The End? No, Not Really

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The Art Of Marketing

Part of my job description is "packaging and commoditizing internal best practices". To this end, we had a call with one of the largest product vendors in the world; the idea being to explore avenues for collaboration in these directions. The presentation was great, our idea was well received, and we have decided to chart out a road map.

After the call, we had our internal discussion on whether the outcome of this exercise would actually sell. The short debate was intense, and we concluded that "as long as we position the product correctly, it will sell". The actual words of wisdom:

जाके कचरा भी बेच सकते हैं, और सोना बिना बेचे घर भी आ सकते हैं।

Literal Translation: "You can go sell garbage, or try to sell Gold and not succeed".

So is it Gold or Garbage that we are trying to sell? Of course, it depends on your perspective!

Vacillate

–verb (used without object), -lat⋅ed, -lat⋅ing.

1. to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute

Ruthless

Last month saw me taking on a completely new experience - I had to lay-off two people on my team. Yes, they were poor performers. Yes, they had been warned over a quarter in advance. Yes, they had not improved. However, the fact remains - I was kicking them out of a livelihood; that too in such turbulent times. Not something you would volunteer to do, right?

This eventuality was discussed & finalized about a week in advance; thankfully HR was to do it (I would have if it had to be me, but still, I was thankful). D-Day saw me in totally low spirits. Around evening the two people returned from the HR cabins, minus their ID cards. They were composed, but you could see that it was taking a lot of effort. Well, while they were packing up their belongings, I walked up to them and apologized for not being able to prevent this. I also reassured them that I would help as much as possible in finding new jobs. 15 minutes later, they were gone. I did forward their resumes to every possible place I know; after that I have not heard from them.

Initially I was distraught at what I had to do - what my job was making me do. But as the days passed on, I realized that if I intend to grow in my career, I will have to personally wash the dirty linen on many occasions. But how much, and where to draw the line? Honestly, I am not sure. I hope I get the answer right, and that too, soon enough.

Yes, career success is important - but so is being able hold your head high; being able to look at yourself in the mirror. I hope I don't stumble treading this fine line.

Ruthless. That's what I need to become.

School Hunting

The current update is on my school shortlist - no, I have finalized my list; I have but begun seriously. In India, the ISB is on my radar; I am also considering PGPX@IIMA. At the same time, I am also trying to figure out whether foreign schools would be a good idea or not. My criteria are fairly straightforward:

1. The school should be well known for General Management


2. The school should predominantly use the case method


3. Work Permit should not be a headache

The first two points have given me a starting point - Darden, Tuck & Ross in the US; Ivey in Canada. It's the third point which is tricky. The US - well, H1 is a lottery to be honest. The way around this would be an L1 from my current employer (is slated to happen this year), followed by a sabbatical for the MBA. There are a lot of variables in this equation, but all in all seems feasible.

Canada, on the other hand is a different piece of cake - I should get at least a year's work permit post MBA; this should be sufficient to either get it extended, or to work out a job back in India.

So for now, here's what I plan to do:

1. Check out my fit in each school in terms of my career goals, class profile & overall placement stats


2. Thoroughly research the placement stats for General Management positions


3. Check out the curriculum (from the veto perspective)


4. Get in touch with current students to get a different perspective


5. Finally, figure out which schools to apply to, and whether I should go for an early-decision if offered

I think this task will occupy me for at least another month or two.

How To Get An Interview Call (Not)

If you have been following my blog fairly regularly, you must have noticed "How To Change The World" on my blogroll. Guy Kawasaki presents interesting insights, and even posts outside my areas of interest won't let me close the window before I read them in totality.

Following a link from his post today, I bumped into "Dear Libby". It's basically the ideal cover letter; something to ensure that your application at least gets looked at seriously. The treasure in this post however, is towards the bottom. Guy posts the resume he would send for this position, and another he wouldn't (but most people would). Bookmark this post, it is excellent.

Exhausted

The weekend saw us driving to Harihareshwar (yet again); my uncles, aunts, my grandparents and two cousins joined us from Pune. We played on the beach, went to the temple, had a sumptious brunch in the garden - followed by an equally sumptious lunch!

By the time we were ready to head back home, I was totally exhausted... To make matters worse, I had forgotten to carry a Red-Bull can; there's no way I could get one until we reached Mumbai. I did manage to get a strong, black coffee (the only correct way), and we reached Mumbai in 5 hours.

Today morning I picked myself up from the bed and made my way to office somehow. Every part of my body that I can think of is aching. I am having trouble walking too - even typing this post is killing my wrists. It's a long day ahead...

But did I mention - we are going back there again 3 weeks from now...