hard to get back to studies after 3.5 years of lull.  Dusting the brains after so long is a challenge in itself. Also while registering for the exam I had to submit the SOP(Statement of Purpose) too, and nothing was more soul searching than those 5 questions which were asked :D

1. How do you see the PGSEM helping you in your goals? (150 words)

 

2. How would the PGSEM classroom benefit by your presence? (150 words)

3. What are two major achievements in your career? (150 words)

4. What is a major shortcoming you wish to discuss? What have you learned from it?

5. What is one issue dear to you? How do you see it resolved? (200 words)

Took nearly 2 weeks to complete 2 pages of the document with the most difficult being Q 3 & 4 and easiest being Q 5.  Anyway I wont be publishing my answers here not bcoz I fear it will be Ctrl-C + Ctrl-V ed, but bcoz I deem they way too personal :P.  The exams where quiet easy when compared to the CAT (which I have taken in 2009 and 2010 with zero preparation) standard, but the main thing one has to remember is "its not how easy it was for you, but how difficult it was for others" with only 75 seats up for grabs.

Cleared the written test and was called for an interview in IIM-B campus. Was super excited having never been to this campus and I was greatly impressed with it. It has got a old world charm to it, a campus amid lots of trees and bushes and the building oozes a sense of "blending with the surroundings". The architecture being very eco-friendly with maximum flow of light and air.

First we were given to write on a case study which goes something like this "Indian Market Underserved By Indian IT Industry". Initial couple of mins I was blank, but slowly one by one points started to pour in and in the end the allocated space for the analysis was not enough for me :P. This was followed by personal interviews , with my panel comprising of a young alumni and an older professor. They grilled me for about 20 mins ranging from personal questions like "Y I left my first company within 7 months?", "Y I want to do PGSEM ?" to questions regarding what I had written in the case study. Overall I had rated my interview went pretty decent.

After a couple of weeks the results were announced and to my disappointment I was put into waiting-list. I had given up all my hopes and had mentally prepared myself to appear for the same next year. But again luck finally smiled on me and got into mainlist from the waitlist. History has repeated itself with the same back door entry which I had got for my undergraduate seat as well as my present company :).

Finally I am all set for 2.5 years of gruelling and life-changing experience starting from June 17, 2011. It can be recalled that I had mentioned in this blog some time back that I felt stuck in one place and that I didnt have any goals in my life. Well this is my first step towards a change and I am happy to have achieved it :).