Yesterday, entire day I was in Library....During this time I had met many of my friends. At one point during the evening the conversation turned to feelings about the transition from responsible, employed professional to student. Most of us seem to have got past the "why I am I giving up a good job and a steady income to go back to school and accumulate huge debts?" Sounds correct... But now we're struggling with "why did I give up doing something that I was very good at - and where I was responsible for doing important and difficult things well - .....to struggle to understand things that I'm sure aren't that complicated really?"

The feeling of conscious incompetence certainly stops heads from getting "Too BIG". Also, lots of us have moved from being in situations where we were seen to be differentiate ourselves in many skills.

But now...........most of the grades are atleast one standad deviation from the mean. How much time it takes to recover the loss...Don't know.

You may get a doubt...Are grades Important? My answer "Why not?"
People have mixed feelings..based on what they want in life. But having good grades is not a problem at all. Hmm.....When will I come out of this "First Rank Syndrome"?? Certainly not......

Monday we have some assignment submissions and tomorrow full-day we have a Leadership Development session....Time is too short even to think of. Already one month is passed. This one month carried lots of things: Some good and Some bad, Some Positive and some negative. ....More than all.... Now I have 100 more friends added to my list.

Oooppsssss.......Time to go for a Group Meeting...No more to blog for today.......

Hectic, Hectic...

This week has been hectic... ever since the start of the week we've been rushing (well sort of) with assignments and deadlines to submit stuff... The time @ which I am sleeping is progressing in a linear direction - starting from 1 AM - 4.30 today...Lots of discussions, brain stormings and too many coffees, burning lots of mid night oil - finally we submitted our Marketing case assignment.....There are practically submissions every week here on out till like just before exams!! and the Term-I exams are starting in a week and I have nearly a tonne of material to study.

Pray that I will discipline myself and get my time management right to get my memory machine working in the most efficient way.

Finally......First Mid Term-I Exams are over............A great relief. During this one week, I am constantly pouring lot of energy and burning the mid-night oil in LRC to prepare for the exams. As a fundamental believer of the Law of Balances, I expect that all my efforts will not go in a vain. (Law of Balances - "In this world, everything is balanced. The amount of energy spent in any activity, will definitely generate its fruit in one way or the other"). And I assume that I will get my best fruits at the end of the day.

After the exams are finished, most of the students are gathered in the atrium and having discussions. Some are happy and some are disappointed. Some cracked all the questions and some made silly mistakes. Some are confident and some lost that. At the outset, Everybody's feelings & emotions are balanced.

At the end of the day, I know that everyone will be fitted under the 'bell curve' and some will be closer to the mean and some will stretch the curve outwards. Where will I stand, then? Let us wait and see.........And of course Grades are not to be disclosed.......So let me stand where ever I get place to stand.

Community is undergoing lot of mixed feelings. Exams tension, followed by the Spouses Party, then the nerve breaking Football series, wrapped by the tonnes of assignments to be cracked before the start of the week. But no worries....... Everything is a part of the game.
Who cares..........who win?

I still remember our beloved alums saying about the exams........"Once you finish your first two terms, you feel that exams are integral part of your study". Just like the things you do every day in a routine fashion, exams will also be written". Hmm……….Sounds correct……..After all.... they also travelled through the same experiences last year.

"A pessimist only sees the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all--he's walking on them." -- Leonard L. Levinson

From the past one week I feel heavy - heavy with exhaustion from the restless,sleeplessness nights, heavy with the tonnes of material to read and heavy with worrying about the mid-term exams. However none of this is really surprising. I know why am I here and what is the purpose of this one year and how important this one year is to make my life fruitful. I know that I will definitely find all the things I want and get all the things I look for.

In the words of Mark Twain, "The world owes you nothing. It was here first. When nothing is going your way, how do you, like the optimist, Walk on the clouds?"
And I am trying to walk on the clouds.....Rather......Learning - "How to walk on the clouds!"

Our First term is geared high just in a span of two weeks and I don't know to what height it can push us to??

The words that were heard here the most….

First week - McKinsey, BCG, Consulting, Clubs, Section cheers, Alums, 1 crore, Business plans.
Second Week - Party, New clubs, KPO, Debit, Credit, Balance Sheet, Bayes Theorem, Arbit CP & Federal Express :)
Third Week - Null Hypothesis, Elasticity, Market Segmentation, Marginal Revenue, Aggregate Demand, Target marketing and a couple of assignments.

We almost forgot the First week's words. The frequency with which the club mails are coming has gone down drastically. Gyan sessions are limited - To handle the short term tasks. Most of us have shifted our focus from the long term goal (Consulting and the 5 Biggies) to short term goal (Accounting Quiz, Economics Group Assignment and Mktg. Case study)

But this transformation - resembles an excellent thing……….

We are here to learn and we are here to work. Our personal balance sheet will be well balanced. Library is opened till 2 a.m. Resources are available 24 x 7, and people are working hard(or & and) smart. The massive structure we are constructing in this one year should stand high and touch the sky. Every one is contributing to make this beautiful structure a marvelous one and the world’s Eighth wonder.

Well...... Before starting this let me put a question, which was asked by one of the guest speakers at ISB.

What is Kingfisher?

I know what comes into your mind as soon as I put this question infront of you!!

"Beer"............................................................rite?????

"Airlines"..................................................... There You are!!!!!!!!!!

Come On..............Guys!!!!!!!!!

Kingfisher is a Bird.

That is the power of branding. The Vijay malya's Kingfisher image has captured not only the market but also the minds of the people and occupied a distinctive place in the target market.

Brands are important because every company will just act like people when it comes to evaluating what products or services to buy. Also, along with a number of explicit rational criteria, a powerful irrational impulse is always present to influence the purchase decision. A strong brand with an effective positioning strategy speaks to and taps into the totality of these buyer needs.

To stay alive and flourish in highly competitive environments, companies spend more time and money on R&D. Suppliers focus on making their products smarter, faster, and smaller, and more cost-effective and reliable, than the competition. They also find ways to improve and add services so that they provide customers with a complete and satisfying experience.

Marketplaces are constantly changing, so companies have to adapt in order to stay ahead.

And a Fact worth remembering: Brands Drive Markets & People.

The Long awaited story has just began. Our Core Term Started yesterday.... Though yesterday was Day-1 in the class, because of the 'must' pre reading and case analysis, almost all of us were well prepared for the class. Our first Marketing Discussion was on HBR's Federal Express. This is a case given to us for preparation and our group almost spent a week in reading, analysing, doing Break even analysis, SWOT and what not. Finally, when Professor explained the way in which Marketing cases are solved - it was awesome. Yesterday's sessions covered Mrktg Mgmt & Fin. accounting. Both professors seem to be the shining stars in their respective areas. Today we have Managerial Economics and Stat Methods. What I heard from our friends is that the Prof.s who teach are phenomenal in their subject and teaching. Eager to listen to their class.
And........... As far as I know..these are the best Professors that ISB can offer to us...........
Will post more after today's classes....