What did we do against the Mumbai terrorists attacks:
1. We participated in online polls and declared that India badly needs to take more stringent action against terrorism
2. We participated in Email campaigns and added our names to the lengthy list of citizens seeking action from the government
3. We participated in peace marches
4. We supported tons of websites on the themes of India rocks, Proud to be Indian etc..
5. We lit candles to honour the victims of terrorism
6. We bought T-shirts with whacky slogans supporting the fight against terrorism
7. We watched and may be a few of us participated too in panel discussions
8. We observed a minute of silence in the honour of the terrorist victims
9. Sachin dedicated his century. Amitabh cancelled his dinner with Clinton. Sanjay Dutt lowered his fee. RGV visited the terror ravaged Taj. Bollywood registered 30 movie titles. Saif and Kareena condemned the most heinous terror act and government’s failure to protect the citizens. Aamir Khan wore a black dress on Eid to denounce the terror act.
We have recovered now. We have come back to organizing our lives around two of our most important goals - Watching our bank balances increase and liabilities decrease.
That brings me back to the main question. Are we fundamentally hypocratic or plain helpless?
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Not Today
December 10, 2008
8.35 AM: I started from my home and sped towards Chanakyapuri (my office). The moment my car hit the main road I realized that I would have been much better-off had I started even 5 minutes earlier. But that never happens... I hastily laid that thought to rest and drowned myself in loud music to transport myself to a different world. My mood changed and I started appreciating Delhi - Its misty romantic look, clean and broad roads, greenery... Delhi is great. A couple of PYTs (Pretty Young Things) walk past.... My mood elevates even further..
8.50 AM: After some skillful driving, I manage to reach office on time. Those gleaming Volvo cars parked in the office, stole my vision. They always do. I console my mind saying that someday I will own them.
8.55 AM: Reached my desk. Was happy to see my desk as clean as it always used to be. I don't like a cluttered desk. It reflects a cluttered mind. Not sure if a clean desk reflects a clean mind... But I would like to think so.
Started my laptop. It slowly comes to life and after a few minutes of what seemed an herculean effort, it asked me for my password. Without a second thought I punch in those keys... And here comes the first jolt of the day
"Your account has been disabled. Pls contact the administrator"
Wild thoughts run in my head...
What was the last assignment I did? Did I really screw it up that they did not even bother to inform me before firing?
But how can they do it? The notice period serves both ways right?
I thought IFC is a relatively safer island amidst all this mayhem and I never expected this could happen here... And to me..
9.10 AM: Office is still almost empty and there is no one at office who could help... my emotional mind makes its temporary exit and in comes the rational mind..
I make a mental calling plan..If the news is confirmed..
Call your wife first.. assure her that you haven't married a dumbo and that i would be back on track in a short time
Parents next... my mind was racing ahead and thinking of simpler ways to explain the subprime story and the woes of mortgage backed securities.. One good news though, tell them you would be back in Chennai soon..
Make calls to previous bosses with whom i am still in good books..
Calculate the burn rate (cash used up per month) and the bank balance to see maximum period of self sustenance without external assistance
Meanwhile start thinking of those entrepreneurial plans you always had..
Be calm.. if it has happened, it has happened..
9.20 AM: "You were supposed to change your password on Friday and you did not change it. That's why your account has been disabled. Do it now" yelled the IT administrator..
Heaved a sigh of relief.. Not today..
Happy to work now
Friday, November 7, 2008
Scratch your own itch
Now that I caught your attention, let me share a very intersting article I read in Newleaders.com
Getting things right is very hard to do, but is even further complicated when you are trying to solve a problem for someone else. You have to be the customer and the creator at the same moment in order to create something that will truly solve a problem once and for all. When you try to solve problems that aren’t your own, your product ends up either being too complicated or simple, which isn’t the solution.
In a world where most medical records still exist on paper and we use paper voting ballots for the presidential elections, we don’t need another RSS blog syndication widget or another new way to embed music on your MySpace page. Instead, try investing your time into developing products that can help people save time, money, or increase awareness.
Start small, solve your own problems, and don’t quit your day job until you are absolutely certain that it will be a success.
Getting things right is very hard to do, but is even further complicated when you are trying to solve a problem for someone else. You have to be the customer and the creator at the same moment in order to create something that will truly solve a problem once and for all. When you try to solve problems that aren’t your own, your product ends up either being too complicated or simple, which isn’t the solution.
In a world where most medical records still exist on paper and we use paper voting ballots for the presidential elections, we don’t need another RSS blog syndication widget or another new way to embed music on your MySpace page. Instead, try investing your time into developing products that can help people save time, money, or increase awareness.
Start small, solve your own problems, and don’t quit your day job until you are absolutely certain that it will be a success.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
FAIL
Came across an article which crisply summarized what can be expected in an emerging economy during a market turmoil such as the present one.
4 things essentially - FAIL
F: Fear and uncertainty
A: Asset prices (falling)
I: Interest rates (rising)
L: Liquidity crisis
The whole world seems to be crashing... but it is during times like these that great corporations and fortunes are made. If you want to take cues from Warren Buffet, he has been buying American stocks from his personal account in which he previously owned nothing but US government bonds. He says "Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful"
4 things essentially - FAIL
F: Fear and uncertainty
A: Asset prices (falling)
I: Interest rates (rising)
L: Liquidity crisis
The whole world seems to be crashing... but it is during times like these that great corporations and fortunes are made. If you want to take cues from Warren Buffet, he has been buying American stocks from his personal account in which he previously owned nothing but US government bonds. He says "Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful"
Friday, October 17, 2008
What's in a place?
I stopped by the ISB campus last evening. Took a leisurely stroll around the campus. Went to the classrooms, library, sarovar, my old room at SV1,the rec centre... Everything I could squeeze in the little time I had.Memories rushed into my head like the first passage of light into a dark room which had never been opened before... Ha ha ha.. Ok it was not that dramatic, but it was great to relive my memories...precious moments of joy,long periods of pain, embarrassments, disappointments, moments of truth...
Its strange how things can change in a matter of six months. The campus is still as pretty as it ever was... But those familiar faces which greet you with 'what's up?' Wherever they saw you...Were missing. (Its a different matter that most people who greeted you thus, did not actually wait for a response). What's a place in itself? Its the people who truly make it what it is...
Got sometime to interact with some of the current batch too. Entrepreneurs, media reporters, traders.. What not. The batch has some great bunch of people. But, the tension in the campus is palpable. Its not easy to be in such a situation when you have kicked a good job, taken a huge liability in the form of a loan, watch your dream companies come crashing down in front of your eyes.. Tough times ahead.
My own little piece of advice to them..
1. While you hope for good placements, prepare for the worst.
2. Nobody is as interested in your career as you yourself are. Its pointless to outsource that responsibility to CAS or the school. Remember... The school never promised you a job.
3. The first level of defence is to establish or reestablish your old contacts. They are people who have at least seen you at work and were hopefully impressed. If they are not going to help you get a good job, nobody else will
4. The second level of defence is to use the network your batch mates have. They themselves may not be willing to go back to their previous employers for whatever reasons. But these companies could be your dream employers and these your batch mates may at least lead you to the right people.
5. The third level of defence is to use the alumni and their network
6. If you note, these levels of defences are arranged in the ascending order of information asymmetry.
7. If you have not already started, do it now and explore these levels of defence and if possible get at least in-principle offers or comforts from these people. It will remove enormous pressure of your shoulders during the placements. Handle it intelligently and diplomatically.
8. No substitute to preparation. Esp in these tough times. You don't want to miss an opportunity when it actually lands. Keep the machine well oiled and be ready to race ahead when needed.
9. Keep your cool. If you have come till here in your life, you will most likely reach where you want to go. There is a bigger force at work, whether you realize it or not, whether you like it or not.
Best wishes for your preparations and placements ahead
Its strange how things can change in a matter of six months. The campus is still as pretty as it ever was... But those familiar faces which greet you with 'what's up?' Wherever they saw you...Were missing. (Its a different matter that most people who greeted you thus, did not actually wait for a response). What's a place in itself? Its the people who truly make it what it is...
Got sometime to interact with some of the current batch too. Entrepreneurs, media reporters, traders.. What not. The batch has some great bunch of people. But, the tension in the campus is palpable. Its not easy to be in such a situation when you have kicked a good job, taken a huge liability in the form of a loan, watch your dream companies come crashing down in front of your eyes.. Tough times ahead.
My own little piece of advice to them..
1. While you hope for good placements, prepare for the worst.
2. Nobody is as interested in your career as you yourself are. Its pointless to outsource that responsibility to CAS or the school. Remember... The school never promised you a job.
3. The first level of defence is to establish or reestablish your old contacts. They are people who have at least seen you at work and were hopefully impressed. If they are not going to help you get a good job, nobody else will
4. The second level of defence is to use the network your batch mates have. They themselves may not be willing to go back to their previous employers for whatever reasons. But these companies could be your dream employers and these your batch mates may at least lead you to the right people.
5. The third level of defence is to use the alumni and their network
6. If you note, these levels of defences are arranged in the ascending order of information asymmetry.
7. If you have not already started, do it now and explore these levels of defence and if possible get at least in-principle offers or comforts from these people. It will remove enormous pressure of your shoulders during the placements. Handle it intelligently and diplomatically.
8. No substitute to preparation. Esp in these tough times. You don't want to miss an opportunity when it actually lands. Keep the machine well oiled and be ready to race ahead when needed.
9. Keep your cool. If you have come till here in your life, you will most likely reach where you want to go. There is a bigger force at work, whether you realize it or not, whether you like it or not.
Best wishes for your preparations and placements ahead
Thursday, September 25, 2008
On top of the world
Thats Mount Everest. I clicked this photograph from the aircraft, on my recent visit to Nepal.Monday, September 8, 2008
License to be unrealistic
I see a waitress standing at the door of the lobby where my training program is going on. She has been standing by the door for at least 5 hours now. Her job description is simple - Open and close the doors for guests, with a smile.....
.... And i thought my job description was not power packed..
The other day i was taking the late night flight from Mumbai to Delhi. It was close to midnight when the plane was about to touchdown Delhi. I sneaked a quick view towards the air hostess cabin and saw them wearing a make-up and getting ready to say "Thank u sir.. have a good night". Here is a quick peek into their day : Get up - Board - Smile - Serve - Sleep - Back to step 1....
.... And i thought my job was travel intensive..
When my plane did land at Delhi, i took a cab back home and started chatting with the driver on the way back. Meet Mr. Unknown, he drives from 6 AM to about 12 - 12.30 AM. Each day. Has been doing it for past 8 years. Saves enough per month to pay a two day visit to his wife and children who live about 100 KMs away from Delhi. They cant live with him. Its unaffordable. Mr. Unknown hopes that over the next 10 years, he would save enough to buy his own car....
.... And i thought my career was progressing a bit slow..
But they are different. They do not have a FT 20 B-School degree...
... Are they really different? Or to put it the other way, does a B-School degree really give the license to complain, be impatient and unrealistic in my dreams?
.... And i thought my job description was not power packed..
The other day i was taking the late night flight from Mumbai to Delhi. It was close to midnight when the plane was about to touchdown Delhi. I sneaked a quick view towards the air hostess cabin and saw them wearing a make-up and getting ready to say "Thank u sir.. have a good night". Here is a quick peek into their day : Get up - Board - Smile - Serve - Sleep - Back to step 1....
.... And i thought my job was travel intensive..
When my plane did land at Delhi, i took a cab back home and started chatting with the driver on the way back. Meet Mr. Unknown, he drives from 6 AM to about 12 - 12.30 AM. Each day. Has been doing it for past 8 years. Saves enough per month to pay a two day visit to his wife and children who live about 100 KMs away from Delhi. They cant live with him. Its unaffordable. Mr. Unknown hopes that over the next 10 years, he would save enough to buy his own car....
.... And i thought my career was progressing a bit slow..
But they are different. They do not have a FT 20 B-School degree...
... Are they really different? Or to put it the other way, does a B-School degree really give the license to complain, be impatient and unrealistic in my dreams?
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Power packed air travel
When you start matching the names and the faces of the security personnel at the airport, when you start wondering why Kancheepuram Idli is missing from today's menu of Kingfisher, when you start predicting which flight of Jet would have an in-flight entertainment system and which would not.... You know that you and travel have become as inseparable as Deccan and delays.
Every air traveler on an average spends at least 25-30 min after finishing all formalities (baggage screening, security check in etc) before his boarding call. Here is a list of services which if provided by the airport/ airline, can make air travel a lot more interesting and power packed and could make this time worth the wait..
Services at the airports:
1. Beauty salons - Can I have a quick facial/ a hair cut/ a shave/ a shampoo bath/ hair colouring before my boarding call? Can it make me more presentable before i land?
2. "Ladies and gentlemen... Air Deccan regrets to announce a further delay of 45 minutes. This delay is due to late arrival of flight from......." - On a usual day this announcement may have the ability to suck out the last ounce of energy which u had preciously saved. But what if you can spend the next hour or so usefully. Can someone give me a head massage (just the service I need right now.... Imagine an announcement which goes thus.... Air Deccan regrets... Blah blah blah.... Passengers who wish to avail a complementary head massage can do so by proceeding to gate no 1). Kingfisher can offer body massage services too, to take the Kingfisher experience to a completely new level ;-)
3. Book rentals: There is no dearth of book shops in the airports. But it is most likely that I don't actually buy the book in the airport store. The reason - I think it may be overpriced/ I am not sure how long my interest will last in the book/ I am not sure if there are better alternatives..
What if I don't need to buy the book but can just rent it for a small fraction of its original price and can return it to another branch of the same store in the airport in which I am going to land? If I really like it, may be I will buy it there...
4. In the same breath, can I hire MP3 players loaded with genres I like and return it in the landing airport? Can someone rent me a portable DVD player loaded with a movie which I always wanted to watch, but never got a chance...
5.I have a headache/ a running nose/ feeling feverish... I don't want to just pop an off-the-shelf pill, but i can't afford to be sick tomorrow. Can a doc have a quick look at me and prescribe something sensible?
6.How about secretarial services? I need to schedule a visit to my dentist, take my family out for a movie, have a dinner appointment with my friend. Can someone have all these appointments scheduled and give me the confirmations and the movie tickets, when I land?
7. Be it economy class in Air Deccan or business class in Kingfisher... All are equal when it comes to security check. Everyone has to wade through serpentine lines before ones turn comes through. Can someone else stand on my behalf and call me when just 4 or 5 people are ahead of me?
8. Here comes my next idea inspired by Harry Potter. If RFID tags are attached to each boarding pass, wherein passenger information is captured and if these are displayed as moving dots (with passenger details) on a live map in the airport area, I could spend hours staring at the screen and getting to know who is around. Mind you.. the airlines too dont need to make announcements like "This is the final call for Mr. X traveling by Kingfisher to ...." Mr. X's position can directly be spotted through the RFID tag..
Ok... Now let's move on to in-flight services
9. Networking platforms: Every flight has some interesting personalities traveling in it. However, at best I can know about my neighbor and no one else. Can there be a system wherein people can voluntarily say a few things about themselves and this in turn is available for others to see. Meeting requests can be communicated through a system and if the other person is interested in the meeting too, then the airline can facilitate the in-flight meeting, by rearranging their seating/ having a small meeting area arranged near one of the exit doors etc..
10. Independent Service Providers - Take a look at this... If i am a financial consultant and cannot do anything useful during the 2-3 hr flight journey, i may be happy to offer my services to others, of course for a fee. Unlike networking platforms described above, these are pure commercial service offerings. I can meet a consultant, a leading doctor, an analyst, a beautician, an event manager... whoever.. right in the flight. For the both the above services, the airline can take a cut too.. for facilitating the meeting.
Anyone out there listening? Come on do something.. or still better hire me..
Every air traveler on an average spends at least 25-30 min after finishing all formalities (baggage screening, security check in etc) before his boarding call. Here is a list of services which if provided by the airport/ airline, can make air travel a lot more interesting and power packed and could make this time worth the wait..
Services at the airports:
1. Beauty salons - Can I have a quick facial/ a hair cut/ a shave/ a shampoo bath/ hair colouring before my boarding call? Can it make me more presentable before i land?
2. "Ladies and gentlemen... Air Deccan regrets to announce a further delay of 45 minutes. This delay is due to late arrival of flight from......." - On a usual day this announcement may have the ability to suck out the last ounce of energy which u had preciously saved. But what if you can spend the next hour or so usefully. Can someone give me a head massage (just the service I need right now.... Imagine an announcement which goes thus.... Air Deccan regrets... Blah blah blah.... Passengers who wish to avail a complementary head massage can do so by proceeding to gate no 1). Kingfisher can offer body massage services too, to take the Kingfisher experience to a completely new level ;-)
3. Book rentals: There is no dearth of book shops in the airports. But it is most likely that I don't actually buy the book in the airport store. The reason - I think it may be overpriced/ I am not sure how long my interest will last in the book/ I am not sure if there are better alternatives..
What if I don't need to buy the book but can just rent it for a small fraction of its original price and can return it to another branch of the same store in the airport in which I am going to land? If I really like it, may be I will buy it there...
4. In the same breath, can I hire MP3 players loaded with genres I like and return it in the landing airport? Can someone rent me a portable DVD player loaded with a movie which I always wanted to watch, but never got a chance...
5.I have a headache/ a running nose/ feeling feverish... I don't want to just pop an off-the-shelf pill, but i can't afford to be sick tomorrow. Can a doc have a quick look at me and prescribe something sensible?
6.How about secretarial services? I need to schedule a visit to my dentist, take my family out for a movie, have a dinner appointment with my friend. Can someone have all these appointments scheduled and give me the confirmations and the movie tickets, when I land?
7. Be it economy class in Air Deccan or business class in Kingfisher... All are equal when it comes to security check. Everyone has to wade through serpentine lines before ones turn comes through. Can someone else stand on my behalf and call me when just 4 or 5 people are ahead of me?
8. Here comes my next idea inspired by Harry Potter. If RFID tags are attached to each boarding pass, wherein passenger information is captured and if these are displayed as moving dots (with passenger details) on a live map in the airport area, I could spend hours staring at the screen and getting to know who is around. Mind you.. the airlines too dont need to make announcements like "This is the final call for Mr. X traveling by Kingfisher to ...." Mr. X's position can directly be spotted through the RFID tag..
Ok... Now let's move on to in-flight services
9. Networking platforms: Every flight has some interesting personalities traveling in it. However, at best I can know about my neighbor and no one else. Can there be a system wherein people can voluntarily say a few things about themselves and this in turn is available for others to see. Meeting requests can be communicated through a system and if the other person is interested in the meeting too, then the airline can facilitate the in-flight meeting, by rearranging their seating/ having a small meeting area arranged near one of the exit doors etc..
10. Independent Service Providers - Take a look at this... If i am a financial consultant and cannot do anything useful during the 2-3 hr flight journey, i may be happy to offer my services to others, of course for a fee. Unlike networking platforms described above, these are pure commercial service offerings. I can meet a consultant, a leading doctor, an analyst, a beautician, an event manager... whoever.. right in the flight. For the both the above services, the airline can take a cut too.. for facilitating the meeting.
Anyone out there listening? Come on do something.. or still better hire me..
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Life goes on
Random thoughts
1. Recently read an article in Business Line/ ET which talks about what investor's strategy should be in these tough market conditions. The crux of the article is "If you have held on till now, hold on for some more time". While holding on for now may be a right choice, i find the logic provided for holding on, slightly wierd. By this logic, we should probably never quit the market and hope that our patience would prove good someday. Markets are dynamic and a static strategy such as this is dangerous. Evaluate opportunities and risks given the current market scenario and dont fear to book losses
2. If an IIT-an has a dream of doing an MBA and ultimately wanting to work in an financial institution, why study in IIT in the first place. Why not do an undergraduation in commerce/ economics and familiarize yourself with necessary evils like P&L, Balance Sheet and Cash Flows??
3. Hmmm now about my workplace - IFC is a very interesting workplace with some fundamental contradictions when compared to a usual financial institution. IFC is a financial institution with profits not being the only motive, manages to do great work without placing target pressure on its employees, does not believe in participating in a deal if it feels that it has no role to play apart from just providing money. In fact the day IFC goes out of business, is the day when it has truly achieved its goals. My exposure and experience has been great so far..
4. Reading the blogs of most of the current students at ISB. I am reminded about the movie Gladiator, where people watch the fights/ death match from the sidelines. I am glad that i have graduated to being a spectator and am no more a gladiator.
1. Recently read an article in Business Line/ ET which talks about what investor's strategy should be in these tough market conditions. The crux of the article is "If you have held on till now, hold on for some more time". While holding on for now may be a right choice, i find the logic provided for holding on, slightly wierd. By this logic, we should probably never quit the market and hope that our patience would prove good someday. Markets are dynamic and a static strategy such as this is dangerous. Evaluate opportunities and risks given the current market scenario and dont fear to book losses
2. If an IIT-an has a dream of doing an MBA and ultimately wanting to work in an financial institution, why study in IIT in the first place. Why not do an undergraduation in commerce/ economics and familiarize yourself with necessary evils like P&L, Balance Sheet and Cash Flows??
3. Hmmm now about my workplace - IFC is a very interesting workplace with some fundamental contradictions when compared to a usual financial institution. IFC is a financial institution with profits not being the only motive, manages to do great work without placing target pressure on its employees, does not believe in participating in a deal if it feels that it has no role to play apart from just providing money. In fact the day IFC goes out of business, is the day when it has truly achieved its goals. My exposure and experience has been great so far..
4. Reading the blogs of most of the current students at ISB. I am reminded about the movie Gladiator, where people watch the fights/ death match from the sidelines. I am glad that i have graduated to being a spectator and am no more a gladiator.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Dojos, Senseis and Reis....
The new language ringing in my ears. Yes.. i have enrolled myself for Karate classes. I have always been fascinated by martial arts and but never have even spent a minute to learn them. Life is short and i cannot afford not to chase my dreams..
The first thing which really impressed me about Karate is the discipline. You will have to bow and show your respect before you enter the training place. Plus you show your respect to your teacher, your teacher's teacher and the grand master at the beginning and end of each class. Additionally you bow down and wish every senior when you meet them. By the way seniority is defined by belt and not by age.
Some of the philosophies of Karate, as told by my teacher, which bowled me over were..
Karate is not for fighting with others. It is not even for self defense. You fight with yourself. You fight with your weaknesses and with those things which prevents you from emerging greater. Its a process of self evolution, where you will reach a stage when you no longer need to fight.
Another simple point which looked beautiful when he said... "Can a vehicle keep running throughout its life, if you simply keep filling petrol? The obvious answer is a No. A vehicle to be in good condition needs proper repair and maintenance. However, most of us do not seem to understand this simple truth in our lives. We keep eating and think that we shall live healthy always. 90% of us do not even do basic exercises in our life. Karate or for that matter any form of exercise is basically good maintenance".
I hope my enthusiasm continues and doesn't die a premature and a hasty death.
The first thing which really impressed me about Karate is the discipline. You will have to bow and show your respect before you enter the training place. Plus you show your respect to your teacher, your teacher's teacher and the grand master at the beginning and end of each class. Additionally you bow down and wish every senior when you meet them. By the way seniority is defined by belt and not by age.
Some of the philosophies of Karate, as told by my teacher, which bowled me over were..
Karate is not for fighting with others. It is not even for self defense. You fight with yourself. You fight with your weaknesses and with those things which prevents you from emerging greater. Its a process of self evolution, where you will reach a stage when you no longer need to fight.
Another simple point which looked beautiful when he said... "Can a vehicle keep running throughout its life, if you simply keep filling petrol? The obvious answer is a No. A vehicle to be in good condition needs proper repair and maintenance. However, most of us do not seem to understand this simple truth in our lives. We keep eating and think that we shall live healthy always. 90% of us do not even do basic exercises in our life. Karate or for that matter any form of exercise is basically good maintenance".
I hope my enthusiasm continues and doesn't die a premature and a hasty death.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Tips - Optional?
I found this message in Oberoi Hotels in Mumbai - "Tips is optional. We do not levy any service charge for the same".
The day might not be far, when we may have to shell out a 10% service charge and a 12.5% VAT on the TIPS which we give to the bearers in the hotels..
Strange are our ways when we bargain with the auto walas and the vegetable vendors but do not mind letting out a nice sum as a tip in these hotels where the price of anything is already suffixed with a couple of additional zeros..
The day might not be far, when we may have to shell out a 10% service charge and a 12.5% VAT on the TIPS which we give to the bearers in the hotels..
Strange are our ways when we bargain with the auto walas and the vegetable vendors but do not mind letting out a nice sum as a tip in these hotels where the price of anything is already suffixed with a couple of additional zeros..
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Its good to be back
Back in the ring after a gap of slightly more than a year. From the first impressions of the workplace it seems to be living up to its expectations. Hope it continues..
Delhi... Yet to explore the city. But i got to see and experience extreme heat, rain, a cold night and a mini sandstorm.... all in a single day. The house hunt ended positively in an extremely short span of time - Half a day.
Reading and enjoying the blogs of many of the present batch of students at ISB... A dry smile crosses my lips when I think that I no longer need to start a mind numbing assignment or start reading an epic-long case study on a Sunday morning nor will my bank account continue to bleed a slow death.
Its good to be back.
Delhi... Yet to explore the city. But i got to see and experience extreme heat, rain, a cold night and a mini sandstorm.... all in a single day. The house hunt ended positively in an extremely short span of time - Half a day.
Reading and enjoying the blogs of many of the present batch of students at ISB... A dry smile crosses my lips when I think that I no longer need to start a mind numbing assignment or start reading an epic-long case study on a Sunday morning nor will my bank account continue to bleed a slow death.
Its good to be back.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
And so it ends..
Thus came the end of a great and an enlightening year. We had the graduation ceremony today and I am sure you will read all about it in the media.
I had a great time blogging. It has helped me organize my thoughts, speak to people whom i have never met (and some of whom i will never meet) and at many times, question my own reasoning.
I will continue blogging, as the journey progresses forward. But this is the last time i can wish you all luck as an ISB student..
Best of luck
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Doing things differently
Today is the last day of classes for me at ISB. There are no mixed feelings, i am definitely happy. As the ISB journey comes towards the end, i wanted to write a post on what would i have done differently, if i were to repeat the entire experience at ISB.
For the records, i am clearly not looking forward to such an experience of doing it all over again, but may be the future batches might find something useful in this post. The views expressed here are purely my own and hence some (or many) might not subscribe to them. But after all this is my blog..
1. Study like crazy in core terms. Do not be swayed if someone tells you grades dont matter. The point is despite all your efforts you might not be in the Dean's list or may be not even somewhere close to it. That does not matter. At least you tried your best.
2. Term 2 is one of the most important terms. It separates the men from the boys. Make sure you work double hard during this term.
3. Be sure that the consulting bug is going to bite you. The hype in the campus, the build up given in the campus by alums and the repeated visits by consulting firms will for sure affect you at some level. From all the sweet talk that happens, every student believes internally (or is led to believe) that he is a right fit for consulting. But the hard reality strikes only towards the end.
Do explore this option seriously. Talk to alums, attend these sessions, make up your mind if you really like this option as a career, look at the history of recruits done by these firms and make a realistic estimation of your chance. But do these early enough and move on. You will save yourself so much time, effort and tension.
4. With respect to placements, make three choices:
a) Same industry target - A company from the same industry which you would like to go back to.
b)Realistic career switch target and
c) A dream career switch target.
The kind of efforts you need to put in is very different for each of these choices. Develop your strategy to tackle each of them. Ignoring any of these options might harm you severely towards the end.
5. ISB is all about "relativity". Your absolute strengths and weaknesses dont matter. These matter only in the context of what is it compared to your other batch mates. This applies in everything from grades to b-school competitions to your previous work experience to extra curriculars. So, keep working on your "differentiation" strategy. Remember these differentiations have to be both meaningful and credible.
6. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Be extremely cautious and intelligent in whatever you do at ISB. I am purposefully leaving this vague enough, but hopefully you would understand the meaning when you are here.
7. B. School competitions - There are a ton of them which happens. Most of them do not even count on as "spikes" in your resume. The filtering criteria for these competitions which i used are: Participate only if
a) Prize money is good
b) There is something interesting in the format/ outcome and
c) If it can work as a spike in your resume.
No point in writing mind numbing essays on "Challenges for Indian leadership in the "Nano" era" along with a million others.
8. ELP (Experiential Learning Programme) - A vast majority of them is pure bullshit. Do not feel compelled or pressurized to take this up. Do it if it is in your area of interest or if it will help you in someway in your placements. In most cases, people are better off taking an additional elective instead of ELP.
9. Develop your BATNAs (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement) with respect to your placements, at least two months in advance. Prepare yourself for the worst possible outcome in placements. Even before the placements commence, try and make sure you find at least two companies which are ready to take you (on a "as is" basis). This will not only help ease the pressure but also increase your bargaining power at the table during placements.
10. Keep juggling with business ideas. You will get ample exposure to various business ideas during your stay at ISB. Keep your eyes and ears open. You never know whats in store for you.
11. Networking - One of the most important words you will hear at ISB. To me networking is not just knowing names and exchanging cards. It is "exchange of value". Do not miss your opportunity to reach out to others and at the least make few trusted friends.
For the records, i am clearly not looking forward to such an experience of doing it all over again, but may be the future batches might find something useful in this post. The views expressed here are purely my own and hence some (or many) might not subscribe to them. But after all this is my blog..
1. Study like crazy in core terms. Do not be swayed if someone tells you grades dont matter. The point is despite all your efforts you might not be in the Dean's list or may be not even somewhere close to it. That does not matter. At least you tried your best.
2. Term 2 is one of the most important terms. It separates the men from the boys. Make sure you work double hard during this term.
3. Be sure that the consulting bug is going to bite you. The hype in the campus, the build up given in the campus by alums and the repeated visits by consulting firms will for sure affect you at some level. From all the sweet talk that happens, every student believes internally (or is led to believe) that he is a right fit for consulting. But the hard reality strikes only towards the end.
Do explore this option seriously. Talk to alums, attend these sessions, make up your mind if you really like this option as a career, look at the history of recruits done by these firms and make a realistic estimation of your chance. But do these early enough and move on. You will save yourself so much time, effort and tension.
4. With respect to placements, make three choices:
a) Same industry target - A company from the same industry which you would like to go back to.
b)Realistic career switch target and
c) A dream career switch target.
The kind of efforts you need to put in is very different for each of these choices. Develop your strategy to tackle each of them. Ignoring any of these options might harm you severely towards the end.
5. ISB is all about "relativity". Your absolute strengths and weaknesses dont matter. These matter only in the context of what is it compared to your other batch mates. This applies in everything from grades to b-school competitions to your previous work experience to extra curriculars. So, keep working on your "differentiation" strategy. Remember these differentiations have to be both meaningful and credible.
6. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Be extremely cautious and intelligent in whatever you do at ISB. I am purposefully leaving this vague enough, but hopefully you would understand the meaning when you are here.
7. B. School competitions - There are a ton of them which happens. Most of them do not even count on as "spikes" in your resume. The filtering criteria for these competitions which i used are: Participate only if
a) Prize money is good
b) There is something interesting in the format/ outcome and
c) If it can work as a spike in your resume.
No point in writing mind numbing essays on "Challenges for Indian leadership in the "Nano" era" along with a million others.
8. ELP (Experiential Learning Programme) - A vast majority of them is pure bullshit. Do not feel compelled or pressurized to take this up. Do it if it is in your area of interest or if it will help you in someway in your placements. In most cases, people are better off taking an additional elective instead of ELP.
9. Develop your BATNAs (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement) with respect to your placements, at least two months in advance. Prepare yourself for the worst possible outcome in placements. Even before the placements commence, try and make sure you find at least two companies which are ready to take you (on a "as is" basis). This will not only help ease the pressure but also increase your bargaining power at the table during placements.
10. Keep juggling with business ideas. You will get ample exposure to various business ideas during your stay at ISB. Keep your eyes and ears open. You never know whats in store for you.
11. Networking - One of the most important words you will hear at ISB. To me networking is not just knowing names and exchanging cards. It is "exchange of value". Do not miss your opportunity to reach out to others and at the least make few trusted friends.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
The expert advice
Lao Tzu’s famous quote “Those who have knowledge don’t predict and those who predict don’t have knowledge” seems most appropriate in this situation. I was just browsing through the Sensex targets given by various experts before the crash began in early January. Am pasting some of these below… have a good laugh.
“We are overweight on India as it is the best bull market in Asia. Our India weightage is at 38%, which is the biggest in thematic portfolio. The long-term Sensex target remains at 40,000." – Chris Wood, CLSA, Global Strategist, October 2007
“We continue to be bullish on the Indian market and have set a BSE SENSEX Target of 23,950 to 25,000 for 2008” – Citigroup, Jan 08
“This puts the Sensex target at around 27,000 mark. The breakout could be as big as 2.618 times the largest leg, leading to a mind boggling figure of 39,000. Even if we keep aside this over-optimistic view, the target of 27,000 could be achieved and that too most probably in the first half of 2008. The daily chart shows one directional wave (A) followed by wave (B), which seems to be a diametric pattern. This pattern has seven legs and has a bow-tie shape” - Milind Karandikar, Leading Technical Analyst, in Business Standard, 7 Jan 2008
“Being an India bull there are reasons such as strong corporate earnings growth (though slower around 20%), and liquidity expected from FIIs & domestic institutions that could propel the Sensex to 24000 by the end of the year (Sensex PE at this level would be around 22.85 considering Sensex EPS of 1050)” - Amar Pandit, Moneycontrol - 2nd Jan 08
“After Sensex 20,000, the market expectations are for 30,000, but I don’t see the Sensex extending beyond 24,000 this year with the benchmark making a decade high this year” - Mukul Pal (Leading technical Analyst), in Business Standard, 7 Jan, 08
“So, in order to find the Sensex targets for ’08, we added these multiples to the highest monthly closing of the Sensex in ’07, i.e. 20286.99. So, the possible targets of the Sensex in the year ’08 at 0.382, 0.618, 1 and 1.618 Fibonacci ratios are 23094.27, 24828.61, 27635.89 and hold your breath, 32177.51, respectively” – Economic Times, 7 Jan 08
“76.4% of leading brokerage firms viewed that the markets are fairly valued while 11.8% each believes that it is overvalued and undervalued, respectively” - CNBC-TV 18 poll, 1 Jan 08
“The move past 15,400 proved beyond doubt that the long-term uptrend has resumed from the June-2006 trough of 8,800. But this move appears to be the final (fifth) part of the long-term move that commenced in May 2003. This final leg can take a few more months to complete during which the Sensex will move between 17,500 and 24,800. We place the outer target for the Sensex in 2008 at 27,145” – Business Line Research, 30 Dec, 07
“Indian stock market would continue its bull run next year with the benchmark index Sensex likely to touch the 24,000-mark by the end of 2008” - Macquire Bank, 30 Dec 07
“We are overweight on India as it is the best bull market in Asia. Our India weightage is at 38%, which is the biggest in thematic portfolio. The long-term Sensex target remains at 40,000." – Chris Wood, CLSA, Global Strategist, October 2007
“We continue to be bullish on the Indian market and have set a BSE SENSEX Target of 23,950 to 25,000 for 2008” – Citigroup, Jan 08
“This puts the Sensex target at around 27,000 mark. The breakout could be as big as 2.618 times the largest leg, leading to a mind boggling figure of 39,000. Even if we keep aside this over-optimistic view, the target of 27,000 could be achieved and that too most probably in the first half of 2008. The daily chart shows one directional wave (A) followed by wave (B), which seems to be a diametric pattern. This pattern has seven legs and has a bow-tie shape” - Milind Karandikar, Leading Technical Analyst, in Business Standard, 7 Jan 2008
“Being an India bull there are reasons such as strong corporate earnings growth (though slower around 20%), and liquidity expected from FIIs & domestic institutions that could propel the Sensex to 24000 by the end of the year (Sensex PE at this level would be around 22.85 considering Sensex EPS of 1050)” - Amar Pandit, Moneycontrol - 2nd Jan 08
“After Sensex 20,000, the market expectations are for 30,000, but I don’t see the Sensex extending beyond 24,000 this year with the benchmark making a decade high this year” - Mukul Pal (Leading technical Analyst), in Business Standard, 7 Jan, 08
“So, in order to find the Sensex targets for ’08, we added these multiples to the highest monthly closing of the Sensex in ’07, i.e. 20286.99. So, the possible targets of the Sensex in the year ’08 at 0.382, 0.618, 1 and 1.618 Fibonacci ratios are 23094.27, 24828.61, 27635.89 and hold your breath, 32177.51, respectively” – Economic Times, 7 Jan 08
“76.4% of leading brokerage firms viewed that the markets are fairly valued while 11.8% each believes that it is overvalued and undervalued, respectively” - CNBC-TV 18 poll, 1 Jan 08
“The move past 15,400 proved beyond doubt that the long-term uptrend has resumed from the June-2006 trough of 8,800. But this move appears to be the final (fifth) part of the long-term move that commenced in May 2003. This final leg can take a few more months to complete during which the Sensex will move between 17,500 and 24,800. We place the outer target for the Sensex in 2008 at 27,145” – Business Line Research, 30 Dec, 07
“Indian stock market would continue its bull run next year with the benchmark index Sensex likely to touch the 24,000-mark by the end of 2008” - Macquire Bank, 30 Dec 07
Thursday, March 6, 2008
The last term
Every student dreams about Term 8 in ISB. Its my turn now.
ISB is a totally different place now a days. Some of the activities which are taking place in campus now are..
1. Night Cricket - This is real fun. The intersection cricket matches starts around 7.30 PM under floodlights and goes on well in the night. There is music, liquids and lots of cheering
2. Monopoly Championships - The good old game is back in form, with more and more converts each day
3. The Multiplayer Age of Empires Championship – People are trying to load the game in LAN and organize multiplayer championships. This is still under process. Should be good fun when its up and running
4. Most students have taken a new resolution that they would watch at least 50% of the movies available in our library. So there is a perennial crowding in the DVD section, which had never seen so many visitors in all the seven terms put together
5. Gym and the swimming pool - Many students have started hitting the gym and the swimming pool with vengeance. Some to keep fit, some trying their best to relive their memories of how they once looked and a few others just for the fun of it.. especially given the fact that its our last one month in campus
6. Other games - Many other games including Basketball, Shuttle badminton, Table Tennis, Pool, Carom have regular patrons
7. City exploration - ISB has recently increased the capacity and the frequency of the City Shuttle which takes students from ISB to the city. It could not have come at a better time. All of us are trying to do justice to this beautiful city by giving it the attention it deserves..
8. Assignments/ Pre reads - They have at last taken a back seat at ISB. Assignments are not receiving a minute extra than what they are worth it. Most of us meet the night before to complete these "impediments" which are still on our way.
Interesting times at ISB...
ISB is a totally different place now a days. Some of the activities which are taking place in campus now are..
1. Night Cricket - This is real fun. The intersection cricket matches starts around 7.30 PM under floodlights and goes on well in the night. There is music, liquids and lots of cheering
2. Monopoly Championships - The good old game is back in form, with more and more converts each day
3. The Multiplayer Age of Empires Championship – People are trying to load the game in LAN and organize multiplayer championships. This is still under process. Should be good fun when its up and running
4. Most students have taken a new resolution that they would watch at least 50% of the movies available in our library. So there is a perennial crowding in the DVD section, which had never seen so many visitors in all the seven terms put together
5. Gym and the swimming pool - Many students have started hitting the gym and the swimming pool with vengeance. Some to keep fit, some trying their best to relive their memories of how they once looked and a few others just for the fun of it.. especially given the fact that its our last one month in campus
6. Other games - Many other games including Basketball, Shuttle badminton, Table Tennis, Pool, Carom have regular patrons
7. City exploration - ISB has recently increased the capacity and the frequency of the City Shuttle which takes students from ISB to the city. It could not have come at a better time. All of us are trying to do justice to this beautiful city by giving it the attention it deserves..
8. Assignments/ Pre reads - They have at last taken a back seat at ISB. Assignments are not receiving a minute extra than what they are worth it. Most of us meet the night before to complete these "impediments" which are still on our way.
Interesting times at ISB...
Friday, February 29, 2008
Efficient Markets
I had a field day today. Watching the budget live is fun. And that too when you have have the stock markets sites and your internet trading accounts opened in your laptop it is absolutely thrilling...
I was watching the markets live after having read my dose of budget expectations. The market opened lower and stayed under till about 11 AM on weak global cues and may be because of the uncertainty that it faced in the form of budget.. But once the budget speech started, the market was responding almost on a minute to minute basis to the budget provisions.
The moment Mr. Chidambaram announced the increased thrust on education in the form of a 20% increased budget spend stocks like Educomp, Aptech, NIIT were up. Then came the announcements on healthcare and the 15% additional allocation.. up goes DRL, Sparc.. Emphasis on polio and HIV eradication reflected an increase in Panacea Biotech. Waivers of loans availed by small and marginal farmers.. the PSU bank stocks fall. Excise duty reduction.. auto stocks rise. And then comes the killer…the hike in the short term capital gains tax. Then there was no stopping and markets started falling badly.
All of us know about the efficient market hypothesis. But it is during events like these you get to watch it in action. Ok.. enough of the serious stuff. I am not sure how many of you caught the real fun moments in today's budget. I caught at least three instances:
1. When the finance minister was talking about the "One Time Settlement scheme" for the loans availed by the farmers, there was one MP who was opposing it heavily without even hearing what the FM was saying. At one point when the FM announced that he is increasing the loans that are going to be eligible under the scheme, this guy started opposing even more. The speaker then intervened and said to that opposing MP that "You should be happy when the loans to be waived are increased. Then why are you opposing?" Then MP then immediately sat down with a sheepish smile on his face. Thats the state of our beloved leaders..
2. During his speech the FM was at one point extolling LIC and he said "LIC is a jewel amongst the crowns.." I hope he did not mean this..
3. When the FM increased the IT exemption limit for senior citizen from 195 K to 225 K... he had a naughty look at his face and looked at the speaker and said..."I hope there would be no objection now"...
I was watching the markets live after having read my dose of budget expectations. The market opened lower and stayed under till about 11 AM on weak global cues and may be because of the uncertainty that it faced in the form of budget.. But once the budget speech started, the market was responding almost on a minute to minute basis to the budget provisions.
The moment Mr. Chidambaram announced the increased thrust on education in the form of a 20% increased budget spend stocks like Educomp, Aptech, NIIT were up. Then came the announcements on healthcare and the 15% additional allocation.. up goes DRL, Sparc.. Emphasis on polio and HIV eradication reflected an increase in Panacea Biotech. Waivers of loans availed by small and marginal farmers.. the PSU bank stocks fall. Excise duty reduction.. auto stocks rise. And then comes the killer…the hike in the short term capital gains tax. Then there was no stopping and markets started falling badly.
All of us know about the efficient market hypothesis. But it is during events like these you get to watch it in action. Ok.. enough of the serious stuff. I am not sure how many of you caught the real fun moments in today's budget. I caught at least three instances:
1. When the finance minister was talking about the "One Time Settlement scheme" for the loans availed by the farmers, there was one MP who was opposing it heavily without even hearing what the FM was saying. At one point when the FM announced that he is increasing the loans that are going to be eligible under the scheme, this guy started opposing even more. The speaker then intervened and said to that opposing MP that "You should be happy when the loans to be waived are increased. Then why are you opposing?" Then MP then immediately sat down with a sheepish smile on his face. Thats the state of our beloved leaders..
2. During his speech the FM was at one point extolling LIC and he said "LIC is a jewel amongst the crowns.." I hope he did not mean this..
3. When the FM increased the IT exemption limit for senior citizen from 195 K to 225 K... he had a naughty look at his face and looked at the speaker and said..."I hope there would be no objection now"...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The Pre-IPO Grey markets
I had started a project some months ago at ISB which aimed at understanding the Pre-IPO grey markets and their ability/ effectiveness in forecasting the listing prices. The project is complete at last and am sharing some interesting pieces of information which i found..
For the uninitiated, Grey Markets are actually over the counter markets where dealers may execute orders for preferred customers as well as provide support for a new issue, before the stock actually gets listed. So, these markets operate in the period between the announcement of an IPO and the actual listing.
As the name suggests, this is an illegal market and has been banned by SEBI. However trades in this market are still rampant and thousands of crores exchange hands. The grey market premiums are even quoted in many of the financial dailies and are easily available in many public forums on the net.
I had studied the time series data of the grey market premiums for 38 IPOs which came out in 2007. Some of the interesting stuff on these..
1. The correlation between the last quoted grey market price and the actual listing price is 0.9768 (a near perfect correlation). This suggests that, grey market’s ability to predict actual prices is great.
2. Not surprisingly, there is a definitive positive association between the percentage premium (in grey markets) and the subscription rates. Higher the premium quoted in the grey markets, greater seems to be the subscription rates or vice-versa. The correlation here was about 0.8095.
I am not going to bore you to death, giving the other findings here. However, I have concluded my paper stating - Stay away from these markets and don’t ever get into executing actual trades. Thousands of investors have burnt their fingers dealing in these markets.
Nevertheless, as intelligent investors use these grey market prices as one more additional data point in your analysis while evaluating an IPO. Grey markets seem to be great indicators of dumb IPOs..
For the uninitiated, Grey Markets are actually over the counter markets where dealers may execute orders for preferred customers as well as provide support for a new issue, before the stock actually gets listed. So, these markets operate in the period between the announcement of an IPO and the actual listing.
As the name suggests, this is an illegal market and has been banned by SEBI. However trades in this market are still rampant and thousands of crores exchange hands. The grey market premiums are even quoted in many of the financial dailies and are easily available in many public forums on the net.
I had studied the time series data of the grey market premiums for 38 IPOs which came out in 2007. Some of the interesting stuff on these..
1. The correlation between the last quoted grey market price and the actual listing price is 0.9768 (a near perfect correlation). This suggests that, grey market’s ability to predict actual prices is great.
2. Not surprisingly, there is a definitive positive association between the percentage premium (in grey markets) and the subscription rates. Higher the premium quoted in the grey markets, greater seems to be the subscription rates or vice-versa. The correlation here was about 0.8095.
I am not going to bore you to death, giving the other findings here. However, I have concluded my paper stating - Stay away from these markets and don’t ever get into executing actual trades. Thousands of investors have burnt their fingers dealing in these markets.
Nevertheless, as intelligent investors use these grey market prices as one more additional data point in your analysis while evaluating an IPO. Grey markets seem to be great indicators of dumb IPOs..
Monday, February 25, 2008
Destination
The wait is over. I am joining International Finance Corporation. It is part of the World Bank group and is the largest multilateral source of loan and equity financing for private sector projects in the developing countires.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Day 7
Received too many complaints yesterday that i haven't posted the Day 7 proceedings... Sorry about that. Remember, i told you all about the "interesting appointment" that i had, I had to go out of station for the same.
Day 7 was a lackluster day. I guess, there were just about a couple of companies which participated.
The last thing i heard was that more than 95% of the batch is placed in the first 6 days.. of course these are unofficial estimates..
Day 7 was a lackluster day. I guess, there were just about a couple of companies which participated.
The last thing i heard was that more than 95% of the batch is placed in the first 6 days.. of course these are unofficial estimates..
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Day 6
A day for doctors... Apollo, Global Hospitals, Max Healthcare.. Many of the IT companies participated too. Infosys, JPMC & HSBC (for IT roles), Infotech Enterprises, Mphasis, Sankhya, Satyam and a couple of others.
Looks like my views have been heard or similar views have been floating around on the preparedness of students. From today on, the Placement Committee has decided to put in place the following:
1. CV Experts - Catch these guys to customize your CVs for the role/ company you are applying
2. Company champion - Know everything about the company/ role before you step in for the interview
3. Student Village Champions - Guys with whom you can chat up if you are generally feeling low and if you require any help in targeting/ preparing for companies which are coming..
These students (who are taking on the above roles) would be around the interview area to help people who need it. Great initiatives indeed.
The formal placement season is on just for three more days. Our last term - Term 8, starts on Monday.
I have an interesting appointment tomorrow and i will make up my mind on where i would be joining, immediately after that.
Looks like my views have been heard or similar views have been floating around on the preparedness of students. From today on, the Placement Committee has decided to put in place the following:
1. CV Experts - Catch these guys to customize your CVs for the role/ company you are applying
2. Company champion - Know everything about the company/ role before you step in for the interview
3. Student Village Champions - Guys with whom you can chat up if you are generally feeling low and if you require any help in targeting/ preparing for companies which are coming..
These students (who are taking on the above roles) would be around the interview area to help people who need it. Great initiatives indeed.
The formal placement season is on just for three more days. Our last term - Term 8, starts on Monday.
I have an interesting appointment tomorrow and i will make up my mind on where i would be joining, immediately after that.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Day 5
The venue for the interviews has been shifted from the main building (Academic centre) to the executive housing (from today onwards). This has two objectives -
1. The number of students who are still in the process has come down
2. If interviews are still being conducted in the main building, then it attracts a lot of attention and the students who are still in the race are unnecessarily pressurized
This is a very good move.
Coming to the companies which took part today... the biggies are DRL, DSP ML, Fortis, Genpact, Honeywell, Intel, Pfizer, Sony, Suzlon... and many others.
Many students who have already secured jobs have gone to their hometowns for cooling off. On the other hand it’s very disturbing to see some of your classmates still in the fray... This section can be split into two kinds...
1. People who know where they want to go. These are people who are at least focused and are confident that in case they are not able to secure a job here, they would chase their passion outside. I am very confident that these guys will surely secure a job in the next couple of days
2. People who have become so desperate that they would try their hand at any company... be it pharma, banking, PE, real estate, IT... anything. This is disturbing.
I met up with one such student yesterday who was waiting for his turn for attending one interview. I happened to pass by and wished him best of luck. He had no clue what the company is into, why he wanted to join them, what are the roles they are offering... nothing. I as a passive stock investor knew more about the company than him. This is totally unacceptable. If this is the level of preparedness, no doubt he will again miss this job.
If you are not clear about where you want to go… that is forgivable. But if you do not even do your basic homework before going for an interview, i am not sure what will ever motivate the recruiter to give you this job.
1. The number of students who are still in the process has come down
2. If interviews are still being conducted in the main building, then it attracts a lot of attention and the students who are still in the race are unnecessarily pressurized
This is a very good move.
Coming to the companies which took part today... the biggies are DRL, DSP ML, Fortis, Genpact, Honeywell, Intel, Pfizer, Sony, Suzlon... and many others.
Many students who have already secured jobs have gone to their hometowns for cooling off. On the other hand it’s very disturbing to see some of your classmates still in the fray... This section can be split into two kinds...
1. People who know where they want to go. These are people who are at least focused and are confident that in case they are not able to secure a job here, they would chase their passion outside. I am very confident that these guys will surely secure a job in the next couple of days
2. People who have become so desperate that they would try their hand at any company... be it pharma, banking, PE, real estate, IT... anything. This is disturbing.
I met up with one such student yesterday who was waiting for his turn for attending one interview. I happened to pass by and wished him best of luck. He had no clue what the company is into, why he wanted to join them, what are the roles they are offering... nothing. I as a passive stock investor knew more about the company than him. This is totally unacceptable. If this is the level of preparedness, no doubt he will again miss this job.
If you are not clear about where you want to go… that is forgivable. But if you do not even do your basic homework before going for an interview, i am not sure what will ever motivate the recruiter to give you this job.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Day 4
This was primarily led by IT cos. (CA, Dassualt, HCL, IBM, NIIT, Oracle, Wipro, Virtuasa, Tech Mahindra, Zensar, Mindtree...), Real estate (CBRE, DLF, Hines, Lodha..) media and some finance cos as well.
People are negotiating hard for the specific roles and salary they are expecting. Most companies are opening up their jobs.. (allowing walk-ins). About 90% of the batch should have at least one offer by now (this is just my estimate..). However, quite a few are still shopping for better deals (you are out of placements, only when you have two offers).
Crisis of confidence has clearly set in amongst those who haven't made it still. Many of them are falling in the vicious circle... “no job still - poor confidence - bad performance during interview”.. Some of the married ones are the most affected. Their woes are multiplied by the anxiety shown by the spouses, especially when the spouses start comparing the salaries of their counterparts amongst themselves..
It is important that they take some time out for themselves, build up confidence and then attend the future interviews. Remember, all of us had jobs earlier and our career should have at least been above average, else we would have never found our places in ISB.
I am beginning to get the notorious title of the one who is rejecting the most number of offers. I have rejected 6 till now (1 Commercial bank, 3 I-Banks, 1 Real Estate and 1 consulting). The point is, its not just money . If the company is not even able to appreciate the work you have done in past and give you a commensurate grade/ role, then why join them with a negative frame of mind... and yes, money does play an important role. No one works for charity..
Here is a question i want to pose to the HR clan. There are 2 candidates competing for a role. One has quoted a price of Rs. 11 lakhs and the other Rs. 20 lakhs. Which one do you choose?
We all know the theoretical answer i.e choose the one who brings in the maximum value (NPV in other words)... but the actual action taken by most HR people does not reflect their understanding of this concept. Most HR people seem to think they save 9 lakhs for the company by choosing person 1. Little do they realize that they might have actually lost may be 9 crores in potential profits by choosing the wrong person.
This example is little simplistic. Purposely so. Dont lose the main point, by trying to find flaws in the argument. The crux is, invest time in finding the right person and the right fit. Not in haggling for a few couple of lakhs..
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Day 3
Another hectic day. Lots of companies today and many many interesting interactions. There were some "bulk recruiters" today like ADAG, Cognizant etc. So i think a good number of offers would have been made and accepted today.
The not so good part of the placement process is that pressure has started setting in for the people who have still not made it in the first two days. The feeling is further enhanced when you see your class mates and quad mates walking in jeans and T-Shirt indicating subtly that they are out of the placement process. Its dangerous to succumb to the peer pressure...But as expected quite a few have started succumbing to the peer pressure and have started accepting bad deals.
The other aspect is that companies have also started feeling the pressure... A lot of students are already out of the placement process and the companies are feeling the pressure of lesser number of candidates available for the interviews. Some companies have already started opening the roles available, for all the students. Meaning, even if you were originally not short listed, you could now walk in for an interview.
As for me, I had pretty good interactions with four companies. Fingers crossed.
The not so good part of the placement process is that pressure has started setting in for the people who have still not made it in the first two days. The feeling is further enhanced when you see your class mates and quad mates walking in jeans and T-Shirt indicating subtly that they are out of the placement process. Its dangerous to succumb to the peer pressure...But as expected quite a few have started succumbing to the peer pressure and have started accepting bad deals.
The other aspect is that companies have also started feeling the pressure... A lot of students are already out of the placement process and the companies are feeling the pressure of lesser number of candidates available for the interviews. Some companies have already started opening the roles available, for all the students. Meaning, even if you were originally not short listed, you could now walk in for an interview.
As for me, I had pretty good interactions with four companies. Fingers crossed.
Day 2
More than 25 domestic companies and many international companies have made their offers yesterday. This includes all the consulting firms, many I-Banks, commercial banks, IT majors, Conglomerates and real estate majors.
My guess is that more than 150 people should have got an offer and about 100 or so could have actually accepted it. Will get back to you on getting some more dope on this.
I had two interviews yesterday and got an offer from both of them. However i have rejected both the offers. Both of them were banks.
My interview had of course gone well with both the guys. At the end of the interview, when the HR lady broached the salary topic and gave me a number which they had in their mind, my first reaction was "Mam, may be you are missing a couple of zeroes, could you please recheck and revert?". But then i realized that she was damn serious when she made the offer... So, you can imagine the rest of the story..
My experience with the other bank was even more interesting. At the end of the interview...
HR: "Ok Mr. Rangarajan, we are impressed with your skill sets and achievements and are pleased to offer you.... blah.. blah..."
Me: "Mam.. can i bring something to your attention?"
HR: Sure.. go ahead
Me" "I had already mentioned this during te interview, but i guess this fact got missed out. One year back, before i joined ISB, i had an offer from you. However, i could not take it up, because i had decided to join ISB. The grade you had offered me then was one level higher than what you are offering me now and the salary you are offering me now is about ___ % lesser... Could you please take these facts into account" (I had a mind to ask... Do you really think, ISB could have brought down the value in me?.. however, i restrained myself..)
HR: Is it so? I am very sorry. Give me a couple of minutes, let me check and revert..
Me: Sure.. take your time
HR (20 min later): Sorry Mr. Rangarajan, our mandate for today is to hire up to a maximum of this level only. You can take this offer if you want to..
Me: Oh.. thats wonderful. I am sure you understand my position... Thanks for the efforts..
This again reiterates my views about the HR community in general (there are of course some exceptions..). Its best that i dont voice them in this forum.
My plate is again full today and I have an intersting array of companies to meet..
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Day 1
All the consulting companies had 2 or more rounds of interviews yesterday and have come out with their shortlists. To get a reconfirmation on their decision, the companies are again testing the survivors today.
Most of the other shortlists are also out and the whole campus is abuzz with activity and anxiety. At least one third of the batch is expected to be placed by end of today.
Some people have more number of shortlists than they can handle and are juggling their limited time between the interviews... a few have already chosen their loyalties/ aspirations and have decided to skip a few of these interviews.
Will comeback with more updates later..
Most of the other shortlists are also out and the whole campus is abuzz with activity and anxiety. At least one third of the batch is expected to be placed by end of today.
Some people have more number of shortlists than they can handle and are juggling their limited time between the interviews... a few have already chosen their loyalties/ aspirations and have decided to skip a few of these interviews.
Will comeback with more updates later..
Friday, February 15, 2008
Day 0
The show starts today. 7 consulting firms - McK, BCG, ATK, Oliver Wyman, Parthenon, Diamond and Accenture and a couple of other firms start their interview process today.Expectations are running high from the recruiters perspective given the latest FT 20 ranking. We will know if our months of preparation and perspiration have been worthwhile...
All of us have heard enough about the placements week and have formed our strategies to cope with its anxieties, uncertainties, disappointments and "Appointments"... (By the way this was meant to be a joke... :-)
I will take on the role of Sanjaya (of Mahabarath fame) for the next few days and will give you all an idea of whats happening out here..As for me... I have almost made up my mind on where i would be going... Lets see..
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Pecking order theory of employment
In Finance literature, Pecking order theory implies that Firms, while deciding on their capital structure and financing decisions prioritize their sources of financing as follows:
1. Internal funds
2. Debt
3. Equity
It is a popular belief that this pecking order is chosen because of cost of funds i.e. internal funds being the cheapest and Equity being the costliest. However, this is not true. The actual reason why firms choose this pecking order is because; this order helps in reducing information asymmetry. Equity issuance may signal that the firm's stock is overvalued (why will a firm sell more of something when it is undervalued?). Hence the market may react negatively to the firm's equity issuance move… A debt issuance is a better option than the equity issuance because, by issuing debt a firm is effectively signaling that it believes that the cost of financial distress is small and that the firm's future prospects are strong. In the same logic, using internal funds is better than debt issuance because of lesser costs of efforts involved and lesser resistance from external parties.
Now comes the gyaan part. I am of the view that, we can use this theory in our employment search. During an interview there is a whole lot of information asymmetry involved. You know that you have done (or not done) many things, but the interviewer is not able to believe you fully and it is difficult for you to send out credible signals. This being the case picking up cues from Pecking Order will imply that, your order of employment search should be
1. Own network - Least information asymmetry. Easier to send out credible signals
2. Leveraging experience - If you already have experience in a particular field, then you can at least send out credible signals about your past experience and give out references from the field, which will help you clinch a better job in the same field.
3. Career switch - This is the most difficult part, just like equity issuance. There is enormous information asymmetry and hence most difficult to pull off.
But if you do want to exercise the third option, make sure that you have some means of sending out credible signals, which are difficult to be imitated by others...
1. Internal funds
2. Debt
3. Equity
It is a popular belief that this pecking order is chosen because of cost of funds i.e. internal funds being the cheapest and Equity being the costliest. However, this is not true. The actual reason why firms choose this pecking order is because; this order helps in reducing information asymmetry. Equity issuance may signal that the firm's stock is overvalued (why will a firm sell more of something when it is undervalued?). Hence the market may react negatively to the firm's equity issuance move… A debt issuance is a better option than the equity issuance because, by issuing debt a firm is effectively signaling that it believes that the cost of financial distress is small and that the firm's future prospects are strong. In the same logic, using internal funds is better than debt issuance because of lesser costs of efforts involved and lesser resistance from external parties.
Now comes the gyaan part. I am of the view that, we can use this theory in our employment search. During an interview there is a whole lot of information asymmetry involved. You know that you have done (or not done) many things, but the interviewer is not able to believe you fully and it is difficult for you to send out credible signals. This being the case picking up cues from Pecking Order will imply that, your order of employment search should be
1. Own network - Least information asymmetry. Easier to send out credible signals
2. Leveraging experience - If you already have experience in a particular field, then you can at least send out credible signals about your past experience and give out references from the field, which will help you clinch a better job in the same field.
3. Career switch - This is the most difficult part, just like equity issuance. There is enormous information asymmetry and hence most difficult to pull off.
But if you do want to exercise the third option, make sure that you have some means of sending out credible signals, which are difficult to be imitated by others...
Monday, February 11, 2008
Actions speak louder...
Read an interesting article in Business Line on insider trading... Some excerpts.
Time for some statistics..
1. Mr. Sunil Duggal, CEO of Dabur India sold over 12,000 shares representing about 0.72% stake in the company between Jan 2 and and Jan 7. The deal should have taken place around Rs. 120/ share. The share price declined to about Rs. 85 in the crash, days later...
2. Mr. Ajay Kumar Vij, CEO of Dabur Pharma, sold around 10,000 shares in the same period. The price at which they were sold is around Rs. 87/ share. The stock price after crash was Rs. 55/ share...
3. Mr. Senthil Kumar of I-Flex (not sure of his designation.. but must be one of the directors) sold 8000 shares in the same period around Rs. 1580. Price after the crash... about Rs. 950/ share
4. Same story with Suzlon. The promoters sold over 65,000 shares in this period at around Rs. 460... the price after te crash.. Rs. 310..
5. The promoter of Crazy Infotech sold 5000 shares on Jan 10 at Rs. 206/ share. The price after the crash was Rs. 47/ share..
The interesting point is, we could have obtained the knowledge of most of these moves, with little effort and luck, before the crash itself. And this could have saved a good deal of money to many investors... But most of us dont invest the time, the market deserves...
If you can trust something in the markets it is the notion of fear and the greed. Look out for these signs. Let them not fool you. Some of the places were you can track these moves are
1. The bulk/ block trade column which is published by most financial dailies
2. http://corpfiling.co.in/insidertrading/insidertrading.aspx
Time for some statistics..
1. Mr. Sunil Duggal, CEO of Dabur India sold over 12,000 shares representing about 0.72% stake in the company between Jan 2 and and Jan 7. The deal should have taken place around Rs. 120/ share. The share price declined to about Rs. 85 in the crash, days later...
2. Mr. Ajay Kumar Vij, CEO of Dabur Pharma, sold around 10,000 shares in the same period. The price at which they were sold is around Rs. 87/ share. The stock price after crash was Rs. 55/ share...
3. Mr. Senthil Kumar of I-Flex (not sure of his designation.. but must be one of the directors) sold 8000 shares in the same period around Rs. 1580. Price after the crash... about Rs. 950/ share
4. Same story with Suzlon. The promoters sold over 65,000 shares in this period at around Rs. 460... the price after te crash.. Rs. 310..
5. The promoter of Crazy Infotech sold 5000 shares on Jan 10 at Rs. 206/ share. The price after the crash was Rs. 47/ share..
The interesting point is, we could have obtained the knowledge of most of these moves, with little effort and luck, before the crash itself. And this could have saved a good deal of money to many investors... But most of us dont invest the time, the market deserves...
If you can trust something in the markets it is the notion of fear and the greed. Look out for these signs. Let them not fool you. Some of the places were you can track these moves are
1. The bulk/ block trade column which is published by most financial dailies
2. http://corpfiling.co.in/insidertrading/insidertrading.aspx
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
11 more days…
The stage is set. Placements are just 11 days away. More than 150 companies (and counting) are participating. ISB is a different place these days..
The consulting guys are no longer seen around... most live in bunkers, studying every minute of their waking moment. Yes, it has taken its toll on some people and they are already so deep in their preparation that, they refuse to see anything normally.
Here is an example... a couple of days ago, I had the fortune (???) of accompanying one of my friends for breakfast. She was a walking example of MECE (Mutually Exclusive Collective Exhaustible) analysis of consulting. We first reached the curds counter first, she served herself a bit of curds and tasted it first, before serving herself a bigger portion. She turned around with a beaming smile to explain that its not good to have sour curds early in the morning.
Next comes the Aloo Paratha... "Bhaiya is this made of butter or oil". Once again she turned around to pause and explain. "If it is made of butter than i cant have, else i can have:... then we came to eggs counter. This time she turned towards me before the serving itself. She asked me if i could help her identify "good eggs"...
Enough is enough…I said "No" and walked past her, wishing to avoid these questions in the bread, juice and the fruits counter. I wonder what will become of these people, five years from now. The very thought of career consultants gives me a shiver.
Next comes to Fin guys. "Do you know what is a participating forward?" "When you are estimating cross border acquisitions, which beta you take?", "How do you take into account real options when you are doing a DCF valuation".... these guys are numbers walking on two legs.
There are quite a few in the batch, who are still thinking, which path to take.
"I have no clue on what fixed income sales is all about. But i have a shortlist. What do you think? Can i become a Fixed income sales guy in a week?"...
"Real estate??? All i know is that land prices are going up.. Is that good enough for working with a leading real estate player?"...
….these guys are all around. Even the supremely confident, might be privately wondering about these issues..
Finally, there are number of people who seem to experience the "DIARRHEA OF APPLICATIONS AND CONSTIPATION OF SHORTLISTS" effect... These people are sincerely hoping for speedy cure and grabbing every laxative at sight...
Just another 11 days to go...
The consulting guys are no longer seen around... most live in bunkers, studying every minute of their waking moment. Yes, it has taken its toll on some people and they are already so deep in their preparation that, they refuse to see anything normally.
Here is an example... a couple of days ago, I had the fortune (???) of accompanying one of my friends for breakfast. She was a walking example of MECE (Mutually Exclusive Collective Exhaustible) analysis of consulting. We first reached the curds counter first, she served herself a bit of curds and tasted it first, before serving herself a bigger portion. She turned around with a beaming smile to explain that its not good to have sour curds early in the morning.
Next comes the Aloo Paratha... "Bhaiya is this made of butter or oil". Once again she turned around to pause and explain. "If it is made of butter than i cant have, else i can have:... then we came to eggs counter. This time she turned towards me before the serving itself. She asked me if i could help her identify "good eggs"...
Enough is enough…I said "No" and walked past her, wishing to avoid these questions in the bread, juice and the fruits counter. I wonder what will become of these people, five years from now. The very thought of career consultants gives me a shiver.
Next comes to Fin guys. "Do you know what is a participating forward?" "When you are estimating cross border acquisitions, which beta you take?", "How do you take into account real options when you are doing a DCF valuation".... these guys are numbers walking on two legs.
There are quite a few in the batch, who are still thinking, which path to take.
"I have no clue on what fixed income sales is all about. But i have a shortlist. What do you think? Can i become a Fixed income sales guy in a week?"...
"Real estate??? All i know is that land prices are going up.. Is that good enough for working with a leading real estate player?"...
….these guys are all around. Even the supremely confident, might be privately wondering about these issues..
Finally, there are number of people who seem to experience the "DIARRHEA OF APPLICATIONS AND CONSTIPATION OF SHORTLISTS" effect... These people are sincerely hoping for speedy cure and grabbing every laxative at sight...
Just another 11 days to go...
Monday, January 28, 2008
Top of the world
ISB has achieved another milestone today. According to the latest ranking released by FT on the Global MBA programs, ISB features 20th, much ahead of Kellogs, UCLA, Darden, Duke....
This achievement comes in a span of just six years. ISB is one of the youngest schools to achieve this feat and probably the first to feature in the top 20 list, in the very first year it decided to participate in the ranking.
Read more of this in
http://rankings.ft.com/global-mba-rankings
http://www.isb.edu/media/UsrSiteNewsMgmt.aspx?Topicid=352
P.S: The picture means... "ISB Rocks"
Sunday, January 20, 2008
India all the way
Sorry for not blogging for a long while (that is assuming that someone actually noted it).. Wanted to touch upon couple of wonderful things which had happened while i was away.
Tata Nano - One of the biggest inventions of our time i guess. Hats off to Tata Motors. I was reading some articles about this invention and noted some interesting facts:
I am personally very curious to see the listing price and the share's subsequent performance in the capital market. The other interesting shares to watch out subsequent to Reliance Power's listing would be Tata Power, NTPC and Power Grid..
Tata Nano - One of the biggest inventions of our time i guess. Hats off to Tata Motors. I was reading some articles about this invention and noted some interesting facts:
- The price tag of 1 lakh was never proposed by Ratan Tata or Tata Motors. The price tag is basically an outcome of media hype. However, Mr. Ratan Tata took it as a challenge and the rest is history.
- From the time this concept came into existence till the birth of Nano, about 4 yrs have passed. The price of every component of the car has increased. But Mr. Tata still stuck to the challenge. "A promise is a promise".... the now famous quote of Mr. Tata says it all...
- Another aspect i wanted to touch upon was the reaction of people. While most of us rejoiced, there were quite a few who were quite negative to this development. People were worried about pollution, traffic congestion and what not. My point is simple - If every company and the government itself could have worked as hard as Tata Motors in the past few years, our whole perspective would have been different. So, if someone has to be blamed - it is the people who have failed to act and not the one who has actually acted....
I am personally very curious to see the listing price and the share's subsequent performance in the capital market. The other interesting shares to watch out subsequent to Reliance Power's listing would be Tata Power, NTPC and Power Grid..
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