iima alumnus magazine june 2013

8/9/2019 IIMA Alumnus Magazine June 2013

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ALUMNAE

IIMA Alumnus Volume 45, Number 2, June 2013, Tri-annual

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Special Feature: The 48th Convocation, 2013


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Cover Picture (clockwise from top left) : Savita and Vijay Mahajan, Anjali Gupta, Ruby Ashraf, Ashima Jain, andSanjeevan Bajaj with her family

FROM THE GUEST EDITOR 4

SEPIA TOMESCorruption: 6On the Irrelevanceof the EvilSasi Misra

Towards Building a 9Just Society(10th Annual Convocation)

COVER STORY

Alumnae to the Fore: 12

Re lections 13

No More, No Less 15

My Top Mantras 18

The Balancing Act 21

The Real Prom Queen 23

INNOVATION AT IIMA Banking on Innovative 25Teachers

CAMPUS COVERAGE

Prof. Anurag K. Agarwal 29awarded the Marti Mannariah

Gurunath OutstandingTeacher Award

Prof. Vishal Gupta joins 29the IIMA

Prof. Satish Y. Deodhar's book 29selected as a Bestseller

Prof. Karthik Sriram joins the 30Institute

IIMA Students: Leaders of 30Tomorrow

IIMAverick's Meet: 31January 26 and 27, 2013

IIMA Management 32Development Programmes( June 2013-May 2014)

SPECIAL FEATURE Of Diplomas, Speeches and 33Hopes for the FutureThe 48th Convocationof IIMA, 2013: Convocation Address 34

Address of Chairperson, 37IIMA

Concluding Address by 40Director, IIMA

Bring on the Gold! 44On becoming a Graduate 44

Golden Advice 46

STUDENT INITIATIVES

FPM students 48organize Summer SchoolWorkshop 2013

June 2013 - Vol. 45, No. 2

IIMA Alumnus is a tri-annual journal of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Printed and published by Mrs. Revathi Srinivasan, Indian Institute of Management, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad - 380 015 on behalf of the IndianInstitute of Management, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad - 380 015 and printed at Sahitya Mudranalaya Pvt. Ltd., City Mill Compound, KankariaRoad, Ahmedabad - 380 022. Editor: Professor Vijaya Sherry Chand, Indian Institute of Management, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad – 380 015.

OBITUARY

ALUMNI NEWS

BATCH NEWS

CHAPTER NEWS

BOOKSHELF The Dynamics of Happiness 7and Management

Anyone can innovate, provided…

IIMA ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONEXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President, Vice-President,Secretary (Constitution ofExecutive Committee in process)

GUEST EDITOR

Vijaya Sherry Chand

EDITORIAL ASSOCIATE

Varuna Sharma

PUBLISHER

Revathi Srinivasan

Alumni office in-chArge

Himanshu Bhatt

DESIGN & LAYOUT

PRINTINGSahitya Mudranalaya Pvt. Ltd.

Subscription copy for member of IIMA Alumni Association: Rs. 20

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IIMA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CHAPTER COORDINATORS AHMEDABADNayan Chimanlal Parikh303 B, Shapath 3, SG Highway,Ahmedabad 380 054 Gujarat, IndiaTel: 91 79 2684 0022 Fax: 91 79 2684 0022Cell: +91 98250 05692Email: [email protected] John CherianenParadigm Knowledge Solutions, CIIEIIM New CampusAhmedabad - 380 015Gujarat, India Cell: +91 97257 69408Email Id: johnny.j [email protected]. ViswanathanGolden Square Business Centre53/A, 16th 'C' main, 4th Block, Koramangala,Bangalore - 560 034 IndiaTel: + 91 80 4261 3000 Cell: 099009 63270Email: [email protected]. Krishna KumarGolden Square Business Centre53/A, 16th 'C' main, 4th Block, Koramangala,Bangalore - 560 034 IndiaTel: + 91 80 42613000 Cell: 99005 46425Email Id: [email protected] / VADODARASamish MakhijaChairman, Phonon.in105-107, Blue Diamond Of ice ComplexFatehgunj, Vadodara 390 002Tel: (O) 0265 2781717 / 2792128 / 6640405Cell: +91-94280 11280Email: [email protected] Kumar BhatnagarChairman, Extol Group1/3 Amaltas Parisar, ShahpuraBhopal 462 016 Madhya PradeshTel: 0755-2428675Cell: 094256 00269 / 093031 33024Email: [email protected] SwaminathanCEO, Studio In initi21/1, Chaitanya Centre, Khader Nawaz KhanRoad, Nungambakkam, Chennai 600 006 TamilNadu Tel: 91-44-3028 6660 Cell: 93810 27442Email: muralidharans@studioin initi.comRadesh RangarajanCEO, Plutus Investment Advisory Services PvtLtd, 16/3, Vidyodaya Ist Cross Street T.Nagar, Chennai 600 017Tel: 044 4212 2517 / 4260 6930

Cell: 94440 06443Email: [email protected]. JayaramanC-46 Kailash ApartmentGreater Kailash INew Delhi 110 048 Cell: 98100 82158Email Id: [email protected]

HYDERABAD / SECUNDERABAD S. V. Ramana Murthy, IPSAddl.Director General of Police (Co-ordination), Plot No : 145, Road No 17Prashsan Nagar, Road No.72, Jubilee HillsHyderabad 500033 Tel: (R) 040 2355 2626Cell: 98480 48558 / 94406 27213Email id: [email protected]. Muralidharan Chairman, TMI groupCareer Centre, 1-8-303/ 48/12Prenderghast Road, Secunderabad 500 003Tel: 040 6676 5314 Cell: 098480 55025Email Id: [email protected] DasProfessor-Strategic Management Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata21/2, Lake East, 3rd Road SantoshpurKolkata-700 075Tel: (O) 2416 3576 / 9302 Cell: 98300 52722Email Id: [email protected] Anjan K DebVP Business Development & CorporateStrategy, McNally Bharat EngineeringCompany Limited, BE 140, Salt Lake CityKolkata 700 064, West BengalTel: 033 4067 9142 Cell: 97487 14871Email id: [email protected]. Bhandar i1/143, Vivek KhandGomtinagar, Lucknow 226010 U.P.Tel: 0522 2391846Email Id: [email protected] ShuklaPresident.Email Id: [email protected] JayaramanSecretary.Email Id: [email protected]

NAGPURPrakash D SheshManaging PartnerCreative Business TechniquesShesh Bungalow, 153 Ramdaspeth,Nagpur 440 010Tel. & Fax: 91-712-2425327/2436621Cell: +91-98230 42334Email Id: [email protected] W BhaveB/53 RUTUPARNAS.NO.40/1+2+3 KOTHURD, PUNE 411 038Cell: 94235 86039Email id: [email protected] GuptaA-4 / 804 OXFORD VILLAGEWANWARIE, PUNE 411 040Tel: 020-4009 4078 Cell: 98222 61652Email id: [email protected]

LONDON Amlan Roy (1985550119)Director, Credit Suisse Securities (Europe)Limited, 27 Dollis Park, Finchley CentralLondon N3 1HJGreater London United KingdomTel: +442078881501 Cell: +447887554042Email id: [email protected] VERMA (2006550228)Flat 1, 78 Inverness TerraceLondon W2 3LBUnited KingdomTel: 447833291358Email id: [email protected] Shriram Madavi3B-54, Muscat Oasis ResidencesP.O.BOX No.2121, Ruwi-112Muscat-Oman, Sultanate of OmanTel: 00968-24582010 GSM: 00968-99898348Work: +968 24561356 Ext. 120Email id: [email protected] Lal SharmaJanapriya Multiple CamusJanapriya Marg, Pokhra, 8 SimalchourGyan Marga, Pokhra Kaski, Nepal’Cell: 00977-9846027638Email Id: [email protected] Alok Sharma112 Tanjong Rhu Road, #13-01Singapore 436929Email id: [email protected] Gidwani10 Brooke Road, #03-01Singapore 429986Email id: [email protected] Makhija94 Bradley LaneBridgewater NJ 08807 USATel: 646 326 5448Email Id: [email protected] Doiphode11 Versailles BlvdCherry Hill NJ 08003Mobile: 609-206-9166Email Id: [email protected]. SharmaPresident, Techmart P.O. Box No.75188,2403, Indigo Icon, Jumeirah Lakes TowersDubai, UAETel: (O) +971 4368 4888Fax: +971 4368 4999Email Id: [email protected]

Please address all communication to:Alumni Of ice, Indian Institute of Management, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad 380 015Tel: 91 (079) 6632 4660 / 6632 (Editorial Section) / Fax: 91 (079) 6632 6896, 2630 6896Email id: [email protected] ed t a o : [email protected] Alumni Website: www.iimaalumni.org


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4 IIMA ALUMNUS June 2013 IIMA ALUMNUS June 2013

FROM THE GUEST EDITOR

Dear Alumni,

Greetings to all of you, once again, from your alma mater. We are hap-py to present to you the second issue of 2013 of IIMA Alumnus. Thisyear has seen some kind of a record in admission of women—thePGP 2013-15 batch has admitted 85 women, which is 22 per cent ofthe batch of 385. This is the highest ever number of women in abatch, both in terms of absolute numbers and percentages. And thiswithout any preferential treatment of women in matters of admis-sion. The intake pro ile has been changing in favour of women for acouple of years and this year’s igures only con irm what has beennoted elsewhere—the presence of women in management is set toincrease rapidly. A similar trend has been witnessed in the one-yearprogramme for Executives, the PGPX, where the number of womentouched double digits for the irst time in the programme’s eightyear history—th ere are eleven women in the 2013-14 batch of 85. Incelebration of these trends, our cover story carries the re lections ofive senior alumnae, Savita Mahajan, Sanjeevan Bajaj, Ashima Jain,Anjali Gupta and Ruby Ashraf. They share with us the excitement, thechallenges and the pay-offs they have experienced. We are sure theseaccounts will resonate with a number of you.

In Sepia Tomes, Professor Sasi Misra, who served the Institute for 34years (1969 to 2003) in the Organization Behaviour Area, toucheson a burning topic which everyone seems to be concerned about:corruption. He points out that, in an organizational setting, the pro-cess of moral disengagement that happens through a number of ra-tionalizations is what makes corrupt behaviour so dif icult to coun -ter. Rationalizations like displacement of responsibility anddepersonalization, make the ‘evil doer’ believe that the ‘stigma’ or‘evil’ does not matter to him or her. I am sure our readers will havetheir own views on the matter.

In our Innovation at IIMA section we describe a project that IIMAruns in the ield of elementary education. People who do not knowIIMA well are usually surprised to see IIMA’s involvement in suchactivities. But when they learn about IIMA’s understanding of ‘man-agement’ it all makes sense. IIMA has a long history of over four de-cades in working in sectors as diverse as education, handlooms, and

isheries, contributing to the development of management in the pri -vate, public, government and civil society sectors. This diversity ofexperience has stood the Institute in good stead in the past; we hopethe broad-based understanding of management that the Institutehas nurtured in the past will continue to lourish.

In our Special Feature we carry the convocation speeches of the ChiefGuest, Shri Lakshmi N. Mittal, the Chairperson of the Board of Gover-nors, IIMA, Shri Anil M. Naik, and the Director of IIMA, ProfessorSamir Barua. Two of the gold medal winners, Aniketh Talwai and

This year has seensome kind of a

record in admissionof women—the PGP 2013-15 batch hasadmitted 85 women,which is 22 per centof the batch of 385.This is the highest

ever number ofwomen in a batch,

both in terms ofabsolute numbersand percentages

FROM THE GUEST EDITOR

Sumit Somani, share with us their experience of IIMA. We hope their accounts give you an insight into themind of a bright young person, about to embark on an exciting career in the corporate world.

The usual features—Campus Coverage, Alumni News, Batch News, Chapter News, Student Initiatives—are all there. What may be rather unusual is the get-together of the Alumni Wives of the 1971 batch!Alumni never fail to surprise us. In Bookshelf, we carry reviews of a book on happiness authored byThanu Ramaswamy (PGP 1966) and a book on innovation co-authored by Rishikesha T. Krishnan (FPM1996).

We have to apologize for the delay in the constitution of the Executive Committee (EC) of the IIMA Alum-ni Association (IIMAAA), which has been caused by the delay in the appointment of a new Director. Thisappointment should happen soon, and we hope the new Director (and the new Dean, Alumni & ExternalRelations) will be able to inalize the new EC at the earliest.

Your Comments Please!

May we invite you to comment on the articles and features in this issue of IIMA Alumnus? Please sendyour comments to [email protected].

Prof. Samuel Paul comments:

Your cover story on the young entrepreneurs from IIMA (February 2013) was both inspiring andinformative. This phenomenon is now signi icant enough to warrant a serious study. Individualstories of entrepreneurs are certainly important. But we also need to ask some deeper questionsthat can be answered only through a more comprehensive analysis and documentation. What isthe overall contribution by our IIMA entrepreneurs to the economy in terms of revenue (income),employment, pro its, etc.? In what kinds of industries are they engaged? How much of their marketis domestic versus global? What is their regional and global spread? How have they fared in therecent decades as opposed to the pre-liberalisation era? Can the growth of entrepreneurship overthe last 50 years be mapped and the trends analysed? Personal stories can be used to enrich theanalysis. But systematic surveys and interviews with generations of IIMA entrepreneurs will be amajor component of the project.

Some of our successful alumni may wish to sponsor this study and invite scholars among you oron the IIMA faculty to take this up as a major project. It will make a signal contribution to ourunderstanding of entrepreneurship and of the role played by IIMA in fostering it.

Samuel Paul, BangaloreMarch 18, 2013

Prof. Paul has suggested that some alumni take the lead in sponsoring a study that will help us betterunderstand entrepreneurship as an outcome of the IIMA educational process and the contribution thatsuch entrepreneurship has made to the world. On that challenging note, I take your leave. In the absenceof a regular Dean (Alumni & External Relations), I have had to guest-edit this issue, but, hopefully, thenext issue will have “From the Dean” back on these pages!

Vijaya Sherry Chand

4 IIMA ALUMNUS June 2013 5 IIMA ALUMNUS June 2013Back To IndexBack To Index


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6 IIMA ALUMNUS June 2013

SEPIA TOMES

India is so seriouslycorrupt that fromall accounts it hasonly a few remainingpeers; it is as ifIndia is breathingcorruption. Fromtime to time,top leaders havethundered: clip thewings of the “powerbrokers;” have“zero tolerance for

corruption.” Well known journalists and thinkershave written reams on corruption in shrill tonesof disdain; the late Jaspal Bhatti used to delightviewers with his scathing skits on the all-pervasivecorruption, and a former CVC in his messianic zealto take on graft had put up the names of the corrupton the web. Moral platitudes are two-a-rupee.

Treating corruption as a moral problem, as weseem to have done all these years, has not achievedmuch in curbing the evil let alone rooting it out. Iwould like the readers to consider two insightfuland well researched psychological constructs –Deindividuation (the loss of a sense of individualidentity in an organizational setting which frequentlyleads a person to act in a less moral fashion withreduced feeling of responsibility) and Obedience toAuthority, determined by “state of agency”.

Corruption is usually committed by an individualwho is acting within an organizational framework.The structure and function of hierarchicalorganizations alter the perspectives by whichindividuals view their actions and change theperceptions of their roles and responsibilities.When they are embedded in an organizationthat is dehumanized and their individual acts arefragmented, the context of an action (whethergood or evil) may make the content of that actionirrelevant. In taking a bribe, or for that matter,scheming for awards and honours, there is no lossof dignity or feeling of shame; there is somethingof value (money, name and fame, etc.). Recently,while chatting with a former colleague, I enquiredabout a common friend. The colleague told methat our friend was doing ine and he believed hewas “trying for a Padmashri award!”

To understand how being embedded in anorganization transforms the meaning of one’saction and the locus of responsibility for one’sdeeds, consider a ictional but not unrealisticsituation. The “Godfather” (Don Corleone) dictatedpolicy and passed orders. Men at the operatinglevels merely carried out his orders. Signi icantly,there were three levels of buffers between the Donand the men who carried them out. This ensuredthat nothing could be traced to the Don unless theConsigliori or Counselor who held the most vitalsubordinate position and was sworn to the Sicilian

Sasi Misra

A Brief Chat with the AlumniCorruption: On the Irrelevance of the Evil

Sasi Misra served the IIMA as Assistant Professor (1969-73) and Professor of OrganizationalBehaviour (1973-2003). He earned his M.A and Ph.D. degrees (Psychology) from UCLA. He was avisiting scholar at HBS and has taught at McGill University, Canada and the University of Munich,Germany. Professor Misra is an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow, Commonwealth Faculty ResearchFellow and a Shastri Indo-Canadian Fellow. He was Vice Chancellor, Berhampur University, Odisha for a year (2001-2002). Since 2004, he has been Institute Professor at the EntrepreneurshipDevelopment Institute of India; he is the Editor of ‘The Journal of Entrepreneurship.’

Sasi Misra

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The 10th Annual Convocation was held on April 19,1975. Mr. T .A. Pai, Minister for Industry and CivilSupplies, delivered the convocation address. Mr.Keshub Mahindra, Chairman of the Institute’s Boardof Governors, presided. One hundred and seventeenstudents, including two foreign nationals, wereawarded the Post–Graduate Programme Diploma inBusiness Administration. Mr. S. C. Bhatnagar, whohad completed all the requirements of the FellowProgramme in Management, was awarded the titleof Fellow of the Indian Institute of Management,Ahmedabad. The following four students wereawarded gold medals for their outstandingperformance in the Post-Graduate Programme:S.Balasubramanian; R. Balagangadharan; R. K. Sahand S. Sridhar.

Highlighting the Institute’s activities during1974-75, Dr. Samuel Paul, Director, announcedthe publication of Vikalpa, a new journal, and theendowment of two new chairs, one each by the StateTrading Corporation and the Industrial FinanceCorporation this year.

Mr. Kasturbhai Lalbhai, a founding member of theInstitute, announced his decision to retire from theInstitute’s governing board on the convocation day.However, at the board’s request he has agreed tocontinue as Chairman of the Building Committee.Mr. Lalbhai was presented a silver memento,

representing the Institute’s emblem, as a token ofthe Institute’s respect for him and appreciation forhis unique contribution to the development of thisinstitution.

The following is a brief report of the speechesdelivered at the convocation by Mr. T. A. Pai, MrKeshub Mahindra and Dr. Samuel Paul.

Mr. T. A. Pai said, “If we have to provide one singlefocal point of development in all its dimensions,it should be within the man.” He deplored theunfortunate spectacle in the country where so manyof its peoples’ resourcefulness, dynamism, andinitiative were snuffed out by manually conceivedbureaucratism, resulting in virtual economicstagnation.

To help expedite the process of economicdevelopment, Mr. Pai urged the creation of moreopportunities for young entrepreneurs and forall those with potential to create a new economic

situation. He emphasized the necessity of suchinnovations not only in the private sector, butmore importantly in the public sector where avast amount of men and material resources hadbeen invested, and which ought not to be allowedtostagnate. He pointed out, “It is, however, notenough to talk of commanding heights of theeconomy to be under the governmental control.It must be made possible for people who operate

Towards Building a Just Society(10th Annual Convocation)

SEPIA TOMESSEPIA TOMES

In the Sepia Tomes section, we reproduce a report from the IIMA Alumnus issue of September-October-1975 on the IIMA’s 10th Annual Convocation. The 10th convocation, in 1975, was held justtwo months before the imposition of Emergency—an ev ent that was to have serious rep ercussions forour democracy. Listening to what the Minister for Industry and Civil Supplies tells the students, one isstruck by the context-neutrality of the advice he gives; what he says, if one keeps aside his belief thatthe public sector should not be allowed to stagnate, may perhaps be relevant even today—createopportunities for entrepreneurs, exploit innovative talent in the private and public sectors, create jobsthat answered society’s problems.The convocation day was also important since Shri KasturbhaiLalbhai retired from the Board on that day, after steering the Institute through its early years.

code of silence (Omerta) turned traitor. As aninstance, the Don had given precise instructions toconsigliore, Tom Hagen, on what should be doneto the two men who had beaten and maimed thedaughter of Amerigo (who had begged the Donfor “justice”). Hagen on his part had similarlyinstructed Clemenza who had given instructionsto Paulie Gatto to muster the necessary manpowerto execute the orders. Gatto’s men had no clueas to why this task was being carried out or whohad ordered it originally. Each link of the chain(Hagen, Clemenza, Gatto) would have to turntraitor for Don to be involved. Though it had not

yet happened, there was always a possibility. Thecure for the possibility was also known. Only onelink in the chain had to “disappear” (p. 50). (MarioPuzo – Godfather, by Mario Puzo, G.P. Putnam &Sons, New York, 1969).

Evidence for people committing destructive,immoral and evil acts while embedded in anorganization’s authority structure come fromsocial psychologist Milgram’s classic and ratherdisturbing experiment called “obedience study.”In this study, an individual delivered electricshocks to another person even at a level hebelieved harmful, simply on command. The studywas presented by Milgram (then professor at theprestigious Yale University) as an experimentin “psychology of learning.” The “experimenter”ordered the “subject” to play the role of “teacher”and shock a second subject each time he made amistake – increasing the shock level after each

succeeding mistake. The second subject (whohad expressed fear that the shocks might bedangerous to his heart condition) was, of course,a “stooge”; he did not actually receive shocks, butthe “teacher” clearly thought he did. All too often,Milgram found, subjects were willing to obeythe commands of the experimenter – deliveringsevere, apparently dangerous electric shocks tothe victims. Many subjects did not feel guilty or

responsible for the act. The “experimenter” – the“Agent” was perceived to be responsible.

In organizations where corruptions (bribery, ixing,graft) routinely occur are actively dehumanizing,which involves substitution of impersonalresponses (e.g. of the bureaucrat, police of icer)for personal ones. There is nothing personal aboutbeing corrupt. It is evil alright but irrelevant for theevil-doer in the dehumanized, role-fragmented,obedience to the “state of agency” organizationalparadigm.

What are some of the ways out?

I would hypothesize that individuals whocarry out personally reprehensible acts withina hierarchical organizational framework aremore likely to refrain from doing so if s/he hasthe information regarding the ultimate aim ofhis/her action/performance. For example, theinformation given to a technician making a bombis not about the ultimate use of the bomb becausesuch information is considered irrelevant to hisperformance on bomb-making. Top level policymakers actively block/screen information (calledmindguarding) that is potentially disruptive.Therefore, as a matter of policy, a communicationnetwork is needed to provide information andfeedback as to what other units/functionaries aredoing.

Secondly, the organization-person should be“personally involved” in performing acts – goodor evil. The policy-makers and the bureaucrats

are less likely to be able disentangle themselvesfrom responsibility if they are personally involved.In present organization systems they see theiractions as role requirements apart from their owndesires. “Good-to-great” bureaucrats feel that therules they follow exist outside their volition. Theirmorality/ethicality is not the morality of choosingproper ends but that of discharging dutiesef iciently.

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SEPIA TOMES

these commanding heights to have much greaterscope for initiative to develop their enterprises, toexpand their activities beyond the narrow con inesand allow them the freedom which alone will bringeconomic dividends to the society.”

He regretted that our social and administrativesystem had failed to exploit the best innovativetalent in the country. While placing too muchemphasis on the hardware of industrialization, ithad neglected the basic development of the people.

He, therefore, suggested that IIMA graduates inaccepting jobs, should question themselves whetherthe offers they were getting were responding to

the types of problems society had to respond to.Monetary rewards alone, he advised, should notmotivate their choice of a career. While remindingthe graduates that the country had invested its bestacademic resources in them, he repeatedly stressedthat in choosing a career they must meet the valuesand aspirations of the Indian society today.

Mr. Pai hoped that some of the IIMA productswould set up their own units as this step, hefelt was of crucial importance in laying a strongentrepreneurial base.

The nation, he said, was passing through a greathistoric period, and the subsequent years, heprophesied, would set the tone for the nation’sfuture. He called for the building of a social systemthat would ensure greater, real human freedom,based on the eradication of socio-economic ills.

Wishing the graduates well in their careers, Mr.Pai hoped that they would not be guided solely by

personal gains, but would also contribute, to quotePandit Nehru, towards “building a just society withjust means.”

Welcoming the graduates to the world of business,Mr. Keshub Mahindra, Chairman urged thegraduates not to shun the major issues of nationalinterest. “Your strength,” he pointed out, “will lie inyour vision and your values.” The compulsions ofour time demanded more than just new ideas and

innovations. “The tasks before you are clear,” hesaid, “the challenges are for you to take.”

Mr. Mahindra referred to the growing suspicion inbusiness about the purpose and ef icacy of many ofour established institutions, including education.This changing environment, he said, necessitatedthe graduates’ awareness of things around themand implied a deeper involvement. “Your truesuccess,” he said, “will be measured by your abilityto leave things better than they are.”

In his concluding remarks, Dr. Samuel Paul, Director,presented a retrospective and prospective view ofthe PGP Programme which had completed 10 yearsof operation.

It was a matter of pride, he observed, that “thenumber of young men and women who havesuccessfully completed our Post-GraduateProgramme and are working in a variety oforganizations is close to a thousand.” Most of themhad risen to senior positions in their organizationsor had succeeded in running their own enterprises.The number entering the public sector, he reported,had increased markedly.

Referring to the thrust and design of the programme,Dr. Paul believed that its focus was appropriate tothe development of professional management bothin the private and public sector of the economy.Although, quite unfortunately, the programmecould not be tailored to meet speci ic needs andproblems of every industry and enterprise, theDirector hoped that with the exposure to varioussituations, the students would have the skills andthe motivation to adapt, improvise, and innovate.As to the students’ values and aspirations, he posedthe question, “How much of it can be imparted inthe classroom?” While wishing the students well,he appealed to them to place the integrity of theirprofessions and the concern for public good aboveeverything else.

Highlighting the Institute’s major activities during

1974-75, Dr. Samuel Paul said that the total numberof students admitted to the PGP in 1974 was 171,the largest group to date. Six programmes forpractising managers and university teachers wereto be offered during the summer. Speaking of theresearch projects, he mentioned the initiationof a major project on rural development with anaccent on action-research. Dr. Paul also announcedthe establishment of two new PGP scholarshipsin memory of Professors B. K. Hegde and WarrenHaynes.

The Board of Governors and the speakers atthe convocation honoured and expressed their

appreciation of Mr. Kasturbhai Lalbhai, memberof the Institute’s governing board, for his servicesto the Institute. Referring to him as their friend,philosopher, and guide, Mr. Mahindra said that hecould not visualize the Institute’s developmentwithout the bene it of Mr. Lalbhai’s mature counsel.He hoped that with Mr. Lalbhai’s deep-rootedinterest in the Institute, his counsel could be soughtfor years to come. Dr. Paul marvelled at Mr. Lalbhai’sforthrightness, simplicity, mastery of detail, andthoughtfulness, and expressed his gratitude for allthe warmth, support and understanding that he hadreceived from Mr. Lalbhai.

The following statement about ownership and other particulars of the IIMA ALUMNUS ispublished in accordance with Rule 8 of Newspapers (Central) Rules, 1956.

FORM IV

1. Place of Publication Indian Institu te of Management Vastrapur,Ahmedabad-380 015

2. Periodicity of its publication Tri-Annual3. Printer’s name Sahitya Mudranalaya Pvt. Ltd.4. Whether citizen of India Yes Address City Mill Compound,

Kankaria Road, Ahmedabad - 380 022.5. Publisher’s name Revathi Srinivasan6. Editor’s name Vijaya Sherry Chand7. Names and addresses of individuals Indian Institu te of Management, Vastrapur

who own the newpapers and Ahmedabad 380 015partners or shareholders holding morethan one per cent of total capital

I, Revathi Srinivasan, hereby, declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of myknowledge and belief.

Ahmedabad, Revathi SrinivasanJune 2013 Publisher, IIMA Alumnus

SEPIA TOMES



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ahead with the recruitment,and nobody raised an of icialprotest. It was only months later,through a chance meeting withDr. Kamla Chowdhry, who wasa Founding faculty member atthe IIMA, and later at the FordFoundation, that the issue wasbrought to the notice of Mr. J.R. D. Tata, and from 1982, T.A.Swas recruiting women on IIMcampuses. Ford Foundationwas an early supporter of IIMA,and they were known for theiraf irmative action programmes.

As things eventually turned out,Vijay and I did not go to the U.S.I found my irst job with MarutiUdyog Ltd, through a chanceencounter that a batch-matehad with a senior executivefrom Maruti, on a light. He waslooking to hire a fresh MBA, andthey had missed the campusrecruitment cycle. For those ofyou who are too young to knowof the history of Maruti, it wasa public sector company then,a political landmine, and all myfriends thought that I had madethe biggest mistake of my lifeby accepting a job there. Theycouldn’t have been more wrong.I was clear that I didn’t want to

join a large company, where Iwould be one among thousandsof employees and what onemight phrase as a mere cog inthe wheel. The prospect of joininga start-up, where my contributionwould matter and be countedfor, was exciting. I sought KamlaJi’s sage advice ( in the years tocome she was to become mymentor and dear friend). Shetold me that Mr. V. Krishnamurthy,former Chairman of BHEL, wasgoing to head Maruti, and hewas reputed to be a great leader.

Working with him would be agood learning experience. It wasvery sound advice and the irstprimary lesson out of this is thatif you can, choose the peopleyou work with, and not just thecompany. My experience hasshown that the reverse is equallytrue. People leave because of themanagers they work for, and notthe company.

I spent nine years at Maruti. Allmy subsequent assignments werealso with companies that wereeither start-ups, or transitioningfrom small to medium sized, andneeded professional managerialinputs. I have now been with theIndian School of Business, since

2001, when the School was setup in Hyderabad. I performeda variety of roles in the irstseven years, and when the Boarddecided to build a second campusin Mohali, Punjab, I offered to takeon the challenge of creating it. Ihad never done something likethat before, but the excitement ofcreating something new was tooinviting. As the Deputy Dean andCEO of the Mohali campus, it hasbeen an incredible journey. I hadthe opportunity to work closelywith ISB’s Board that has the most

successful business leaders of thecountry on it. The campus openedin 2012, and the irst Class of 200students graduated in April 2013.That’s why I feel that I deservea break. To re lect, recoup, andre-energize myself, for the nextphase. What that will be, I don’tknow yet. For now, I am happyto read, write, travel, and spendtime with family and friends.And yes, along the way, I had twowonderful children, Chirag andChandni. I am often asked tospeak about how I managed workand family, and what advice I havefor young women professionals.But that’s material for anotherpiece of writing.

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Request to Update Contact DetailsGreetings from the IIMA Alumnus! As you are aware, the new portal www.iimaalumni.org, whichwas launched a few months ago, has been running successfully. May we request you to please visitthe website, login with your registered email-id and password, and check whether your details inthe database are correct? This will help us update our mailing address database.There are certain features in the website like Alumni Speak, Batch Notes, Featured Alumni, GoodReads, etc. which may be of interest to you. Also, we would like to publish your achievements, andany other happenings that you would like to share with the alumni community. Do send in yourwrite-ups to the Alumni of ice ([email protected]). With best wishes.

It has been a long way not onlyfrom the experience of my irstjob, but also from the memoryof being a small town, dif identcreature readying to take onthe world. The combinationof professional and personal

experiences has been differentfor many working women in mygeneration. It all started the sameway, but with an encouraginglife partner by my side, myprofessional life has charted aslightly different path.

In the early years of my career,I went through a ManagementProgramme for Women Of icers,and learn t of the formaldistinction between men andwomen as professionals. Inthe sixties, as a child of twogovernment servants, I hadgrown up with the idea thatkeeping the family togetherwas everyone’s job since thegovernment then had a transferpolicy which located spouses inthe same city. But the nineties

in State Bank were differentSome women of icers declinedpromotions because senioritymeant transfers to farawayplaces thereby d isruptingfamily life. The programme wadesigned to motivate ‘us womento break the glass ceiling, and nolet ‘small’ stuff like ‘domesttensions interfere with careerand ambitions! Leaving thmerits of the argument asidethe programme did have animpact. The chit chat sessionpunctured my in lated opinionof being the only being on earthwith small kids and husbantrying to squeeze 48 hours of routine into 24 hours! The boringlectures rid me of the guilt onot putting in enough at work women after all had a differen

No More, No Less Sanjeevan Bajaj , FPM 99, CEO, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and

Industry, narrates her journey down the years as a professional and as a mother

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…Work is the key tosome good timesas well. It remindedme of a femalecolleague off to aweek’s training outof town, and whileI wondered howshe would manage family and why shehadn’t refused to go, she wondered ifI was mad. For ivedays, when food willbe served on thetable and someoneis going to make thebed, why give up thechance?

Sanjeevan B



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At a national workshop

style of management thanks toyears of social conditioning theywere far more empathetic and farless likely to bulldoze their waythrough life and the takeawaytips were quite practical:

Tip 1 : Socialize only withworking couples, and see thefamily’s expectations gettingsuitab ly toned down! Theproblem isn’t with me, it is with

the non-working wife holdingthe proverbial evening cup oftea. With non-working wivesaround, barbs will be hurledto sympathize with neglectedhusbands of working wives.

Tip 2: Notice that work is thekey to some good times as well.

It reminded me of a femalecolleague off to a week’s trainingout of town, and while I wonderedhow she would manage familyand why she hadn’t refused togo, she wondered if I was mad.For ive days, when food will beserved on the table and someoneis going to make the bed, whygive up the chance?

I still remember Samar as a7-month old clinging to me whenit was time to leave for workand believe me, it was heart-wrenching to pull myself away asshe howled. The next time round,the clinging order got reversed.Manka would cling when Ireturned from work and howl

if I went out of sight thereafter.So I learnt to switch off the caras I neared the gate, and tiptoestraight to the loo before shefound out that I was home. Butsoon enough, the socializingtip worked, and the kids learntthat Neet’s and my time wasfor listening to good stories andhave combing and feeding doneby help. Years later, even when I

had the time and inclination tocook something myself as theyworked hard during their examdays, they would tell me to takeit easy.

As the world at work unfolded,mid-career blues were catchingup. It was time to change course

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and I turned into an FPM student,500 miles from home with a5-year old in tow fetching mefrom ‘school’. On campus I sawcomputers for the irst time. WhileI couldn’t make my assignmentprogrammes work without helpfrom younger friends, I couldsurely show older colleagues inthe bank how antiquated ourmanual operations were. It wasexhilarating to imagine whatwas possible; frustrating to seethat we hadn’t done it yet. Post-campus, there was no goingback to the bank though, and Imissed showing off my new foundlove for technology. Consulting

was a closer call, and here Iam now, advising managers onwhat I didn’t know when I was amanager myself. Some of my workhas also been with the Indiangovernment, where it wasn’t easyto distinguish frustrations fromrewards. With a disappointinglysmall percentage point difference,the volumes handled ensurethat the impact is huge. As I lookback at this part of my career,the exotic professionalismassociated with projects for US/UK corporate clients looks jadedbefore the colourful struggleson everyday issues with Indiangovernment servants. The output

from one of our projects withthe government is now in publidomain through recent legislationon Citizen Service Guarantees. is frustrating to see the rhetoricthat goes with it, yet there is hopethat as implementation matures,it will reduce the struggleordinary citizens go through inthis country.

As I end this piece, I can see thamy professional experienceare no different because of my

gender. It is the same grit andgrind that my male colleaguego through; no less, but no moreither!

Discussing important matter



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The power of a network—theearlier, the better: In the initialand middle years of my career, Inever quite focused consciouslyon building any networks exceptthose involving my immediateand extended family and workcolleagues. When I movedto California in late 1997, Iwas struck by the remarkablesynergies and powerful bondsin several networks, particularlythe alumni networks. It wasinteresting to observe thepassionate lifelong relationshipsshared between the sports

loving alumni rooting for theircolleges/universities. It wasjust as interesting to observeand admire those dedicatedfew who volunteered to buildhouses for the poor and serve insoup kitchens and spend a fewhours with the terminally ill in

hospitals. The rejuvenating funevents organized by young andold professionals belonging toa particular industry were acause for much study and thislist simply went on and on.Inspired by these experiences,and galvanized by the strong

My Top Mantras Ashima Ja in , PGP 83, tells us through her mantras, why networking fascinated

her and how keeping bonds intact is really a process which involvesobservation, planning and sheer patience

Ashima Jain with family

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There are severalways each oneof us can buildand sustainrelationshipsdespite our superbusy schedules andI have found thatit just takes a bit

of creativity anda genuine desireto connect withanother humanbeing to make ithappen

IIT Bombay alumni network inSilicon Valley that I was exposedto through my husband Hemant,an IITB alum, I along with someothers founded IIM USA in thesummer of 2005. IIM USA wasfor the pan-IIM alumni basedin the Americas. The goal wasto provide a forum for the pan-IIM alumni to interact with eachother, rediscover the strengthof this powerful network inthe Americas, and contributeto the community at large.Building your networks that aremeaningful is never easy and itis never early enough. But onceyou get engaged, you will besurprised by a whole new worldof possibilities that opens up.

Building relationships withoutan agenda: A good friendonce told me that the bestrelationships are the oneswithout an agenda. My personalmantra is to build at least onemeaningful relationship everyweek and reconnect with at leastone existing relationship everyweek. Given all the demandson my time, this takes a lot ofdiscipline. But the emotionalROI is phenomenal. From apractical perspective, I try toachieve my goal by workingthis into my daily routine. So,for example, instead of goingto the gym to work-out on aparticular day, I have a ‘walk andtalk’ session with the person Iam interested in establishingor rejuvenating a relationshipwith. On my long drives or

while waiting at airports, I makecalls or send emails suggestingsome mutually workable datesto meet up on. When I am in adifferent city, I keep one eveningopen to catch up with my old ornew connections. I physicallyblock out two hours everyweek in my calendar to makethe connection/reconnectionhappen and I keep track of howI am doing it. There are severalways each one of us can build andsustain relationships despiteour super busy schedules andI have found that it just takes abit of creativity and a genuinedesire to connect with anotherhuman being to make it happen.

Mentoring is a two way win-win: The concept of mentoringbecame real to me after I movedfrom Mumbai to Silicon Valley.Trying to establish myself in anew professional environmentwithout solid networks in placeand no social media in 1997 waschallenging to say the least. Ilucked out, when at a networking

mixer, I came across a wonderfu‘angel’ investor who took munder her wing. I was gointhrough a period in life where had to make several minor andmajor decisions. There wertimes when my decision wasound but the results were badbecause of events which werout of my control. On the othehand there were situations whenI ran the real risk of moving intoa ‘paralysis by analysis’ modAnd this problem was furthecompounded by getting a loof ad-hoc feedback from rewell-wishers who did not havor take the time to know mexact situation or, in most casesprovided me with ‘experienceless’ inputs and unknowinglusing me as a guinea pig. Mmentor did not make a decisionfor me, rather she helped mby being my solid soundinboard. I ind that over time, myrelationship with my ‘angementor has matured and becomemore dynamic. Sometimes she ithe mentor and I am the mentee

Flanked by those who matter mos

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while at other times I am thementor and she is the mentee.I now have many mentees but Ialso have many mentors. Theychoose me and I choose them aswe would choose a life-partnerwhich is a process that has servedthe mentor/mentee relationshipwell.

Staying fresh ─ connectingwith younger folk: My son,Ankit is one of my best advisorsand my ‘go to’ person. His

perspectives on situations andhis global connectedness neverfail to amaze me. However, thisis not unique to him alone. I seeit re lected in his group of friendsas well. While experience andgrey hair certainly have theirplace in life, the link betweenmental and chronological ageseems to have broken downfor good. My younger friends

have helped me resolve certainissues in ways that I wouldnever have been able to igureout on my own. Their mentalprocess in connecting topeople, events, and places ina unique way has helped meexplore opportunities that Iwould have missed completely.They have taught me how tohave fun and work hard all atthe same time in a balancedway. And their approach togiving and philanthropy blows

my mind away. Look aroundyou and develop respect forrelationships with today’syounger professionals. Ithas helped me experience‘wholeness’ in a unique way andit will help you too.

Ashima is currently theManaging Director at PwC’sNational Of ice, PwC’s think-

tank. She provides technicaladvice and thought leadershipon complex accountingmatters. She specializes inmergers & acquisitions, jointventures, consolidation andlease accounting, and focuseson several sectors includingtechnology, entertainment,media, telecom, cable, power,healthcare, real estate, retail,transportation and logistics.Ashima is the founding presidentof IIM USA (also known as IIMAmericas), a non-pro it pan IIMorganization for the pan IIMalumni living and working in theAmericas. She is also passionateabout mentorship. You canconnect with her at www.linkedin.com/in/ashimajain .

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The G.C. Mital Entrepreneurship Aid

The G.C. Mital Entrepreneurship Aid has been institutedin memory of Mr. G.C. Mital by his son Ankit Mital, PGP2005. This Aid is awarded annually to one graduatingstudent from the PGP or PGP-ABM batches for exhibitingan exceptional entrepreneurial sprit and outstandingleadership qualities by starting a business venture,providing employment and converting ideas intoeconomic value as well as contributing to the bene itof the society at large. The amount of inancial aid is ` 200,000. This year, the award went to Siddhi Karnani ofthe PGP-ABM 2013 batch.Siddhi Karnani

Twenty years ago, armed witha diploma bestowed uponme by the Indian Institute ofManagement, Ahmedabad(IIMA) along with a job offerin a large domestic investmentbank, I felt positively invincibleand ready to take on the world.It was quite true that I was partof a minority of about 30 odd

members of the ‘fairer sex’ butthen, back at the IIM, it wasmore of an advantage thananything else. However, the casestudies we had undertaken andthe articles which we had read,all talked about gender parityand equal opportunities.

On the irst day of joining my of icein Mumbai, the skew continued.

In a batch of 29 managementtrainees there were only sevenwomen. We were promptlyallocated our departments and,after two weeks of training,asked to report. Those were theboom times for the equity capitalmarkets and the organizationwas looded with work. I wasquickly co-opted on a couple

of assignments and told to hithe ground running, as it wereI realized that I was the onlfemale in my department andall my colleagues were a couplof years senior to me. The grouwas a mix of managemegraduates like me, and senioof icials from a large domesticbank. While I was mentored at al

The Balancing Act Anjali Gupta , PGP 93, Associate Director, 3i India Private Limited, tells the alumni how itwould be impossible for her to do the balancing act—something which all women seem to

have to do at some point or other—without the support of people who matter most

Anjali G

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I was alsolucky to workwith a series oforganizationswho valued mycontributions

and to whom itdid not matterthat I had a ‘Ms.’ preceding myname and not a‘Mr.’


http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashimajain/http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashimajain/http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashimajain/http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashimajain/


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stages due to my inexperience, atno point of time did I feel singledout because I was a girl. I wasexpected to contribute equally inall the meetings, stay back as lateas everyone else, travel as muchas any of them and also put in acouple of all-nighters, when itwas required. While my motherwas distressed about my lateworking hours saying that it wasnot fair to keep a girl back so lateat of ice, I realized that takingrecourse to my gender for taking

the easy way out while it wouldbe tolerated would only work tomy disadvantage. Based on mywork performance I worked myway up the ladders within theorganization and forged strongbonds with my colleagues.

Once I got married, my husband,who was also my batch-mate atIIMA, was extremely supportiveof my work just as I was of his.We worked both our schedulesaround to our domesticrequirements and managed tobalance our work and home life.However, a big challenge facedme when I was pregnant since itwas in the middle of a large andprestigious assignment and I wasworried that perhaps I wouldnot be co-opted in the team,given my impeding motherhood.However I didn’t have anythingto worry about as my boss wasreally supportive and organizeda car to drop me home afterwork so that I wouldn’t have totake the train alone late at nightgiven the work pressure of theassignment. During outstation

trips he would insist on carryingmy laptop bag and his wife usedto send me delicacies from home.The only concern I had was thelack of good day care facilitiesavailable at Mumbai to take careof our baby once I would resumeof ice. The horror stories oneheard about maids druggingchildren in their care didn’t helpthe matter either. Here is wherethe extended family supportsystem came into the pictureand this being so unique to our

Indian culture came to my rescue.Thanks to the combined effortsof my parents, my in-laws andmy aunt, my son got all the care,attention and nurturing duringhis formative years, which wasessential to his development.Due to the robust support Ihad from my extended family,I was able to continue my workwithout worrying about my son’scare. My bosses showed theirsupport by giving me leeway inout-station travel to ensure that Iwas able to balance my work andhome front equally well.

My mother-in-law moved in withus to take care of my son, oncehe was of school going age, andalso to take care of our home. AsI progressed up the corporateladder and changed jobs, I foundthat all the organizations that Iworked in were quite fair intheir treatment of all employees.While there were people whowere happy doing the workwhich was on hand (and thesewere both men and women) andprogressed accordingly, there

were also high performers whowent that extra mile beyondwhat was expected of them(and these were again both menand women). In both cases theorganization rewarded themaccordingly. When people talk ofa glass ceiling that women haveto face at work, perhaps it wouldbe fair to say that the ceilingexists for all professionals –both men and women. Thereare a number of men who havenot been able to utilize their

complete potential, just as thereare a number of successfulwomen who have reachedthe top echelons of power intheir organization. In my view,organizations still recruit thebest person and not the bestman or woman for the job.

I realize that things were easierfor me as I worked in a seriesof organizations that gave mesupport to handle my homesituation in a better fashion. Iwas also extremely lucky that Ihad a tremendously supportivehusband who takes immensepride in my accomplishments.I am blessed with very strongfamily support from my mother-in law, my parents and aunt,who have given me valuablesupport on managing the homefront thereby giving me the timeand bandwidth to focus on mywork. I was also lucky to workwith a series of organizationswho valued my contributionsand to whom it did not matterthat I had a ‘Ms.’ preceding myname and not a ‘Mr.’

COVER STORY

The Real Prom QueenRuby Ashraf , PGP 83, CEO, Precious Formals Inc, is the dream designer on the lips of every

young girl in the U.S.A whose Prom is around the corner. With a multi-million dollar companywhich has a huge fan following across the world, one cannot help but smile and want to read her

story again and again. Ruby has also been featured in Rashmi Bansal’s, ‘Stay Hungry Stay Foolish’

After receiving the ‘BestDressed Girl of the Batch’ I neverimagined that I would be lookedupon as a fashion icon for therest of my life, let alone have acrazy fan following of over halfa million all over the world. Butwhat makes it worthwhile is thefact that they positively love mydesigns. Yes, I stumbled upona dream which, in my wildestimagination, I never thoughtwould be mine to cherish for alifetime.

I don’t quite know where tobegin my story, and althoughdesigning my own clothes hadremained a hobby for a long

time, I could tell you this —idea initially was quite a simplone, to become an entrepreneuras a business consultant. Wh

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I faced tons ofchallenges but thiswas not becauseI am female.I faced thesechallenges becauseit was dif icultto understand

western fashionbeing in India andwithout the aid ofCNN way back in1987-88

A show in Harrogate, U.K. Ruby with a customer and a young girlfrom her sales tea



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knew I would wind up becominga fashion consultant. I for onehad no clue since my map hada different route marked out onit. The IIMA gave me the base Ineeded in terms of marketingand my husband, Dr. JavedAshraf, gave me the support andencouragement without whichPrecious Formals would notbe where it is today. He is theinimitable force which keeps thewheels going. Today, PreciousFormals is a huge marketingback-up for over 2200 stores towhom we sell worldwide.

I was asked if my gender was anissue in becoming a successfulentrepreneur. To this I would saythat, I faced tons of challenges butthis was not because I am female.I faced these challenges becauseit was dif icult to understandwestern fashion being in Indiaand without the aid of CNN way

back in 1987-88. During the time,I was forced to conduct my ownmarket survey which involved ayear of market research duringwhich I travelled to differentparts of the U.S and dug deep

into the grassroots (retailers andindividuals). I believed in leavingno stone unturned in terms ofdoing my homework. So manyyears later, when I was askedto design the prom dress forBrittany Snow and a 100 othergirls in the movie, ‘ Prom Night’ , Iknew Precious Formals was evenbigger then I thought it was. Wewere really fortunate and thepublicity was an added bonus.

For now, we are preparing tolaunch our 2014 collection inKona Hawaii from July 15-18in the Sheraton Hotel. PreciousFormals is hosting over a 100elite retailers not only fromthe U.S.A, but also from othercountries including Europe, theMiddle East, South America andAustralia.

A British model posing with Miss South Carolina's picturein Precious Formals .

COVER STORY

The bridal showroom in Atlanta

How do some teachers ingovernment elementary schoolsachieve their educational goalsin spite of facing the sameconstraints that thousands oftheir colleagues face? A projectof the Ravi J. Matthai Centre

for Educational Innovation(RJMCEI) has been workingon this question for some timenow, through its “EducationalInnovations Bank”—a kindof clearing house for the'innovations that improve' ofsome of our good teachers.Strange that a Well-knownInstitute of Management-

education (now not just inWestern India) should beinvolved in this kind of work.Perhaps the credit should goto pioneers like Ravi Matthai,who had a much broader visionof management than what our

modern technocrats would haveus believe is right. Fortunately,the institute has kept this spiritalive through the years, allowingthe RJMCEI to engage in, amongmany activities, signi icantprojects like the award-winningSame Language Subtitling, which showed that popularculture can be an effective

tool for adult literacy, and theEducational Innovations Bankwhich had received nationarecognition a few years ago andwon the Hewlett-Packard Sociaand Sustainability InitiativeAward in 2012.

To return to our governmentteachers. Ask around, analmost everyone will tell yothat these teachers hardly teach,are often absent, and do nocare about outcomes. Recensurveys like the Annual Status oEducation Report (ASER) 201buttress this impression—poor

Banking on Innovative TeachersVijaya Sherry Chand, Professor, Ravi J. Matthai Centre for Educational Innovation,

IIMA, describes an IIMA project on innovation that has nothing to do withmainstream corporate management

Live Snakes and Ladd

INNOVATION AT IIMA



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quality in government schools isa fact, many children completegrade ive with just grade twoabilities, and more seriously, theoutcomes may have worsenedover the last two years. Someobservers have linked the lattertrend to the ‘no-failure’ policytill Class 8, under the Right toEducation Act, which came intoeffect in 2010. The surveys alsoshow a sharp shift towardsprivate schools, which, it isbelieved, offer better quality. In

spite of this shift towards privateschooling, state-run and state-supported public schools stillplay a critical role in reachingout to large sections of society.They account for around 70%of the more than 135 millionchildren in Grades 1 to 5; thispercentage is projected to fallto about 60% in the comingtwo to three years. But whatneeds to be understood is thatthe state system, which nowincreasingly is coming to serve

only the socio-economically andgeographically-disadvantagedsections of our society, willcontinue to do so in theforeseeable future—in our basiceducation we have a curiousmix of market failure and statefailure. Tragically, what we areseeing is an exacerbation ofsocial and human inequalities asa result of poor quality schoolswhich are increasingly beingidenti ied with only certainsections of our society. This

does not make moral sense;nor does it make any practicalsense, when we are talking ofproducing a skilled and literateworkforce in the order ofhundreds of millions. So theseschools better gear up. Easiersaid than done, especially whenwe take into account the moneyand the massive and well-meaning effort that have beenput in through the UPA lagshipprogramme, Sarva ShikshaAbhiyan.

If state management is notworking, why not try private-public partnerships models, withnew forms of accountability?We will not go into the pros andcons of solutions like these here,but will focus on the “Bank”mentioned above, which seeksto build on the work of theperformers within the system,those teachers who achievetheir educational goals in spiteof facing the same constraintsthat thousands of their

colleagues face. These teachersoften depend largely on theircreativity and resourcefulnessto transform the socio-economicconstraints to schooling. The“Bank” aims at identifyingsuch teachers, documentingand validating their work, andmaking it available to otherteachers, administrators andpolicy makers, in an effort toimprove the quality of educationin our government schools.

In order to provide our readerswith an idea of the kinds ofissues tackled and the solutionsthat have been designed, wenow present a few examples.(This paragraph and thenext two draw heavily on anacademic paper that the authoris about to publish.) Enrolmentof marginalized groups hasbecome less serious now, butcontinues to persist amongcertain caste groups. Let ussee how clever teachers useculturally signi icant events ordays to solve their problems.Rakshabandh an: women tie

INNOVATION AT IIMA

Encouraging afternoon reading in the 'Khushi Reading Garden'

sacred threads around thewrists of men; and in return the‘brothers’ present their ‘sisters’with gifts. The ‘gift’ which oneteacher demanded of eachvillage man was his daughterfor her school. Cultural normsprecluded the turning down ofthis request, and the teacherachieved what she wanted—breaking out of the low girls’enrolment deadlock. Otherteachers have set aside days ofsigni icance to the community(certain days of the lunarcalendar) for interaction withparents on school issues, orhave used festivals to mobilizenon-enrolled girls. One teacher

designed a school-readinessprogramme around birthdaygreeting cards for a communityof salt-pan workers in whicheducation was non-existent. Hesent birthday greeting cards tochildren below the age of sixon their birthdays, till the timecame for the parents to send

the children to school. Thisparticular innovative practicehas been adopted by nearly200 teachers, with impressiveresults.

The curriculum demands alinear progression throughthe various topics speci ied in

state-designed textbooks, andtherefore regular attendanceon the part of the children. Thlatter assumption is usuallyviolated because of unavoidablsocio-economic circumstancelike migration, work durinharvests, and so on. The resulis that the quality of learningis affected. The problem compounded by the lack ohome support due to parentalilliteracy. Look at a responswhich combined an incentiv

with grounding in local cultureA teacher instituted a systemof honouring the children withthe highest attendance everymonth, and those with thgreatest improvement over theprevious month. He took themto the houses of in luentialmembers of the village, in procession led by the selectedchildren with coconuts in theihands, and accompanied by children’s band. This effectivinnovation is not the kind thawould ind a place in the usualteacher training programmes(The child gets to keep thcoconut!)

There are a number of examplesof involving children in schoomanagement. An interestinexample. Some teacheencouraged the children toplant trees around the school—good in itself, but now for thinnovation: the trees werenamed after the parents of thechildren! And the children hadto take care of the trees. Manteachers have also focuse

Explaining the physics behind it

INNOVATION AT IIMA

Tragically, whatwe are seeing is

an exacerbation ofsocial and humaninequalities as a

result of poor qualityschools which areincreasingly beingidenti ied with onlycertain sections of

our society



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on the quality of education:creating a fund by auctioningthe leaves and branches oftrees in the school compoundto support excursions, creatingstudy groups both inside theclassroom and outside, usingtheir own skills in toy making,singing, song writing, puppetry,drama, carpentry, pottery,and many other areas, use ofone’s hobbies—stamp or coincollections and collections ofarchaeological artefacts to teach

the curriculum—we were quitesurprised to see one teacherusing a huge coin collection,each coin sealed in its own littleplastic pouch, and a girl from avery poor grazing communityhandling a coin with Brahmilettering!

“Sometimes, the research whichinnovative teachers undertakeleads to practical solutions thatare not often part of formalteacher training inputs. Oneteacher found that the veryyoung children he taught couldread out a two-digit number

correctly, but often inverted theorder of digits when they wroteit. His research led him to believethat the names of the two-digitnumbers (in the Indian languagein which he taught) resultedin the child’s hearing the unitsdigit irst. For example, 26, whencalled out would be heard as six-twenty, resulting in the childrenputting down 6 irst. He deviseda new system of calling out suchnumbers and also developed aremedial programme.”

These examples are interestingto read; but more importantly,they have improved the qualityof education that the childrenhave received. We can certainlywait for reform to address thealmost intractable problemsthat plague the public system;but, in the meanwhile, can a fewother teachers learn from suchexperiments and experiences,and get motivated to changetheir own immediate contexts?Can these innovative teachersbe honoured and recognizedfor their work? Can they be

seen as valuable resources whocan spearhead decentralizedprofessional development?Can teacher training institutesdraw on their expertise? It iswith these aims that the RJMCEIis now scaling up its pilotwork (from which the aboveexamples are drawn) through atripartite agreement among theGujarat Council of EducationalResearch and Training (thenodal state level academicbody), the Gujarat EducationalInnovations Commission (astate-level body promotingthe cause of innovation inGujarat) and the IIM (see wwwteachersastransformers.org).An innovation cell has beenestablished in each district ofthe state, with a mandate toidentify, validate, support anddiffuse the innovations of thedistrict’s teachers. We hope thatthis approach will contribute tosome extent to improving thequality of educational outcomesin state schools.

INNOVATION AT IIMA

The Sajeev Sirpal Academic and Creativity Excellence Award

The irst ever Sajeev Sirpal Academic a nd Creativity Excellence Award was given to Nikhil Agarwal and Sumit Somani of the graduating PGP 2013 batch. This award has been institutedin memory of Sajeev Sirpal (PGP 84) by Kanaka Sirpal (PGP 84) and friends. Sajeev Sirpalhad a very successful career in the inancial services industry and had held a senior positionwith KBCFP, a major hedge fund in New York. This award is meant to recognize academic andcreativity excellence among participants of the Postgraduate Programme in Management(PGP). Nikhil and Sumit received a citation and a cash award of ` 200,000 each.

CAMPUS COVERAGE

Prof. Anurag K. Agarwal awardedthe Marti Mannariah Gurunath

Outstanding Teacher AwardThe Marti Mannariah GurunathOutstanding Teacher Award,which has been instituted byMarti G. Subrahmanyam, PGP69, in memory of his father, hasbeen awarded to Prof. Anurag K.Agarwal. The nomination for thisaward was primarily based on a

selection process involving the PGPstudents, and was overseen by acommittee of members including

the Dean (Faculty), Chairperson (PGP) and a nominatedmember. Prof. Agarwal is a member of the Strategy Area atthe Institute, and is an expert in the legal aspects of business.

Anurag Agarwal

P rof. Vishal Gupta joined the Institutein March 2013 as Assistant Professorin the Organizational BehaviouArea. He is a Fellow of the IndiaInstitute of Management Lucknow(Human Resource Management). Hholds a B.E in Electrical & ElectronicEngineering from the Birla Institute ofTechnology and Science (BITS), PilanRajasthan. Prior to joining IIMA, hwas Assistant Professor at the IndianInstitute of Management, Calcutta. Hhas also worked as a Hardware DesignEngineer with ST Microelectronics PvLtd., Greater Noida and with In ineon

Technologies AG, Munich, Germawhere he was involved in the design ofhigh-performance Appl ication-Speci icIntegrated Circuits (ASICs). His currenareas of research are leadershipdevelopment, organizational justice,creativity, R&D managemenperformance management and high-performance organization design.

Vishal Gupta

Prof. Satish Y. Deodhar'sbook selected as a

BestsellerP rof. Satish Y. Deodhar’s Day to DayEconomics, published by RandomHouse under the IIMA BusinessBooks Series, was selected by theFinancial Express as a bestsellerin the non- iction category, for theyear 2012, within six months of itspublication. Most recently, the bookmade it to the top of the BusinessWorld Bestseller list as well. Satishbelongs to the Economics Area of theInstitute, and has won the DewangMehta Best Teache r in EconomicsAward. He was the Chairperson of PGPX Programme from2011-13.

Satish Y. Deodhar

Prof. VishalGupta joins the

IIMA



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IIMA Students: Leaders of TomorrowIIMAverick's Meet January 26 and 27, 2013

CAMPUS COVERAGE

IIMA marked its presence at the 43rd St. GallenSymposium held from 30th April - 4th May, 2013at the St. Gallen University, Switzerland, withthree students Harsh Dadich, Vijayta Doshi andVishal Kumar, representing the institute. St. GallenSymposium is a prestigious international eventheld annually to provide a unique platform for‘leaders of today’ and ‘leaders of tomorrow’ todiscuss organizational, national, internationaland global concerns. ‘Leaders of today’ includeinvited leaders in the ield of corporate, academia,politics and media while ‘leaders of tomorrow’are selected through a highly competitive essaywriting competition called St. Gallen Wings of

Vijayta Doshi, doctoral student, Organizational Behavior Area at the IIMA, tells us howimportant it is for Brand IIMA that its students participate in prestigious international symposia

Prof. Karthik Sriram has joined the Institute as Assistant Professor in theProduction and Quantitative Methods (P&QM) Area. He is a Fellow of theIndian Institute of Management, Bangalore. Prior to obtaining his FPM,he worked with the General Electric (GE) company for 8 years in theirreinsurance and commercial inance businesses. He holds a bachelor’s andmaster’s degree in statistics from the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.His current research interests are in Bayesian Quantile Regression and itsapplications to insurance, inance and marketing.

Karthik Sriram

Vijayta (facing camera) at St. Gallen

Are we providing unconventional stimuli to ouremployees?”

Having participated in the St. Gallen symposium,I can say that the symposium helps broadenone’s perspective on various organizational,institutional, social, political and environmentalissues. There was tremendous learning from thetalks by eminent personalities such as ChristineLagarde, Managing Director, InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF); Ali Babacan, Deputy PrimeMinister of the Republic of Turkey; MohamoudAhmed Nur, Mayor of Mogadishu, Somalia; DShivakumar, Senior Vice President IMEA, NokiaCorporation; Urs Rohner, Chairman of the Boardof Directors, Credit Suisse Group AG; Douglas J.Flint, Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings plc.; Aditya

Ghosh, President, InterGlobe Aviation Limited(IndiGo); and Prof. David Runciman, Professor ofPolitics, Department of Politics and InternationalStudies, University of Cambridge, to name a few.Besides, some workshops were carried out inwhich ‘leaders of tomorrow’ had to brainstorm insmall groups about issues such as food securityand ways to encourage farmers to remain inagriculture. The symposium provided an enrichingexperience.

The presence of IIMA at the symposium andthe opportunity to rub shoulders with businessleaders, political leaders and participants frominstitutes such as Harvard University, CambridgeUniversity and London Business School, havefurther strengthened Brand IIMA.

CAMPUS COVERAGE

Excellence Award. The theme of the essay writingcompetition this year was ‘rewarding courage’ withfour sub-themes, putting incentives right, copingwith institutions, against the current—courageouspeople, and management of excellence. This year’scompetition was the most competitive by far withonly 100 students (three from IIMA) selectedfrom over 1000 essay contributions across 350universities from 81 countries.

I wrote an essay on the sub-theme ‘managementof excellence’ which focused on how companiescan encourage their employees to build a healthyattitude towards unconventional thinkingand acting. My idea was that the dual force ofenhancing receptiveness and dissemination ofunconventional ideas and actions is desirable.Receptiveness to unconventional ideas and

actions may be enhanced by re lecting on, “Doproper channels and space for unconventionalideas exist? Are leaders walking the talk?Are leaders open to dialogue? Are employeesprovided with psychological safety on comingup with unconventional thoughts and actions?”Likewise, dissemination of unconventional ideasand actions may be enhanced by re lecting on,“Are employees communicated about their activerole? Do our employees have a sense of justice?

The event witnessed a gathering of nearly a 150people. These were mostly alumni, some of whomwere entrepreneurs while others were studentswho attended the event in order to gain knowledgeabout entrepreneurship.

Interestingly entrepreneurship isn't a subject thatcan be taught, but the core idea of the meeting wasthe sharing of invaluable experiences – the journeythat enables an entrepreneur to call himself orherself by the very label. What does it mean to bealone at the top from time to time and what does itmean when you come through the tunnel and seethe light and taste the feeling of success?

The stories truly left students and alumni deeplyinspired and what did the magic trick were thegroup sessions and the one-on-one plannedinteractions which allowed more room and

freedom to explore stories that have changed lives.Some of the activities of the 2-day IIMAvericks'Meet were structured panel discussions, whileothers were fun, networking exercises to break theice.

Young IIMAverick Awards

Stemming from the IIMAvericks' Meet, the YoungIIMAvericks Programme is a one of a kind initiativeof IIM Ahmedabad, IIMA Alumni and CIIE (Centre

for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship)that supports graduating IIMA students who wishto kick-start their entrepreneurial careers.Each award entitles the Young IIMAvericks to a“struggling allowance” of `30,000 per month for 2years, table space in their IIMAverick Emeritus'of ice, guidance and mentoring support, and thesafety net of being able to opt for placements untiltwo years from graduating.Eleven alumni and two alumni batches have pledgetheir support to this initiative. They are:PGP 72: S. B. DangayachPGP 79: Ashank Desai, Raghavendra Rao and SuniHandaPGP 89: Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Rasesh Shah andNirmal Jain

PGP 93: Venkat KrishnanPGP 94: Narendra MurkumbiPGP 2003: Rajesh Nair, Anand LadsariaThe entire batch of '93 as a part of the Ved PrakashArya Memorial Fund and the entire batch of ‘92Seven students have shown keen interest infollowing the less trodden paths; some will starttheir own ventures while others will tread ontonon-mainstream sectors.

Prof. Karthik Sriram joins the Institute



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Programme DatesGENERAL MANAGEMENT3-TP: Middle Management (Summer) June 16 - July 13, 20133-TP: Senior Management Aug. 4 - 24, 2013Small and MediumEnterprises Programme Oct. 13 - 26, 20133-TP: Middle Management (Winter) Jan. 19 - Feb. 15, 2014GLOBAL PROGRAMMESGeneral Management Programme inBhutan * Cost of stay for the duration of theprogramme will be charged extra.

Aug. 18 - 31, 2013

BRICs on BRICs ABRIC experience through an ExecutiveEducation Programme to be delivered jointlyby four reputed Institutes fromBRIC

Brazil ModuleDec. 2-6, 2013

India ModuleFeb. 17-21, 2014

Russia Module April 7-11, 2014

China ModuleJune 2-6, 2014

BUSINESS POLICYBusiness Leadership and Law Aug. 21- 23, 2013Strategies for Growth Sept. 9 - 14, 2013Business Dispute Resolution: Internationaland Domestic Arbitration (New) Sept. 10 - 14, 2013

Contract Management Sept. 16 - 20, 2013Knowledge Management Sept. 30 - Oct. 5, 2013Innovation, Corporate Strategy, and Com-petitive Performance Oct. 28 - Nov. 2, 2013

Working Conference: Authority, Organisa-tion, Strategies and Politics of Relatedness Nov. 28 - Dec. 4, 2013

Organizational Leadership for the 21stCentury Nov. 18 - 21, 2013

COMMUNICATIONTaking People Along: Managing by Persua-sion Aug. 12 - 17, 2013

The Winning Edge: CommunicationStrategies for Leaders Sept. 16 - 21, 2013

Effective Communication Strategies : Menand Women @Work Oct. 21 - 26, 2013

COMPUTERS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMSStrategic IT Management for CIOs Oct. 28 - Nov. 2, 2013Managing IT Projects Dec. 2 - 7, 2013Visual Business Intelligence (New) Dec. 9 - 11, 2013ERPSystems: Technology Planning andImplementation Dec. 9 - 11, 2013

FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING Advanced Corporate Finance Oct. 21 - 26, 2013Mergers, Acquisitions and Restructuring Dec. 17 - 21, 2013Strategic Cost Management Jan. 13 - 16, 2014MARKETING

Advanced Data Analysis for MarketingDecisions July 29 - Aug. 3, 2013

Luxury Management Programme Aug. 5 - 9, 2013Customer Based Business Strategy Aug. 29 - 31, 2013International Business Oct. 7 - 12, 2013Pricing for Pro t Nov. 11 - 15, 2013

Programme DatesCustomer Relationship Management Jan. 20 - 25, 2014B2B Marketing Feb. 24 - March 1, 2014Enhancing Sales Force Performance Feb. 17 - 20, 2014Managing Retailing Oct. 14 - 19, 2013ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOURLeadership and Change Management July 29 - Aug. 2, 2013Enhancing Leadership Capacities andPotential Among Professional Women July 9 - 12, 2013

Interpersonal Effectiveness and TeamBuilding Jan. 6 - 9, 2014

PERSONNEL AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONSNegotiations Skills Clinic Aug. 26 - 28, 2013

Advanced Human Resource Management Dec. 2 - 7, 2013PRODUCTION AND QUANTITATIVE METHODS

Advanced Quality Management July 15 - 19, 2013Project Management Sept. 2 - 7, 2013Risk: Modeling and Management Sept. 2 - 6, 2013

Advanced Analytics for Management Nov. 18 - 23, 2013Revenue Management and Dynamic Pricing Nov. 24 - 29, 2013Supply Chain Management Dec. 2 - 7, 2013Food Supply Chain Management Feb. 3 - 8, 2014Delivering Logistics Solutions Feb. 23 - March 1, 2014Strategic Analytics: Programon QuantitativeData Analytics and its Applications inBusiness & Marketing

April 14 - 16, 2014

Uncertainty, Complexity, and Risk in ProjectsApril 14 - 17, 2014 AGRICULTURE Agricultural Input Marketing Jan. 6 - 12, 2014Managing Contract Farming Jan. 27 - 31, 2014Harnessing Intellectual Property forStrategic Competitive and Collaborative

AdvantageFeb. 12 - 14, 2014

PUBLIC SYSTEMS AND CENTRE FOR MANAGEMENTOF HEALTH SERVICESPublic Private Partnerships (PPPs) in RuralInfrastructure (New) June 24 - 28, 2013

Legal and Regulatory Issues in Infrastruc-ture Aug. 26 - 30, 2013

Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) inInfrastructure Oct. 7 - 12, 2013

Clinical Lab Management Oct. 16 - 18, 2013Hospital Management Sept. 10 - 14, 2013Data Analysis for Healthcare Management

(New) Jan. 20 - 24, 2014Investigating Corporate Social Irresponsibil-ity (New) Feb. 26 - 28, 2014

RAVI J MATTHAI CENTRE FOR EDUCATIONAL IN-NOVATION (RJMCEI)Strategic Leadership for Schools in aChanging Environment Sept. 30 - Oct. 5, 2013

Innovating for Excellence: Programme forLeaders in Management Education Dec. 2 - 7, 2013

OTHERSPublishers Training Programme June 24 - 28, 2013

CAMPUS COVERAGE

Indian Institute of Management, AhmedabadMANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES (June 2013-May 2014)

SPECIAL FEATURE

With diplomas in hand and dressed in black, therecouldn’t have been a prouder moment for thegraduating students of IIMA. A student’s life goesthrough a number of stages, but there always is thatone stage when you know that the other seeminglytiny stages were all worth the effort. It is truly themoment which de ines you in terms of your academiclife, and on the evening of March 23, 2013, the chairs

were laid out for the 48th Annual Convocation at theLouis Kahn Plaza, memorable to say the least andgrand in every sense possible. The colourful anddiverse mass of graduating students, many of theirparents, friends and well-wishers, and the IIMA staffand faculty community, all of them illing out theiconic LKP, seemed to express the hopes for a brightfuture for yet another generation of graduates.

The key events of the evening were, apart fromthe handing out of the diplomas and medals, theaddresses of the Chief Guest, Mr. Lakshmi Mittal,Chairman and Chief Executive Of icer, ArcelorMittal, the Chairperson of the Board of Governorsof the Institute, Mr. Anil M. Naik, and theDirector of IIMA, Professor Samir K. Barua. Atotal of 509 graduating students of IIMA’s Post-Graduate and Fellow programmes received theirdiplomas and Fellow titles.

Fellow Programme in Management (FPM): thedoctoral programme of the Institute, which comprisescourse work of two years and independent research.Sixteen participants received the Title of Fellow ofIndian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Post-Graduate Programme in Management (PGP):the two-year lagship programme of IIMA. A total of373 students received their Diplomas. Three studentsreceived Gold Medals for scholastic performance:Nikhil Agarwal, Aniketh Talwai and Sumit Somani.

Post-Graduate Programme in Agri-BusinessManagement (PGP-ABM: the two-year PosGraduate Programme specially designed to preparestudents for careers in management related toagriculture, food, agri-business, rural and alliedsectors of the economy. A total of 35 students receivedthe PG diploma in Agri-business Management. Thestudent who received the Gold Medal for scholasticperformance was Shashank Rathi.

Post-Graduate Programme for Executive (PGPX)the full-time One Year Post-Graduate Programmein Management for Executives (PGPX). The seventhbatch of PGPX graduated this year. A total of 85students received the PGPX Diploma. Aditya Bansalreceived the Gold Medal for scholastic performance.

Of Diplomas, Speeches and Hopesfor the Future

The 48th Convocation of IIMA, 2013

E-commerce Start-ups: a popular choice in 2013E-commerce is a popular choice of entrepreneurship for the PGP class of 2013 at theIIMA. Five students spurned jobs from multi-nationals to begin their own online start-ups.These include a professional network for photographers (R. Venkat), an online samplingand market research portal (G. Punit) and an e-commerce venture for project equipment(Kunal Gupta).



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SPECIAL FEATURE

Good evening everyone. I am honoured anddelighted to be with you here today on theoccasion of your convocation from IIMA, one ofthe world’s most respected management schools.I know from my own experience what a specialoccasion a convocation is. So, I want to begin byexpressing my sincerest congratulations to all ofyou for succeeding in obtaining your degrees.

Speaking in front of the graduates from IIM

Ahmedabad is most de initely not an easy task! Youare amongst the smartest, most highly educated

students in the world, not to mention the fact thatyou have access to world events and informationjust as I do; and I am sure that you well understandthe political and economic challenges of the day.So, is it likely that I will be able to tell you anythingabout business or the economy in twenty minutesor so, that could add in any meaningful way towhat you have already learnt at this school?

The answer, I suspect, is no t really. Hence, I am goingto direct my words to one of the main differencesbetween us—forty years approximately. In theseyears, during the course of which I have startedand grown my business, I have faced many of life’s

different challenges. I wish to share with you someof these lessons that I have learned along thatpath—lessons that I believe have truly contributedto what I have achieved and, I hope can be of use toyou in your future.

All of you here today are smart and educated and Iimagine, are driven and ambitious individuals. Butthat does not mean you will all achieve the samelevel of success. What are these differentiating

factors? Of course the answer is complicatedand there are many factors at play. But onedifferentiating factor will be the way in which youapproach, handle and navigate life.

I founded my business in 1976 in Indonesia withthe help of my father. Over four decades it hasgrown to become the world’s largest steel andmining company. I am often asked whether Ienvisaged this happening when I irst started over.The answer is no. You simply have an idea andyou start. If that idea begins to deliver success,then you can start taking small steps forward. Ispent thirteen years in Indonesia, working slowlybut steadily to build a successful operation there.What we achieved during that period set thefoundation for future growth. In 1989 I was ableto take my irst global step to Trinidad & Tobago.From there we built the foundation to make ourirst proper acquisition in Mexico and after thatthe global journey continued. Today we havemajor operations in many countries, but thesecame together, one baby step at a time.

You have all built an excellent foundation hereat IIMA and you may well have some verybig ambitions. But don’t expect to ful il thoseambitions overnight. Start with small steps. Setyourself ambitious but realistic targets that willstretch you but that you can achieve within areasonable time frame. You may want to create

Convocation AddressChief Guest, Lakshmi N. Mittal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Arcelor Mittal,

delivered the convocation address at the 48th annual convocation held onMarch 23, 2013 at the Louis Kahn Plaza

Lakshmi N. Mittal offers nuggets of advice to thespellbound IIMA graduates

a mansion but recognise that if you want it to besustainable, there is no pre-fab option availableto you. You need to build your mansion brick bybrick and over time it will take shape.

You will ind that as you take these steps, you willneed great determination to succeed. Steve Jobssaid in his much-referenced Harvard convocationspeech in 2005 that it is vital to love what you do. Iagree. But the reason this is so important, beyondday to day enjoyment of what you are doing, isbecause if you don�

iima alumnus magazine june 2013

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