the business enterprise

Vol 1 Issue 4 May 2011 50 `

D r e a m s . s T r a T e G I e s . e X e C U T I O N

b ack to school

Campus calling

Dashboards

Employability factor

Business Management

Group CEOKalyan Kumar G.

Deputy EditorCatherine Gilon

Design

Art DirectorLakshmikanthan

Designer Matha-ul-Ameen

Circulation

Senior ManagerKarthick G.K. +91 98848 76175

Advertisement

Media Sales Manager - ChennaiSuresh Kumar G. +91 93817 91788

Support

Media Coordinator Mubarac Nisha

Board of AdvisorsG Vamshidhar

Kaushik Tiwari

Tatwamasi Dixit

A.R. Santhanakrishnan

Madhav Das

N. Srikrishna

Anusha Kannan

Dinesh Kumar Agarwal

R. Vinod

Madhavan Kutty

M.S. Raghava Rao

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Friends,

We at The Business Enterprise endeavour to provide best possible counseling to men in grey in managing their businesses, be it huge or small. In our 9 years of business consulting experience, we find that one of the greatest challenges faced by HR in a company is finding the right guy to the right job, it is sometimes sci-entific and mostly philosophical. This issue, we explore an initiative of a start-up which has come out with a tool to assess a person’s ability for a particular job. A much needed tool, I would say.

Through our cover story, TBE is venturing out to give a glimpse of what it means to going back to school and what options are available to Corporate India. We are also presenting to you (If you are an entrepreneur, a CEO or even a mid-level manager) a listing of courses that suit your requirements. Continuous upgrada-tion of skill remains a key requirement for corporate India to manage the chal-lenges that a global market poses. We have a step-by-step guide for those eyeing an MBA from a premier institute through ‘Going Back to School’ on page 36. We also bring out a facet that B Schools often ignore – how not to be a bad manager. This edition ought to be a bible for those on the lookout for a ‘Higher’ education.We also present you with the guide to execute strategies (my pet subject) through ‘Aligning employees with corporate strategies’ on page 26. I am a strong believer that great strategies go unnoticed unless they are properly executed. And ‘execu-tion’ is the greatest art Indian Corporate should hone. Executing one strategy is better than 1000 untouched innovative strategies.

During my consulting experience, I see many organisations doing ‘just business’ without identifying what they are best at. This results in losing focus, wasting energies and doing everything except what they are supposed to do. Sticking to the core (first identifying what is the core) is need of the hour. Stick to the core, achieve expertise and you are on your highway to creating corporate history. Let’s continue to learn everyday.

Kalyan KumarEditor-in-Chief

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Team At Pen Point

For feedback and contributions, kindly email us at [email protected]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Inside-Out

ENLIGHTEN

06 India at a glance08 Start Ups & Ventures - Lead kindly light10 Leadership - A beautiful mindStrategies12 HR - Who am i?16 HR - Fill in the blank20 Customer Relations - Uncle Sam's cabin22 Product - Will you fit in?24 Technology - Harness your data26 Growth and expansion - Aligning employees with corporate strategies Execution28 People Management - Leveraging your core

32 The cup of joy

EXCLUSIVE

36 Going back to school40 Why everyone loves an MBA42 The making of a manager44 Executive management courses

36

10

ENTERTAIN

50 We mean business52 Leaderoscope

54 Corporate cuisine

ENVISION

56 Business on cards

EVOLVE

60 Volkswagen Passat

ENGAGE

62 Real estate 64 Crib corner

66 Xchange68 Your next step

70 60 seconds72 Brand - ish

74 IronE

52

2044

60

INDIA AT A GLANCEA glimpse of India’s economic indices in the year 2011

Sectors Dec-10 Sep-10 Trends

Agriculture 9.00 4.60Industry 6.20 9.10

Services 8.60 10.00

Currency Pair Month Open Month Close Trend Period Average Period High Period Low Period VarianceINR to USD 45.25 45.29 0.08% 45.38 45.95 44.58 14.13%INR to EUR 62.37 63.84 2.31% 63.53 64.88 62.29 56.73%INR to GBP 73.16 72.60 -0.78% 73.33 74.57 71.82 45.20%INR to CNY 6.88 6.89 0.23% 6.90 6.99 6.79 0.31%INR to JPY 0.55 0.55 -1.26% 0.56 0.58 0.54 0.01%

16.214.9 14.9

13.3 13.9 13.7

11.39.9 9.8 9.7

8.39.5 9.3 8.8

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

16.0

18.0

Inflation Rate in %

Key Rates Current PreviousBase Rate* 8.25 - 9.50 8.25 - 9.50Repo Rate** 6.75 6.50Reverse Repo** 5.75 5.50Bank Rate*** 6.00 6.00

Sectors Feb '11 Jan '11Manufactured Products 4.94 3.75Primary Food Articles 10.65 15.65Fuel 11.50 11.40

Absolute Inflation Rate across Key Sectors

Indices Open (Mar 1st 2011) Close (Mar 31st 2011) TrendsSensex 18,446.50 19,445.22Nifty 5522.3 5833.75

Sensex GainersScrip Name % ChangeDLF Ltd. 20%Reliance Communications Limited 19%Tata Power Company Ltd. 15%Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. 11%Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. 11%

Sensex LoosersScrip Name % ChangeMaruti Suzuki India Ltd. -2%Tata Steel Ltd. -2%Hindalco Industries Ltd. -2%Hindustan Unilever Ltd. -1%

Nifty GainersScrip Name % ChangeReliance Capital Ltd. 21%Ambuja Cements Ltd. 21%DLF Ltd. 21%Reliance Communications Ltd. 19%Tata Power Co. Ltd. 16%

Nifty LoosersScrip Name % ChangeMaruti Suzuki India Ltd. -2%Tata Steel Ltd. -2%Hindalco Industries Ltd. -2%Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. -1%Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. -1%

Trends in GDP GrowthCompared to previous QuarterQuarter Growth Trends

Q3 FY 2011 (December 2010) 8.2Q2 FY 2011 (September 2010) 8.9

Trends in GDP GrowthCompared to Previous YearQuarter Growth TrendsQ3 FY 2011 (December 2010) 8.2Q3 FY 2010 (December 2009) 6.5

6The Business Enterprise | May 2011

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Sectors Dec-10 Sep-10 Trends

Agriculture 9.00 4.60Industry 6.20 9.10

Services 8.60 10.00

Currency Pair Month Open Month Close Trend Period Average Period High Period Low Period VarianceINR to USD 45.25 45.29 0.08% 45.38 45.95 44.58 14.13%INR to EUR 62.37 63.84 2.31% 63.53 64.88 62.29 56.73%INR to GBP 73.16 72.60 -0.78% 73.33 74.57 71.82 45.20%INR to CNY 6.88 6.89 0.23% 6.90 6.99 6.79 0.31%INR to JPY 0.55 0.55 -1.26% 0.56 0.58 0.54 0.01%

16.214.9 14.9

13.3 13.9 13.7

11.39.9 9.8 9.7

8.39.5 9.3 8.8

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

16.0

18.0

Inflation Rate in %

Key Rates Current PreviousBase Rate* 8.25 - 9.50 8.25 - 9.50Repo Rate** 6.75 6.50Reverse Repo** 5.75 5.50Bank Rate*** 6.00 6.00

Sectors Feb '11 Jan '11Manufactured Products 4.94 3.75Primary Food Articles 10.65 15.65Fuel 11.50 11.40

Absolute Inflation Rate across Key Sectors

Indices Open (Mar 1st 2011) Close (Mar 31st 2011) TrendsSensex 18,446.50 19,445.22Nifty 5522.3 5833.75

Sensex GainersScrip Name % ChangeDLF Ltd. 20%Reliance Communications Limited 19%Tata Power Company Ltd. 15%Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. 11%Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. 11%

Sensex LoosersScrip Name % ChangeMaruti Suzuki India Ltd. -2%Tata Steel Ltd. -2%Hindalco Industries Ltd. -2%Hindustan Unilever Ltd. -1%

Nifty GainersScrip Name % ChangeReliance Capital Ltd. 21%Ambuja Cements Ltd. 21%DLF Ltd. 21%Reliance Communications Ltd. 19%Tata Power Co. Ltd. 16%

Nifty LoosersScrip Name % ChangeMaruti Suzuki India Ltd. -2%Tata Steel Ltd. -2%Hindalco Industries Ltd. -2%Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. -1%Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. -1%

Trends in GDP GrowthCompared to previous QuarterQuarter Growth Trends

Q3 FY 2011 (December 2010) 8.2Q2 FY 2011 (September 2010) 8.9

Trends in GDP GrowthCompared to Previous YearQuarter Growth TrendsQ3 FY 2011 (December 2010) 8.2Q3 FY 2010 (December 2009) 6.5

7May 2011 | The Business Enterprise

7

“We believe that the only way to uplift our society is to make ‘education for all’ a reality. We concentrate on giving livelihood education to high school dropouts,” says Mr. Anand, Manager, Aide et Action. He continues, “Enrolling children in school is not that difficult but retaining them is. After fifth standard, these children who come from poor families are used as child labourers or they get into anti-social activities after dropping out from school.”

iLEAD leads“For the past ten years, the economic growth in our country has been tremendous and there are plenty of job opportunities. But what we lack is productive man power. And that is where iLEAD fits in. There are thousands of dropout youth (in the age group of 18-35) in the marginalised section. ILEAD looks at developing this group as 93% of the work available in our country is in the unorganised sector.

We find the most backward regions from a national survey and then take the most marginalized slums with a large population of SC, ST and minorities. We then organize a CMD (Community Mobilisation Drive) to benefit the youth there. We offer skill

development programmes in about 30 trades for four months and offer them placement in established firms,” says Mr. Anand.

How we give what the employers want?“Even before the programme starts, we do a study called EPA (Employability Potential Assessment) . Through EPA, we focus on two groups – the communities and the employers. On the employer’s side, we study the required skill set at the entry level and at the community level, we find out the education status. Then we frame the curriculum for the course based on the market need. For those who have completed their Plus Two, we offer beauty courses, mechanics, ITES etc.

The iLEAD programme consists of two parts – pre-training phase and post-training phase. While in the pre-training phase, we study the market, conduct mobilisation drives with visual aids and spot admissions; Post-training, we give them as much practical exposure as possible. We even organise guest lectures from various industries and do personality mapping to find the best job for them. All candidates are taught spoken English courses, personality development classes and are made socially aware citizens. We are targeting 100 % placement as of now, our record is 76%,”

Mr. Anand smiles with pride.

Bringing out the best – a success storyHow personality development through intervention and motivation can help a person overcome all odds in life is best described in the success story of Velmurgan, son of a cobbler in Madurai. Twenty-year-old Velmurgan was at a crossroads in life after completing his school final when his father could not work because of failing health. Velmurgan took up a job as a tailor for a readymade garments shop at a salary of Rs. 1,500 per month to support his impoverished family comprising his mother, a housewife, and a younger sister. He came to know of iLead during one of the Community Mobilisation Drives undertaken by the Madurai centre, and enrolled himself for the wireman’s course.

The iLead experience brought out the best in Velmurgan, who emerged out of his low self-esteem image to that of a confident young man. Placed as an electrician trainee with CCCL (Consolidated Construction consortium Limited), a reputed construction company in Chennai, Velmurgan worked with dedication and was further helped by iLead in personality development during post-placement visits. He is now a senior electrician drawing a salary of

Lead kindly lightFor the last 30 years, Aide et Action has created a revolution that takes on the employability challenge in India. And they have one powerful tool that makes this change possible – education!


NLIGHTEN

The I lead revolution1. Total number of Candidates trained – 98,2552. Total number of candidates - 75,602, Placement percentage is 76%3. Total number of centers - 121 centers4. Top recruiters include Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto, Yamaha, TVS Suzuki, Hyundai Motors, Taj Plaza, Hotel Residency, Golden Inn, Holiday Resort, Airtel, Vodafone, IDEA Mobile showroom, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, HDFC Bank, ICICI Lombard, Citibank, Cafe Coffee Day and Westend Circle.

Rs 6000 per month with free accommodation to boot!

While recalling his pre-course state of mind and how he benefited from personality development, he says, “I used to be very shy and would not maintain an eye contact while speaking with others. Also, I lacked self-confidence because of my lower educational and economic background. During training in iLEAD, I was taught to develop an effective body language which included gestures and facial expressions. These helped me to portray myself in a better way. I followed the tips given during the personality development classes. They helped me find out the positive energy in me and I improved on them. I started developing a positive attitude towards life, read the life story of successful persons and got inspired. Now, I have confidence in my ability and proactively share information and learning with my colleagues and address conflicts within the team in a positive and open manner.”

The stint at iLead not only helped Velmurgan make a mark in his life but has also enabled him to clear family loans, look after his parents and also take care of his sister’s higher studies. She is now doing a course in nursing.

Velmurgan’s mother is obviously proud of her son’s achievement in life as he is taking care of the entire family. As Aide et Action has rightly found education is indeed the cure for all our evils. Let us hope programmes like iLEAD lead us to a better society tomorrow.


9

Raj Ganesan, Founder, Business Labs, who has transformed many a business with his strategic solutions shares his vision with The Business Enterprise.In a professional career spanning over 21 years, he has primarily focused on deciphering business performance and creating value-based organisations. Tenure includes top-notch strategy consulting firms, Big Four professional services organisation, and venture-backed $100 million professional services companies. We could say that there are few business consultants in the world who know International business the way he does. In a free-wheeling chat with TBE, Biz Guru Raj Ganesan dispels a few myths and gives us some hard facts.

A beautiful mind


NLIGHTEN

Only companies that concentrate on the intellect factor of their product or services will dominate. We need to create premium brands and our

SMEs need to sell intangibles.

What was the reason behind the inception of your company ‘The Business Labs’?We grow companies for our clients. That is the real intent of starting The Business Labs - to help SME clients grow and help larger institutions acquire high-quality companies. Our services improve the intangible aspects of financial valuation, beyond the brand-value. We wanted to help companies double and triple their exit value. Till now, we have advised about 300 odd companies at different levels and we are able to consistently demonstrate results as desired by stakeholders. And yes, along the way we have our fair share of failures too.

After engaging with our clients, we deploy a wide array of world-class marketing techniques and lead sources necessary for sustainable growth, many times within a few cycles of implementation. For a marginal cost, clients get high returns, typically several times greater than their current metrics. Our pool of talent helps them with revenue creation models, market expansion techniques, technology solutions, strategic improvements and effectively closing 60-95% of the deals. When we find that the leadership lacks strength, we help them with CEO coaching and provide them advisory support too.

What were the initial challeng-es you faced?As such a professional service is nothing more than an expensive casual labour force, where people get paid for hours spent. Instead, our business model is designed to create exponential revenue streams by focusing on intellectual value and result, not time or effort. Client acceptance of this new business model was initially a challenge until early clients were able to see greater returns for a much smaller investment. Today, we have demonstrated the benefits and more clients insist on this profit sharing model than traditional consulting models.

Coming from a corporate consulting

environment, working for some of the finest companies (KPMG, PwC) in the world, I was used to rubbing shoulders with executives in Fortune 500 companies and hardly knew anyone in the SME sector. Though our goal was to help the SME grow and offset a bigger company’s acquisition appetite, it took a lot more time and effort to build a relationship with business owners in the SME sector. I underestimated the effort, but quickly realised that our techniques had to change if we were to maximise the market opportunity.

Unlike larger firms, executives, especially in the family-owned businesses juggle roles and are often less business management savvy. Though they wanted the benefits from our service, they resisted change. We had to look for ways to make change conducive to their

risk appetite and culture. In fact, this ‘secret recipe’ for transforming businesses, opened more doors and has become a hallmark of our success.

What is the first step in your business transformation pro-cess?The initial phase of our business transformation engagement is focused on mind-shift, it helps executives open their mind’s eye to doing business differently. Though many accept the need for change, in reality people do not change, they simply provide lip service, denying themselves and the entire company the opportunity to grow.

Once we prepare the top executives for transformation, we co-develop strategic goals that need to be achieved in the next 3-8 months, consistently. We hand-hold executives

from there on – provide revenue generation expertise, reach specific target markets at lowest possible costa and teach field staff to close more deals. We focus on the process discipline and metrics outcome. This forms the basis of predictable sales and revenue performance.

Speaking of business perfor-mance, how can we reduce information overload to help an organisation grow?Human beings have found a way to fill-up time. If it takes five minutes to complete an activity, we stretch this effort until it is time for the next activity. We jeopardise any potential opportunity of ‘thinking’ of the time

necessary in between tasks giving no opportunity to determine if these tasks need to be performed in the first place. For instance, when we have a few minutes, we reach out to our pockets to check the mobile phone, call someone or some even have the time to read junk SMS messages. By our design, we are overloaded. Here are my tips to avoid information overload.

1. Eliminate reactive technologies – For instance, I pick in-coming calls only at certain times and return all my calls in sequence once a day, a maxi-mum of 45 minutes. By this time, most of the issues are either solved or addressed. The same is true for emails.

2. Stick to core strategies –. You must account for 80% of your time aligned to core activities designed to produce predicable results.

3. Move to a metrics driven or-ganization – Top-down even the most complex companies can be managed with a handful of metrics. For instance, a Fortune 10 client of ours has only three metrics top-down through which we can predict the future of the company’s performance. Companies must take a tally on the number of meetings


11

they have in a week and see for themselves the amount of wastage.

4. Report size is a good indi-cator of efficiency - The larger the report, the complex the organisation, at least that is the hypothesis we initially start-off with. In most cases, we found this to be true. This does not take a lot of time to analyse, a quick walk around the office can reveal over-

load and wastage.

Even as companies ex-pand to newer arenas, how can we align the employee’s mindset with the company’s strategy?This is one of the most challenging aspects of the Indian business environment. Unfortunately, the problem lies with the executives also. As I said before, when executives manage business using older skills, old mind-set and techniques, at best, performance will be mediocre. Replacing employees, vendors, partners or even moving to adjacent sectors will not help in the growth. For employees to become productive, executives have to truly accept new ways of managing business necessary to simulate employees. They must

walk their talk, not simply provide lip service. Leaders need tomorrow’s skills and abilities to move from yesterday to today to near future.

With our clients, we spend a good portion of our time helping executives transform. When employees see the shift, and when done right, employees step-up to the opportunity without fearing changes. Then, we re-enforce the new foundation through a series of strategic activities for the change to stick and continue to improve employee performance over a period. We then bring employee’s activities and performance in line with company’s strategic goals whereby we are able to double and triple revenue targets.

What is Business Lab’s vision for the future?

Our vision is to help Indian SME clients double and triple their revenue. And, in this process make them world-class companies competing in local and global markets through our network of clients. We have helped companies in North America, other Western countries and Africa do the same. We are now working with a handful of Indian companies that are seriously committed to growth and once we get to a certain client capacity, we will entirely focus on helping them grow. This compelling model has virtually ensured great results for our clients.

Your India insightGlobal recession and the desire for Western countries to reduce cost will not last for long and that’s a caution to our Indian businesses. The world right now has minimal options except to go with India or China, depending on the needs. We see this opportunity disappearing and in the next few years, America will come out of the recession and decide to source it within the country. We are seeing some of the global adjustments tilting back towards North America and Europe.

It is time now for the Indian companies to focus on the ‘intellect’ factor to grow, they should concentrate on global expansion, irrespective of the company size. We are helping two to three small companies expand across India and globally, without adding headcount or huge inventory. With countries such as Africa entering the market, price is no longer a delineating factor. Only companies that concentrate on the intellect factor of their product or services will dominate. We need to create premium brands and our SMEs need to sell intangibles.

The big secretEmployees must believe that the company’s products and services truly benefit the clients. This is the biggest secret in motivating a company towards growth. While every step we have discussed is important, the biggest secret in growing a company is when executives focus on changing the belief system. When they start believing, customers will. This has been my insight after working with hundreds of businesses around the world. Those who focused on changing the belief system have significantly grown faster with higher quality of customer and returns.


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Who am I?De-roling yourself from that temporary anger or disappointment could make life much easier for

you and for others.


NLIGHTEN

“Bharath, please come out of the role! You are not the salesman anymore. You are Bhar-ath attending this training course!” thundered Himanshu Choudhri standing right in front of me. Momentarily, I realised that the angry salesman was still in me, holding some grudge against his boss, i.e., my co-participant Jacob, who played the sales manager’s role in a five-minute role-play session. When Himanshu’s words struck my ears, I shook my head and laughed at myself. I rose from my seat, went and deliberately shook hands with Jacob. By this, Himanshu had demonstrated how im-portant it is to de-role the participants after a ‘role-play’ session. Role-play, as you may be aware, is an experiential learning method where a set of participants are asked to enact certain pre-assigned roles in a given situation and post role-play, the debriefing is done to dissect the experience and bring the learning out of the exercise. By ‘de-roling’, the trainer brings the role-players back to their seats as learners without getting stuck with the tem-porary roles they had assumed in the role-play.

Role-trappingBut I was left with a bigger learning that day. I realised that even a few minutes of playing an artificial role can affect us emotionally and unless we consciously try and come out, it can have a lasting effect on us, without our being aware of it. This being the case, what could be the impact of the incidents we go through day in and day out, where we get emotionally involved? I realised that this de-roling has a larger connotation beyond role-play and can significantly help in understanding and alter-ing our mood swings in our real lives.

Become consciousSome evenings, when I return home after work, I feel completely drained for no spe-cific reason. I used to assume that my mood swings were like climate changes and could get cloudy at times. But when I started mak-ing a conscious search for the root cause of such mood swings, most often it would be a trivial incident or even a momentary gesture by some stranger that would have played the spoilsport. For instance, if I did not heed the incessant honking of an impatient car driver, who wouldn’t wait for the signal to turn green, I need not necessarily have to be bothered about his rude gestures. But I did and that showed up in my mood.

How do we de-role?As we live our day out, we take upon us dif-ferent roles at different times with different people – some roles for a short while, some endure longer and some are for a lifetime. As we move from one role to another, we often are still left with the emotional aftereffects of the previous role. The residues of a yell-ing boss or an irate customer may remain long beyond the event and may be draining all our mental and physical energies. How do we get out of the small mole before they turn into big mountains in our minds? When it comes to this kind of small stuff, do not go to big gurus who will talk big stuff like yoga, meditation and so on but listen instead to the master of Small Stuff, Richard Carlson. I have always admired the sim-plicity of his approach and his two-pagers running to hundred give practical ways to get over the small stuff. Here are a few from his hundred that can help you de-role yourself out of the small stuff.

Hundred years from now The fact that a hundred years from now we will all be gone from this planet can add a great deal of perspective to our lives. What if someone acted a little unkindly towards you or if you had to listen to some unwanted advice? How would it matter a hundred years from now?

Choose your battles wisely There will be occasions when you will want or need to argue, confront or fight for something you believe in. Many people, however, turn their lives into a series of battles by arguing and fighting over practically everything. There will always be people who disagree with you and people who do things differently. Is it re-ally important for you to prove to everyone that you are right and they are wrong? A more peaceful way is to choose consciously which battles are worth fighting for and which are better left alone.

Lighten upThese days, almost all of us seem to be too serious and uptight about almost everything

– being stuck in traffic, witnessing someone look at us wrongly or say the wrong thing, waiting in line and so on. The root of it is our unwillingness to accept life as being different, in any way, from our expectations. We spend our lives wanting things, people and events to be just the way we want them to be – and when they are not, we fight and suffer. A good exercise is to try to approach every single day without expectations. Do not expect people to

be friendly. When they are not, you won’t be bothered. If they are,

you will be surprised.

Drop the ball If someone throws the ball at you, you don’t have to catch it. It is a normal tendency when someone throws you a

concern, you must catch it and respond. You need

to remember that you have a choice. Answering a phone

when you are really busy is a form of catching the ball. By answering the phone, you are willingly taking part in an interaction you may not have time or energy for at that point in time. By choosing not to answer the phone, you are taking responsibility for your own peace of mind. The same idea applies to being insulted or criticised. When someone throws an idea or comment in your direction, you can catch it and feel hurt, or you can drop it and go on your way.

The next time you find yourself emotionally entrapped, tell yourself, ‘hey, come out of the role!’

Further Reading:DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF... by Richard Carlson

9 to 6

Bharath Gopalan

The writer is a Learning & Development pro-fessional and presently steers the L&D prac-tice at Madras Cements. He holds Masters Degrees in Psychology and Human Resource Management.


15

blankA break in your career might actually be a blessing in disguise. It can give you the time to know yourself better and to align your future ac-cordingly.

Fill in the

People may be unemployed at different points in their lives for a wide variety of reasons. This state could be at the start of a career, a repeated phenomenon, mid-career after a long stretch of work or even after retirement. Career gaps can be experienced by job hopefuls as disappointing, frustrating, depressing, irritating, shameful and

de-motivating. Very often, in this context, they believe the career gap happens because of reasons that are completely beyond their control – slow economy, lack of opportunities in a particular field, corruption, favouritism…. Some see themselves as inadequate, a failure or simply unlucky. This is negative and defensive thinking. Every thought we think is creating our future and whatever we voice, we begin to attract. So, where does such thinking lead one!

“Life will always be to a large extent what we ourselves make it” —Samuel Smiles


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“I’m never going to get a good job,” Mohan repeatedly tells himself as he prepares his resume and application. “My mother is right; I’ll never amount to much.” he says. Distracted, he thinks about yet another interview he has to face the next week. “All this is purposeless!” he mutters to himself. “I bet this too will be like all the others!” These thoughts, words and behaviour stem from Mohan’s perception of himself. We all have a mental picture of who we are, how we look, what we are good at and what our weaknesses might be. We develop this picture over time, starting from when we are young. Self-image is the term used to refer to one’s mental picture of oneself, and is based on interactions with other people and personal life experiences. This mental picture contributes to our perception of ourselves, others and the situation we are in. Our self-image depends on how much we feel valued, loved, accepted, and thought well of by others — and how much we value, love, and accept ourselves. People with a healthy self-image feel good about themselves, appreciate their own worth and take pride in their abilities, skills and accomplishments. They have confidence, reach out for new challenges and are winners. People with an unhealthy self-image imagine that no one likes them or accepts them, or that they cannot do well in anything. Hence they do not set appropriate goals or do not reach them. They blame themselves or others when things go wrong, instead of learning from the event and moving on. This causes them to be unhappy and insecure.

This perception develops throughout our lives based on our experiences with different people and activities. The way we were treated by our immediate family and the people who were close to us in childhood can have a significant impact on our self-image. Probable reasons for low self-image include negative experience with family members early in life, being teased by friends or teachers on a regular basis and so on. We can also develop a poor self-image by modelling our parents, as they often pass on

their fears and emotional difficulties without even noticing it.

The good news is that self-image can change over time. So if you feel that you are suffering from an unhealthy self-image, you can take steps to change it. The first step is to understand your perception of yourself and others. To facilitate this review, let’s play “A day in the life of …. YOU”

Read the instructions given below – then sit back, uncross your arms and legs, shut your eyes and follow the instructions.

• Video the past 24 hours of your life on your mind’s video-recorder. Start it yesterday when you woke up. Film the events (at home,

with friends, at work or job hunting) of the morning … take it through lunchtime … the afternoon … the evening … night. Notice what happens when you prepare to sleep … what was your thought when you woke up today.

• Now rewind the video super-fast before moving to the next instruction.

• Review your video to intuitively create a ‘blob’ on the grid given below. The position and size of the blob represents the proportion of time you spent feeling each of the four ways described in the grid.

Were the past 24 hours typical? The blob you have drawn probably covers all four quadrants to different extents. However, do you find yourself more frequently in one of

the quadrants, particularly in stress situations?

From each of these quadrants, we see the world in different ways and hence we act differently. At any given moment we are in one of these ‘life positions’ holding corresponding views of ourselves, others and life in general. Our attitude and behaviour from each position is shown in Figures 1–3.

To help you understand yourself in the context of the career gap and to get in touch with the voice in your mind, answer the following questions.

• What do you think of your qualities, abilities, skills and education?

• What are your thoughts of employers/interviewers?

• What are your beliefs about the career context you are in?

• Are you looking for a specific type of job? Why?

• On a scale of 1 to 10 (where 1 is no probability of finding a job) where do you place yourself ?

• What are your thoughts after an unsuccessful interview?

On the basis of the answers to the above questions and the quadrant which you are

in predominantly, you can decide where you want to move to.

This shift can be made at two levels. At the conscious level, doing things indicative of accepting yourself as you are and also accepting others as they are. Inviting the unconscious to release the current self-image and form a new pattern by repeating the following affirmations at least 10 times each day.

“I love and approve of myself. I trust the process of life. I am happy and peaceful.”

Here are a few things that you can do right away, everyday, to enhance your self-image and shift to the ‘I am OK, you are OK’ quadrant:

I feel good about myself and others, even if I might not like their behaviour (I+U+)

I+ +

I- +

U-

I believe I am inadequate compared to others (I-U+)

I think that there is something wrong with me and everyone else – it’s a no good world

(I-U-) I believe that I am right, I know what I am doing and others are wrong (I+U-)

U+


17

I– U+ Helpless Get away from Pass time

I– U- Hopeless Get nowhere Waste time

I+ U+ Assertive Get on with Use / Make time

I+ U- Aggressive Get rid off Kill time

Fig.1 Fig.2

I– U+Anger –FrustrationRules – DutiesProblem - Flight

I+ U+Anger – Need metRules – GuidelinesProblem – Fix & Flow

I+ U-Anger- ResentmentRules – Make & enforceProblem - Fight

I– U-Anger – WithdrawalRules – AbsoluteProblem - Freeze

Fig.3

I– U+Self – consciousFeeling foolish, Blushing, Embarrassed

I+ U+Aware, Warm, Smiling, Receptive, Communicative

I+ U-Red in the face, Blaming, Raised voice

I– U-Blank, Bleary-eyed, Frozen-faced, Non-responsive

sufficient research about the position or job you desire. If you are having difficulty answering these questions then it is time to do a bit of research. Collecting first-hand information from several sources about your new position is an important initial step, so go back and spend some time on it if you have not already done so.

Try new things“You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.” -- Richard Bach Experiment with different activities that will help you get in touch with your talents and take pride in new skills you develop. Feeling good about yourself can be especially difficult when you are having a difficult time, or when others are overly critical. Do not let this prevent you from building a positive self-esteem. Look for support from friends or loved ones, or speak to a professional who can talk you through your challenges and feelings. Finally, lead a balanced and healthy lifestyle, and do things you enjoy. Appreciate yourself for your achievements and remember to think positively.

Susan George,Ph.D., PTSTA (P)

The writer is the Vice-president, Training & Certification, South Asian Association of Transactional Analysts and Trustee, India-Asia on the BOT of the International Association of Transactional Analysis.

Accept yourself for who you areNo one is perfect. Instead of thinking about what you are lacking, consider what is unique about you. An easy way to do this is to maintain a ‘golden book’. Each night, review the day and write down all your good qualities you have used through the day. Also list all the positive recognition you received from others – from a smile to specific compliments. Writing uses the visual, auditory and kinaesthetic channels and thus enhances intake.

Face your fearsFears can be real or imagined. Real fears have a protective function and they send signals that you need to expand your resources and strategies to deal with your situation and get what you want in life. Two most common imagined fears are the twin evils of failure and rejection. Such fears are paralyzing. These fears are intensified by obsessing on the worst-case scenarios. Imagined fears are time and energy consuming, and tend to hold you back from achieving your goals. A good way to overcome this is to “feel the fear and do it anyway”. The book by Susan Jeffers with this title gives specific techniques to do this.

Learn from your failuresDo not take failures or rejections too seriously. It is not the end of the world if you fail. Einstein once said, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” Think back to the time you learnt to ride a bicycle. You probably fell several times, but with each fall, you got up and brushed off the dust. Before you knew it, you became pretty good at it. The same applies here. Initially, you

have to work on your skills to overcome your failures. Redefine and reframe it in your mind to lessen the negative emotional impact and the fear. Regard failure as feedback. Learn, change and move on.

Forget about things that are beyond your controlBeing preoccupied with things in life that you cannot control (such as the weather, the traffic, other people’s attitudes and problems, etc.) will stress you out. You can relieve yourself of a lot of stress by letting go of these unnecessary worries. Rather, shift your attention to things that you can take charge of. Perhaps you cannot control some situations, but you can control your own response to it and how you want it to affect you for the rest of your life.

Prepare for the career you look forward to• What do you know about the position you are aiming for?

• What are your reasons for this choice? (Hopefully, it is not remuneration or saleability in the marriage market!)

• What type of work will you be required to do in that position?

• What type of competencies, knowledge, skills and experiences will you need to be considered for that position?

• Do you have these competencies, knowledge, skills and experiences?

You should be able to write the answers to these questions quite easily if you have done


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When you are working with a foreign customer, some basic cultural knowledge could help close a deal or at least save your face.


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• Listen and learnListening to foreign television channel’s news bulletins, interviews, and feature films help one to a great extent. They can take advantage of audio and video discs as self-learning tools which are exclusively created for this specific purpose.

• Leave it to the professionalsThanks to many institutions that impart this soft skill by way of regular classroom instructional classes coupled with case studies, your practical difficulties will be predicted and you will be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

- With inputs from Anupama Arvind, Senior Vice-President - Business, M/s Global Adjustments, Chennai and Ganesavel, senior contact centre professional, Bengaluru.

The afore mentioned tips are only the ‘tip of the ice-berg’ and the real success in tackling this tricky issue depends on the readiness of the aspiring individual. It is only a teething trouble and one could easily circumvent this problem and emerge comfortable over a period of time.

I will never understand why my Indian colleague says 'yes' to everything my boss asks even if it is humanly impossible to complete the task. Wouldn't a simple 'no' be more efficient than

an unavoidable 'sorry' that comes later?

– Rock Antoine, a French business consultant. The communication and information technology revolution has created a deep impact globally, the issues concerning effective

transactions of business, trade and industry, culture and human relations of citizens across the world need to be addressed owing to the fact that very many languages (both vocal and sign) are spoken as well as practised by various cross sections of people, which indeed acts as a barrier in understanding and appreciating different cultures. This issue assumes greater significance especially when a business client is from a different country. Blending inHere are a few tips that can help you survive the cultural shock while doing business with a foreign client.

• Do your homework Learn about the basic cultural differences between your country and the country that you are visiting or planning to work in.

For example: While it is okay to be fashionably late in India, the Chinese can cancel even an international meet if the concerned person is not on time. Similarly, while the West believes that looking at a person’s eye while conversing shows honesty, the East takes it to be lack of respect.

• Go with an open mindThe individual should shed inhibitions or any complex and prepare himself to be highly flexible and go with an open mind of loving the foreign language. This ultimately paves the path for lively interactions.

• Never assume Nobody knows everything and it is perfectly normal to ask for clarifications when you can’t understand the other person’s accent or a particular phrase they used.

• Ice-breakers varyWhile in India, cricket is a universal ice-breaker, it may not strike a chord with US clients. While weather is a clichéd conversation starter, trying to find a common link that connects the two countries could help you open up better.

• Know what's a 'no'!While in India it is fine to buy your client a drink or a meal, East European clients take offence when someone buys them a ‘gift’ unnecessarily. Make sure not to offend your client even if you don’t please them.

Shobhana S


21

If the focus in present times is on quality education, then the reason for this has to be the increase in the need for a talented workforce. It is one thing to graduate with flying colours and

another to be able to deliver on a job. Two youngsters who realised the need to bridge this employability gap launched a company which focuses primarily on measuring employability. Meet Himanshu Aggarwal and Varun Aggarwal, the founders of Aspiring Minds.

The inspiration for Aspiring Minds The idea was triggered from a 2005 Nasscom survey that noted that only 25 per cent of India’s engineering graduates were employable. I studied B Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Delhi. Varun was at Massachusetts Institute of Technology doing his MS in Computer Science and read the findings of the survey with trepidation. We wanted to get deeper into the analysis of employability. He started a discussion on this at the MIT’s reading group. Thus was born Aspiring Minds, the start-up we founded in 2007. Varun and I moved from

the United States. We kept nurturing the idea that employability should be assessable, and developed an assessment technology that would create employability standards. Such a technology could not only help determine who was employable for what role in the industry but also help students understand the areas of improvement to seek the right training to make themselves employable. Prof. Tarun Khanna, well-known Harvard University Professor, appreciated our ideas and agreed to be an advisor to Aspiring Minds. There has been no looking back, and we were glad to get a global endorsement of the idea in 2009, when Aspiring Minds became the only Indian company to figure in Business Week’s list of most intriguing start-ups globally.

Hunting for the right talentWe are pioneers in creating employability standards in India for various industries and in creating a scalable labour inclusion platform.We conduct AMCAT – Aspiring Minds Computer Adaptive Assessment – which enables students to evaluate their employability and improve eligibility for employment. The same assessment helps corporates across the

country to recruit talent in a standardized and scalable fashion. AMCAT is India’s largest employability assessment.

AMCAT is based on Aspiring Minds’ proprietary technology in computer adaptive assessment with superior statistical benchmarking and job-matching algorithms.

Assessing through the AMCAT testDefining employability has far-reaching benefits – candidates can be made better aware of why he or she is not employable for a job, what kind of jobs they fit well for and areas for improvement. Corporates use the same employability tool to ensure they have high quality, standardized and consistent hiring across the country. We call this tool AMCAT. Divided into several modules, AMCAT, a computer adaptive test, assesses students on functional area skills, aptitude skills and personality skills. Each assessed student receives AMCAT’s seven-stroke employability feedback – a detailed personalised report – that helps students understand their areas of strength and weakness and provides analysis on core skills and improvement areas to secure

Corporates, until recently, had a tough time taking out the wheat from the chaff. With AMCAT, finding the right candidate for the right job is not a challenge anymore.

fit in?Will you


NLIGHTEN

a good job. On the other hand, AMCAT deployed pan-India can be used to locate talent across the country giving corporates a platform to find talent easily. Now our corporate clients sitting in their office can know the exact size of the potential pool of employable candidates available in a particular part of the country.

Understanding employability AMCAT has reached over 350,000 candidates helping them understand their employability. We have assisted over 14,000 candidates get their first job in the last 15 months.

Aspiring Minds started as a two-people team at inception and is now 110-people strong. In early 2007, we were focused on the NCR region while today we have pan-India operations reaching as far and wide as Srinagar, the North-East, and so on. We had initially focused on engineers and MCAs, while today Aspiring Minds’ tools are used to assess engineers, MCAs, MBAs, graduates and diploma holders. We assess around 30,000 people every month, adding them to our pre-assessed database for our corporate customers

to hire from. We have built relationships with over 1,200 colleges and 60 leading corporates. Therefore, we have been catalytic in building a sound mechanism of hiring via merit. Over 9,000 students across India were able to get employment by merit in 2010, which speaks volumes for the difference that we have been able to bring about in the recruitment space in India.

The path aheadWe are expanding in newer industry verticals like insurance, hospitality, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and so on with the aim to not only provide these industry-relevant tools but also give candidates taking the AMCAT opportunity in a variety of industries.

On the other hand, Aspiring Minds’ backbone is our assessment technology and job-matching algorithms, we are continuously working to add sophisticated technology products to our portfolio and enhance the depth and detail of our knowledge of talent and job profiles.

Thirdly, we are continuously reaching out to more and more candidates around the

country. While we started with engineers and MBAs, we are actively scaling AMCAT to help graduates, diplomas and other niche skill candidates get employability feedback and access to jobs.

Making a difference Aspiring Minds has been working with multiple large corporates which hire over 10,000 people every year. Their need for scalability, efficiency and standardization has motivated us to build the right offerings in the space. Some of our niche clients include smaller organisations where the challenges are completely different. Owing to the shortage of a large and oiled HR team, these organisations are handicapped when accessing talent. These organisations look at AMCAT as a platform to give them access to pan-Indian talent. Being able to shortlist on the basis of specific cut-offs, some of our niche clients are able to hire 7 out of 10 candidates shortlisted post the AMCAT, saving precious interview time and effort.

Shivani Arora


23

Does your management suffer from information overload? Do you never get the right information at the right time? It is time to put your information

system in place.Any business requires regular feedback of its performance to optimise the business processes. This feedback of business performance comes from various operational data sources. The data sources can be a high-five ERP or excel sheets or even the tried and tested North – West Indian methodology of ‘kachha book’. The feedback from these operational systems will have large amount of data, all of which may not be useful for decision makings; it is the key information out of this system that matters. There is a famous management gyan that says “a good decision made at the right time is better than a brilliant decision at a delayed time”. Any structured accurate information from the operational source should reach the business owners at the right time for them to plan better and make the right decisions. This information delivery to the top management is a key business challenge, inadequate information to the business owners makes them a team of blind men touching the elephant and making their own impressions.

Technology has become a key aid in providing supply to our management information system needs. Let us look at a practical situation in any organisation on how the MIS is prepared and the kind of challenges it throws sans technology aids.

Harness your data

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Technology automates the current manual process and gives live information to the top management by gathering data from the operational sources without any human intervention. It can even go one step further and create predictive models that will help organisations forecast their performance by using the tried and tested methodology of seasonal forecasting. This kind of technology is called Business Intelligence. It basically constitutes 5 styles; each style can be achieved with maturity of data and its usage.Achieving the highest level of BI will enable your company to be agile and ready for any business situation. BI also enables de-centralised and centralised business monitoring.

There are many BI tools in the market at various functional and commercial ranges. Microstratergy, Cognos, business objects are some famous top range BI tools with respect to commercial aspects. There are open source BI tools in the market which may be affordable, some of them being jaspersoft, pentaho, SAS BI and much more. But these open source BI come up with a raider of maintenance cost (please consider it before going for one). There are some BI tools in the market that provide only few selective styles of BI which might suit your current stage of data maturity and experience in operating systems. Some of the good ones are Dundas dashboards and Meye Dashboards.

But do remember before providing technology for your MIS needs, data without information is like an eye without vision. If the IT infrastructure in your organisation is not able to give the management the right information at the right time in the right form, then the investment is truly not realised. Management cannot take key-decisions to execute the ideas unless they are adequately supported by information. Therefore, it’s of the utmost importance that you choose a right package and a right implementation partner.

Is your business ready for BI?Does your company have a clear vision and measurable targets for departments? If yes, you can straightaway think of BI. If not, it is better to arrive at a vision and translate it to targets because it is best to know what you need to review rather than looking at some numbers without understanding its significance. To put it in simple words, “ensure that you change the culture of the organisation from being tactical and task-oriented to being goal-driven and strategic.”

Is the willingness to be KPI-driven widespread across all levels of the organisation?From my personal experiences, I can say that this awareness amongst the whole organisational chart will determine the success of BI implementation. Let’s pick up a simple analogy for this; say a student who does not understand or accept that he has to score more than 40 % to get a pass in his exam will not be able to prepare or work for the exam. So my advice would be to first drive this awareness across the organisation.

Is there a well-established operational IT system like ERP for all the major aspects of the value chain of your business? If yes, then you can straightaway think of BI, If not, then it is better to first streamline your existing operational systems by implementing or aligning ERP or any operational software package to your key business processes.

What stage of BI can you go in for?Ask yourself the questions in this section, if you can answer an emphatic ‘yes’ for a period of more than three (a safe bet would be five years) years of your operations then you are ready for all the five stages of BI. It is important that you have a mature data (after all it is just seasonal forecasting) for predictive analysis and mining to be successful. If you are not sure about the maturity of the data, it is better you go for a dashboard or a scorecard model which will eventually make you ready for higher stages. This model will also be cost-effective and will push your organisation into ‘regular business review culture’.

Information Analysts Business Managers All Workers Extranets Consumers

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Ad-Hoc Query and Analysis

Qube Analysis

Enterprise Reporting

Report Delivery and Alerting

Increasing number and range of users

Raghav Kousik

The writer is Business Head, Meye Dash-boards.


25

No goal can be achieved when the team doesn't understand the mission. Getting your employee to understand your strategy takes

you half way to success.

Once a journalist asked a celebrated business leader – If you have to choose among the business empire you have created so far and your team,

which one will you prefer? The business leader did not think even for a while and his answer was – my team. Upon further probing, he elaborated in one sentence, “if I have my team – I will create a bigger business empire and without them, the existing one may not last longer, so my choice is obvious.”

The above incident only reaffirms the role of the employee and their collective effort for the growth of a company.

In today’s corporate world where drying budget and heavy price pressure are common, strategies and goals are crafted inside a closed boardroom. The result is – employees putting their efforts in different directions and sometimes even in opposite directions.

How to succeed The organisation needs to make the employees understand the strategic objectives and goals and ensure that there is quick alignment with the same. Employees must execute the strategies with razor-sharp focus.

Aligning employees with a firm’s strategic goals is critical if organisations aspire to manage

Aligning employees with corporate strategies

their human capital effectively and ultimately attain strategic success. An important component of attaining and sustaining this alignment is for employees to have a ‘line of sight’ (LOS) with their organisation’s strategic objective.

Some of the facilitators are as follows:• Have a larger involvement of employees while formulating the strategies• Translate it into firm goals with tangible results• Have a clearly defined method for the measurement of results

Involving employees during the formulation


NLIGHTEN

It suggests viewing the organisation from all the four perspectives, creating matrix, collecting data and analysing it in relation to each other.

To simplify the above, it can be elaborated as – improving performance in the objectives found in the learning and growth perspective enables the organisation to improve its internal process perspective objectives, which in turn enables the organisation to create desirable results in the customer and financial perspectives.

While the balanced scorecard has been an effective tool for creating organisational alignment, the actual success of the system as an alignment tool can vary depending on the strategic focus of the scorecard, the success of its implementation and whether the

organisation successfully deploys the scorecard down to business or unit level and/or individual levels.

To conclude, personal scorecards, comprising four perspectives, should certainly be created at the highest level. But as personal scorecards are devolved deeper into the organisation they can be truncated so that they enable the employees to effectively use the scorecard as a mechanism for improving their own performance and seeing how their efforts impact

scorecards higher up that of the organisation.

Finally, it must be kept in mind that the goal should be to improve performance by aligning the employees with the corporate strategy using either the Balanced Scorecard or any other method and not to create an ideal reference document.

of strategy (before implementation) is a very effective method to have their buy-in. It also assures that the human aspect is well taken care of. The level of understanding, need for training and level of detailing required to be made adoptable by employees are well ascertained in advance.

The next difficult task is to convert it into firm goals and tangible results. The clarity of goals helps and motivates the employee to chart out a clear roadmap for success. It also eliminates unnecessary efforts which are not oriented towards the goals. A robust goal management methodology helps employees align their efforts to organisational strategic objectives, resulting in more motivated, result- oriented and accountable employees.

It is important to give employees step-by-step guidance to create goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. The measurement of results helps the course correction.

A key determinant of whether true alignment can be achieved is the extent to which the organisation has the appropriate capability to deliver its results. It is important to put in place a system that not only helps individuals understand the targets that they need to achieve but also the capability that they need to demonstrate.

One of the very effective methodologies to align employees with the company strategy and measure the effectiveness is through a balance score card.

The Balanced Scorecard strategyAccording to Robert Kaplan and David Norton, creators of the Balanced Scorecard approach to measuring business performance, only 5% of employees in today’s organisations understand corporate business strategies and what is expected of them in meeting goals. The Balanced Scorecard is a method

of defining elements of strategy. Through the balanced scorecard, business activities are aligned to the vision and strategy of the organisation. It improves internal and external communications and monitors organisation performance against strategic goals.

Kaplan and Norton describe the innovation of the balanced scorecard as follows:“The balanced scorecard retains traditional financial measures. But financial measures tell the story of past events, an adequate story for industrial age companies for which investments in long-term capabilities and customer relationships were not critical for success. These financial measures are inadequate, however, for guiding and evaluating the journey that information age companies must make to create future value

Adapted from Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, “Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System,” Harvard Business Review (January-February 1996): 76.

through investment in customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology, and innovation.”

The balance scorecard emphasizes the need for looking from different perspectives namely - the learning and growth perspective, the business process perspective, the customer perspective and the financial perspective.

Vision and strategy

CustomerTo present ourself to the customer in tandem with the company’s vision.

FinancialTo achieve financial success, how can we relate to our shareholders?

Learning and growthHow can we change and improve to achieve our company’s vision?

Internal Business ProcessesTo satisfy shareholders, how can the internal proccesses be set?

ShailendraTripati

The writer is VP-strategy and corporate planning in a manufacturing concern. He has 17 years of cross-functional expertise.


27

Leveragingyour core


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It is my belief that what people come with into this world is something unique. Each person has at least one core competency to impact the world with. It is those who identify this core

and work towards bringing satisfaction to others through that core who really become winners.

It is important to understand the core from the theory of Morph. When a foetus is born in the womb of it’s mother, depending on the part that is formed first the core or the potential of the person is determined. A foetus could be born first with either it’s head, torso or the limbs.

Babies born with the head (nervous system, skin, nails, etc) first are known as ‘Ectomorph’ and are seen as having large heads with broad foreheads. They are essentially born with the propensity to use and deal with their minds when coping with their environment. As such they are very clever in dealing with facts and reason with logic. They are extremely evaluative and measure everything in units and standards. These `thinkers’ are capable of analyzing complex information and infer and arrive at things in a hardheaded and unemotional manner. They grow into such roles and functions that require churning out data and crunching numbers such as in the Finance functions or as a Market Researcher or even a Statistician.

There are babies born with the torso (stomach, intestines and heart) first and who grow up to be broader or rotund around the middle. These are known as ‘Endomorph’ and their uniqueness lies in their emotional intelligence. Unlike the Ectomorph, the Endomorph is an emotions or feelings person. They deal with their environment through the use of their own and other people’s feelings. These endomorphs have great empathy and can relate well to a variety of people. They understand the `logic’ of emotions and can understand the underlying distress of a mob or the significance of the unspoken word or gesture. These people grow up to be actors or playwrights, or Guest Relations Executives

or even Human Resource Managers in large establishments. Their ability to solve human issues or respond to human dynamics or conflicts is their main forte.

Similarly, babies born with the limbs first are the Mesomorph and their intelligence is purely physical. They have tremendous abilities of the five senses and are extremely good at coordinating their limbs to get to the end result. These people are often seen in excellent physique, with broad shoulders and lean hips and streamlined legs and hands. They are fast paced in action and are a bundle of energy as they use their five sensors to deal with their environment. They turn out to be good athletes or construction engineers. They may be good at shop floor management, ,calling for daily dispatches and continuous operational decision-making and problem

solving of a practical nature. They are good people to have on board for the sheer strength of physical energy expended and the speed with which they perform their tasks.

There is a fourth basic competency called Intuition which is not specific to any one of the above-mentioned morphs and which can very well be a powerful combination of any one as well. This ability is the logic of the `unknown’. Ideas and thoughts or concepts evolve from no specific point and occur to the person as hunches or vague notions. The Intuitor follows the notion to find or discover a whole new world beyond the stated facts or reality. This is the intelligence of James Watt who saw the power of steam in the kettle lid. It is the `hunch’ that Columbus pursued to discover America in a `flat world’. This is the realm of ideation and creativity and it is the

fuel on which inventors and entrepreneurs survive.

Each person has a dominant core, which does not mean he lacks in the other competencies. Simply stated, the person prefers the use of a specific competence more than the other competencies.

In this backdrop, you may well ask `WHAT IS YOUR CORE?’ The core is what comes to you easily without an effort. The core is what deeply interests you. Pele was beaten black and blue by his father every time he caught the lad playing football without going to school. Pele took all the beating because `playing football was worth it’.

When dealing with an activity which engages your core, you are not conscious of time, discomfort, hunger and basic urges. In short, your physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual being is collectively involved with that activity.

When dealing from your core, people see you at your best and you are happy and involved and look for the intrinsic satisfaction in what you do than what the activity gets in return.

Success profiles the world over talk of their job as the only thing they ever wanted to do. The concept of life was never to separate their economic activity from their personal life goals. Instead, a career was seen as `living one’s values and vision through work’.

Bringing home the bacon was important only after the basic need for ‘self worth’ and ‘social esteem’ was satisfied. There was never a compromise on this fundamental no matter what the compensations were. Today don’t we experience a multitude of managers who put up with a lot and come home de-energized because ‘the home stove needs to burn’? The casual conversations and the cafeteria back- bites tell of stories of people who just need to hang on to ‘this stupid job’ until some thing else comes along. These people would never find ‘that dream job’ as they have not yet touched their core.

Why are some tasks much easier to perform while

others are tougher to crack? Understanding your core

competency could help you in taking your performance to the

next level.


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If you are in the right job, good. But that’s only the beginning. Life is dynamic and jobs change and the competence required of them even more. Yesterday’s success is gone and tomorrow’s success depends on what you learn today. The good old saying is ‘If you think getting to the top is difficult- try staying there’. In order to stay on top and growing, one needs to constantly re-invent oneself.

Just as you peel your clothes off every day to discover a new you, do so too with competencies. It’s called self actualization and the name of the game is to learn how far you could go and what it takes to discover the hidden potential in you. This requires openness and a deep desire to continuously experiment and learn with a child-like curiosity and wonder. Somewhere as people specialise and go deeper, they can see the interconnections between varied disciplines. At that moment of discovery, there is knowledge heightened by wisdom. This transforms the way the Guru perceives and responds to the world.

At this stage, the core is really experienced. At this stage, the spirit takes over, so much so, there is a subconscious response to the external stimuli. There is very little pause between thought and action. Between ought to and will do. This is the stage of `being’ having transcended from the stage of `becoming’. This is the stage when the art cannot be separated from the artist. The stage where the act is more gratifying than the rewards accruing.

At this stage ‘You have definitely arrived’.

In summary, each living being is created for a purpose with a competence to serve society at large. Each person therefore needs to find the core competency of his being whether he is a thinker, feeler, sensor or intuitor. The key is to discover one’s core. Having dared to dream of what you could become, acting on your conviction and learning continuously are the ingredients that will help you realise who you really are.

Gregory X

They have not experienced their `core’ as they are caught up in the activity called ‘cope’. They are pushing one painful day of drudgery and monotony after another. They are constantly vying to satisfy their ceaselessly demanding superiors. They are, in short, caught up in the act of ‘becoming’ rather than in the `being’.

People who understand their core have terrible bosses - themselves. They set for themselves high standards that only they can surpass. They never work a single day for the money or for any one.

They do so because they like to engage in those activities, which gives them challenging opportunities for innovating on new

uncharted territories. They put themselves on an edge where new methods and approaches need to be tried constantly. They are never in despair as they exude self-confidence and take each failure as learning. They are their own critics and never stop at a success. They are normally discontent – constructively.

So how can you realise your core?

Rule 1: Discover your self first before you try and discover the world. One of the poignant points that I have come across in dealing with managers in their middle age is that: `I don’t know where I am and where I am headed?’. This is because most of them chose careers from out of what was available outside without asking first, ‘What is it that I want in life?’.

Rule 2: Dare to dream. The problem with most people is that they separate their desire from actions fulfilling a self-proclaimed prophesy saying dreamers don’t get there. There is never an iota of truth in that statement. All major accomplishments had a deep-seated and longing desire within the person who wanted it `like hell’.

Most people want the simple and easy things in life and they end up getting exactly that. But the real winners are those who went beyond their circumstances and thought it possible to achieve what others could never have thought of.

Rule 3: Just do it. Between your dream and your actions, there are a number of negative voices and influences which will come packaged as words of wisdom, well-meaning

advice but will mostly be ‘can’t be done’ comments.

This is a moment of truth. Do you believe them or – yourself ? The step

of NASA, the Voyage of Columbus and the Flight of the Wright Brothers are a few examples in their times where

reason said not. They just went right ahead and did it.Rule 4: Learn continuously.


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The cup of joyWhat can the men in blue teach the grey suits...

If India’s performance at the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2011 is anything

to go by, one must admit, it was a thoroughly professional approach.

It was a sweet home++coming for the likes of the great Sachin Tendulkar and his colleagues, who were mauled at the hands of Australia in the final of the 2003 edition. India, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, went on to lift the coveted silverware by defeating three champion sides in the last three games of the tournament. And that included the defending champions Australia, who were sent packing in the quarter-finals, in what seemed like a planned execution of a well thought out strategy.

Cricket, like all sports around the world, is a professionally managed

sport these days. And like all professionally managed

organisations, clear cut goals have been laid out: the goal to SUCCEED, to EXCEL, to WIN and to be the BEST IN

THE WORLD. And this is w h a t brings the amalgamation of ideas, values, vision, mission, management, leadership, and entrepreneurship, from different quarters, into what we know as “success”. Playing a sport is no less than being an entrepreneur. Foraying into an absolutely

new area and carving out a niche is exactly what an athlete does. And like all good businesses, a sportsperson loves the competition and the challenges. So, isn’t it appropriate to say, cricket and business go hand in hand?

The silent killerThe Indian team have been very fortunate to have Gary Kirsten as their coach for the last few years. He is like one of those introvert, media-shy, ‘anti-paparazzi’ CEOs, who prefer to keep a low profile and do all the talking in the boardroom. A coach, like the top-notch executives, defines the lay-out of the business plans for the team. He analyzes the assessment that lies ahead and sets up the strategy along with his trusted lieutenants. He motivates the individuals and the team into delivering the goods when it matters the most. And like most good CEOs, has a battery of important men around him in the form of assistants, mental conditioning coach, bowling/fielding coaches, and video analyst, much like each one of them taking care of the various business verticals.

Lessons learnt: Let your job do the talking; know your soldiers well and trust them with the job.

From strategies to actionIf the coach is all but responsible for drawing up a plan in the boardroom, then a captain is like the good old manager, who transpires the strategy into results on the field. And

"Professionalism is knowing how to do it, when to do it, and doing it." -Frank Tyger (American cartoonist)


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Pakistan. “Horses for courses as they say!” Ashish Nehra, who had come in for some flak following his poor showing against the South Africans, was picked and turned out to be a brilliant decision. India were bowling and batting well, but their fielding remained an area of concern for Dhoni and Kirsten. And this was one opportunity that India was quick to work upon. They upped the ante in the crunch games against Australia and Pakistan and were brilliant in the final against Sri Lanka. Yuvraj, Kohli and Raina were unstoppable on the field and that proved to be vital in the total that India chased. Had it not been for the fielding trio and for some quality bowling from Zaheer, the Lankans would have gone on a rampage.

Lessons learnt: Know your weakness and play your strengths!

At the end of it, it was a team game and India, as a team excelled in it. India is a champion team because it is a team of champions. Teamwork is the fuel that allows people with common goals to attain uncommon results. And like all corporate houses do after a successful business venture, the Indian team was showered with perks and bonuses from all and sundry. Henry Ford once said “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” So if the Indian team winning the World Cup was anything, it was surely a lesson in business excellence. And at the end of the day – it is a team game!

Abhishek Deobhakta

what else can be said about the Indian captain, MSD? MSD has been a hugely popular and an immensely successful captain over the years. And to his credit, he has the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup, IPL, Champion’s League trophy and finally the ICC World Cup. He has been at the helm which has seen India ranked as the top side in both the test and one day formats of the game. That ‘good leaders have an impressive resume’ is just an understatement for MSD. MSD is an inspirational and a born leader. And this was highlighted by his innings of 91* in the World Cup final. He was struggling with the bat in the series against South Africa that preceded the World Cup, and his batting woes continued going into the World Cup. Like all good leaders, he wanted to lead from the front and make a contribution in the campaign. The final proved the right time for him to make this statement. By not sending in the Man of the Tournament Yuvraj Singh, he took a bold decision. His confidence was unparalleled and batting alongside Gautam Gambhir, he scripted a magnum opus. Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man, who rose to the occasion and saved India from a bit of a wobble that it went through in its quest for glory. The same holds true for Yuvraj, who was down and out for the whole of last year, only to win back the hearts of a billion people with his consistent performances in the World Cup.

Lessons learnt: Good leaders step up in times of crisis; Take criticism in your stride and lead by example.

We are a teamEvery successful business venture has to have a team of highly skilled individuals who combine together at various stages to yield the results. The Indian team has never been short of talented cricketers. And yet it always looked up to the brilliance of select individuals. Working in a team requires each member to be a part of the team’s success and to be happy for individual performances. No wonder the entire Indian team applauds from the dressing room whenever a batsman reaches a personal milestone, or even a bowler picks up a wicket. The team is built up from scratch and consists of individuals who are unique in their own way. The team can comprise of youngsters and at the same time the masters of the game, who can be a guiding force to

all such newcomers. And what better guiding force can a team have than when it has Sachin Tendulkar in its side. Yet the Master Blaster remains completely down to earth and has an ear to what the juniors have to say. This was showcased, when a young gun in the form of Virat Kohli offered the legend a piece of batting advice in the match against Australia. Again, it has to be understood that the newcomers respect their mentors and take up the responsibility as the situation arises. When asked by ex-England captain Nasser Hussain in the post match interview about his gesture to carry Sachin on his shoulders for the victory lap, Kohli explained “Sachin has carried the weight of the entire nation for 21 years; it is our duty to carry him on our shoulders now. This World Cup is dedicated to Sachin”.

Lessons learnt: Everyone in the team should be open to be feedback, yet good leaders command respect for their experience and talent.

The right man for the right jobReading the situation at large, analyzing it and then formulating the strategy forms the core for any successful venture. And this is exactly what MSD and his men did, in order to conquer the world. It seemed like Dhoni and his men had undertaken the lessons in management before every game they played. If it was the game against Australia, Dhoni was quick to pick the off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, knowing well that the Aussies are not comfortable against spin. And then played again to their strengths by playing Suresh Raina and strengthening the batting line-up. Ashwin did extremely well against the Aussies, only to be dropped for the game against


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Going back to school

Did you ever feel that you are dragging your feet to work? Is your career progressing

at a slower pace? Did you approach a dead end position in the middle

management? If the answer is ‘yes’, then let me welcome you to the club! You may try talking to your boss and customising your job to make it little more interesting,

but you may end up questioning yourself again.

If you hit this point, you will not regret to

walk out of your cubicle and onto a business school campus. You are sure to learn new skills in general m a n a g e m e n t ,

enhance your p r o f e s s i o n a l network, and build lasting friendships on the campus. But before even

t h i n k i n g of going

back to school, one needs to do considerable research to take an informed decision. Going back to school may be a daunting experience for some, so key to success is proper planning. This article presents the key elements of planning and what it looks like being in the school. The article is based on extensive research and discussions with current business school students, alumni, and school representatives.

IntrospectionThe critical first step is to ask yourself, ‘Why a business school at this time of my career?’ Don’t forget that business school is just a means to an end and not an end in itself. Admissions Committee, says a school representative from INSEAD, is curious to know your story of ‘Why MBA is the next best step for you?’ In fact, many schools require the applicant to submit an essay on this topic. You should have a strong story to support your application. MBA should be the best strategic move for you to achieve your goals.

While doing introspection, bear in mind other important factors such as family, finances, quitting your job, etc. If you have convincing answers, you deserve hearty congratulations for winning half the battle.

Which school?The next big question is ‘Which school?’ A search in Google for ‘Business schools’ gave 49,300,000 results in 0.17 seconds. There aren’t definitely so many leading schools. Himanshu, (names changed for privacy reasons), alum from Tuck School of

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Business, says that the best places to look for leading business schools are websites of Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, ClearAdmit, etc. These websites have a plethora of information such as business school rankings, specialty of the business schools, type of program (full time vs. Executive MBA), duration of the program, average GMAT/TOEFL scores, demographic details, etc.

Schools such as Wharton, INSEAD, and ISB even conduct information sessions across the globe. Current students and alumni are invited to share their experiences during these sessions. If it’s financially feasible, visit the school of your choice and attend a class, talk to current students and professors, and experience the culture of the school. When you are spending a good fortune, it doesn’t harm to take a cautious step.

Once you shortlist the schools, the next step is to determine the application requirements. These details can be downloaded from the school’s website.

Application processThe first two steps usually take anywhere between 4 and 6 months. Now that you have the list of schools, be prepared to sell yourself. Make sure you have the following details:

• Due dates for submitting the application• Essay questions• Number of recommendations• Scores (average score, median score, and highest and lowest score)• Application fees• Resume • Experience certificates• Education certificates

ScoresSooraj, alum from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, suggests working backwards from the due date and allotting sufficient time for getting a decent GMAT/TOEFL score and for writing the essays. He says that there are many books in the market for getting a winning score and for writing crisp essays. Some of the notable publishers for GMAT/TOEFL are Graduate Management Admission Council, Kaplan, and Princeton. You may also follow GMAT/

TOEFL related forums/websites to learn short cuts and valuable tips. Dedicate yourself at least 3 to 4 months for getting a decent score.

An excellent score, says Jon, an alum from Ross Business School, doesn’t guarantee an admission in the school or a below average score doesn’t eliminate you from the selection process. Each element of the application carries certain weight, so a holistic approach is taken to assess the candidature.

EssaysGetting a decent score leads into the favourite and time consuming step: writing winning essays. I found ‘Great Application Essays for Business School’ very informative. This book offers a methodical approach to writing essays. Further, you can get help from professionals for writing essays. Susan, an alum from Fuqua School of Business, strongly encourages writing essays on your own. She says that the application should speak your mind rather than someone else’s.

Some of the sample essay questions are: • Briefly describe your short-term and long-term career goals. Why is an MBA the best choice at this point in your career? What and/or who influenced your decision to apply to our school? (500 words)• Describe your most significant professional accomplishment. Elaborate on the leadership skills you displayed, the actions you took and the impact you had on your organization. (500 words)• Tell us about a time when you built or developed a team whose performance exceeded expectations. (300 words)

As you can see, there is a limit on the content. Many underestimate the effort required for writing essays. It may take at least a month to write 6 essays. Key to success is short, crisp and impactful essays.

RecommendationsThe other key element in the application that carries considerable importance is ‘recommendations’. Admission Committees are interested to get an independent perspective about the applicant. Some of the questions recommenders are expected to answer are:

It is not easy to go back to those business classes after running your own team but some lessons are best learnt through the black board.

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May 2011 | The Business Enterprise

• How long have you known the applicant and in what connection?• What do you consider to be the applicant’s major talents and strengths and weaknesses or areas for improvement?• In what developmental areas has the applicant changed most over time?• Comment about the applicant’s leadership qualities and state where he or she ranks amongst the peer group.

Srikanth, alum from INSEAD, states that recommendations carry a significant weight, so you should be confident that the recommender knows you well and is willing to provide an honest and candid opinion about you. Considering the time required for answering these questions, it would be wise to notify the recommenders at least 2 months before the application deadlines.

InterviewsIf your application stands out from the crowd, stay rest assured, you will get an interview call. These interviews are no different from the regular job interviews. Rosie, current student from Tuck School of Business, states that

interviews are a great platform to reiterate the message you stated in the application. He emphasizes the importance of just being ‘you’ during the interview. Typically, interviews are conducted by Admissions Committee and/or alumni of the school. Once you are selected, you will receive an admit letter and access to the school’s student and alum network.

What is it like going back to school?If you think you hit the pinnacle after you get the admit letter, think again! You are going to start the most exciting and stressful journey of your life. Assignments, study group activities, conferences, clubs, prepping for classes, lectures, information sessions, networking events, and in between a quick bite and some rest. Phew, you will have all engines firing at the same time. You will be expected to absorb an incredible amount of material right from the word go. But as Casey, alum from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, says, “Our schedule may sound excruciating, but the two years at the business school were the best period of my life and the most intellectually stimulating.” With the learning from the business school, Casey


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Some are exclusive to full-time students and some encourage alumni participation. The diversity present within these clubs serves an opportunity to hone your people skills in a non-professional setup. Every school has at the least 20 to 30 active clubs. Clubs offer most students ample opportunity to get involved in leadership positions. Below are some of the clubs at London Business School and Stanford:

• Consulting Club• Entrepreneurship Club • Women in Management• Wine Circle • India Club• Biz Partners & Biz Kids

The finish lineIn the second year, you will be completing some of the core courses and finishing up the electives. This is also the time when companies hunt the business schools for talent. You will see quite a few information sessions where companies try to advertise what they can offer you for your personal and professional development. It would be wise to attend all these events, so that you can make an informed decision. Some of the clubs help you in creating a winning resume and in teaching tips for acing the interviews. Typically, you will have employment offers before completing your MBA program

To do or not to do?Is going back to school worth the investment? Maybe or maybe not. You need to have enough convincing points before you take the plunge. James, Chief Information Officer of a technology company, says that he has focused on real-world business experience over the MBA curriculum and is satisfied that he has made the right decision. However, business schools are viewed as the best places for nurturing future leaders and for taking your career to all new levels. So, make a choice based on research and what works best for you.

core classes may include the following:• Leadership Essentials • Corporate Strategy• Principles of Financial Accounting• Corporate Finance• Analytical Foundations • Microeconomics • Human Resources • Organizational Behavior • Ethics in Management

In addition to the core courses, electives offer students a unique opportunity to dive into the subjects that interest them most and fill the gap in their intellectual abilities. Peter also states that business school rankings are sometimes misleading. He suggests considering professors at the school as one of the decision-making factors for shortlisting the schools.

InternshipTypically, MBA internships are completed between the first and second year of study and last for 8 to 10 weeks. It provides a great opportunity to test your learning while pursuing the MBA program. You can contact your professors and/or peer group for clarifications. Many multinationals take the services of budding professionals and pay a decent salary. There are volunteering opportunities that may involve assisting a non-profit organisation in designing or enhancing their strategies and operational processes. You should make sure that your chosen MBA internship benefits you and your future goals.

Nitin, student of Sloan School of Management, say that internships should be considered one of the elements while choosing a business school. Usually, business school brochures provide a list of companies that have recruited interns in prior years along with range of salary. Overall, internship provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate your abilities to future employers and enhance your network. Recent surveys have shown that employers offer full-time employment to more than half of their MBA interns.

ClubsClubs are student-run communities for the benefit of like-minded peer groups.

bagged a couple of offers, one from a top 5 Management Consulting company.

Study GroupsBefore the semester begins, an informal networking event is organised for freshmen. These events help students create an informal bond, which would help during their study sessions. Most schools create study groups based on gender, nationality and background to provide enough opportunities for learning from peer groups. INSEAD, the most diverse business school in the world, has students from all around the globe, with no nationality representing more than 10 percent of the student body. INSEAD provides a fertile ground for learning different cultures and for building lasting relationships with different nationalities.

Teaching philosophyThere are different ways the school imparts knowledge to its students. You can expect a combination of case-based learning, traditional lectures, team-based projects, simulations, and experiential learning across the curriculum. Some schools go a little further to provide percentage breakdowns of their teaching methods. Professors may choose a teaching method he or she deems most appropriate for the subject matter. Generally, courses would be lecture-based, supplemented with case-studies and team-based assignments. Given the faculty’s extensive involvement in key industries, you can expect a plethora of real-world examples integrated into the classroom experience as well as insight into cutting-edge ideas.

As Peter, Professor at Chicago State University, puts it: “Students should not expect professors to teach them cookie cutter solutions at school. Instead, they should spend time in learning concepts, discussing ideas and their prior experiences, and apply these learning during internship and post-business school jobs.”

Core classes and electivesMost schools aim to lay a strong foundation in general management that will prepare students to face a range of business issues throughout their careers. The first year is defined by the core curriculum, which all students are required to take. Some of the

Vamshi Guntha

The writer is a Chartered Accountant, CISA, and CIA, with 12 years of experience in audit and advisory services. He is currently working as a Manager in Enterprise Risk Services group of Deloitte & Touche LLP, USA. He can be reached at [email protected].

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From VPs down to front desk executives, everyone seems to covet this Master’s degree. What is that makes MBA the

most sought over degree in the corporate world and most importantly, do you need one?

Of all the coveted degrees in the professional arena, MBA is still the most preferred choices for today’s young graduates and working populace. With close to two thousand institutes in the nation offering MBA programs of various kinds, it often leaves one perplexed with the options. Though some cynical industry pundits would deem MBA as an unnecessary pursuit and a watered down product, one look at the value the three letters MBA holds in all walks of life today is a standing proof to shut them off. Clearly, the recent economic meltdown has only instilled a renewed focus on management education, and has not reduced even an iota of enthusiasm in applicants for the course. There is nothing compared to the solid confidence that a rightfully chosen and pursued MBA gives.

The employability matrixAre there enough jobs in the market? Yes! Is there enough availability of graduates? Yes, of course. And are they employable? Here comes the striking question that elicits a sad trait in today’s educational system. The World Economic Forum paints a dismal picture of India’s looming shortage, when it comes to employable professionals. The study titled ’Stimulating Economies through Fostering Talent Mobility’ made in collaboration with The Boston Consulting Group predicts that the availability gap of skilled middle level managers and higher, will adversely impact the whole country’s progress. “The challenge of employability in India is often about the

lack of soft skills including communication and team-work rather than technical skills. A good management education and hence a good manager should be prepared to manage teams, communicate and create a motivating environment of excellence and efficiency. The best thing MBA teaches you in a competitive world is in enabling you to handle the crunches - to do more with less resources in a systematic way,” says Dr.Rahul Choudaha, Director of Development & Innovation at World Education Services, New York. The right management education from a top educational institute imparts just that - a complete fit-for-the-market education for success on the job. “Success knocks when you have mastered a systematic and efficient approach to solving managerial problems. Inadequate managerial knowledge and skills result in lost opportunities and ineffective resolution of challenges.” says Rahul, laying emphasis on the core benefits of an MBA degree - to equip you to take up challenges.

The reasons you need an MBA:This gets us a grip about what is special about an MBA and the specific promises it holds. While employability is one aspect, efficiency is another dimension that an MBA addresses. A top MBA program would teach what Rahul mentioned above : The skill of doing more with less resources, and keeping abreast of all that is happening in the management front. Countless jargons that do the rounds among the echelons of management gets frowned upon, or even laughed at. These reactions from the common crowd are unwarranted, as continually, such fast paced tuning among the management professional speeds up work - the right and effective communication.Sunil C, business analyst, who works in capital

markets at an International bank sums the objective down to these three pointers: “You must figure out what you want from an MBA. There are three main aspects to an MBA. Functional knowledge, behavioural soft skills and networks. If you’re looking for these, then an MBA is for you.” says Sunil who enrolled in one of the top MBA programs in New York.

The communication edgeMost potential managers are found tongue tied, when led to a crowd and asked to convey even simpler things. Exposure to work circles could have lent adequate domain knowledge to any professional. But to be a manager, it requires something else - the communication edge; the confident ability to convey ideas, inspire and lead the way by avoiding confusion and enhancing clarity. Toiling over numerous real-time focused interactive assignments, case studies and discussions, a good MBA programme teaches you to break ice the fastest way, to synergise ideas, and to get the ideas bubbling. Mario Gonsalves has realised just that. An engineer with reasonable work experience from an MNC, Mario now works for top management consulting firm as senior associate. His business management degree at IIM Bangalore is the reason behind his success. Says the spirited professional: “ The foremost reason for me in doing my MBA was that I did not want to get stuck in the technical sphere for long. My engineering degree could only have taken me so far. Above the claim that an MBA would kick-start your career or notch up the salary, the greatest advantage you gain is the wholesome understanding at the macro level and the communication edge it gives you.”

Sunil says “ I could notice a drastic difference

Why everyone loves an MBA


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in some of my colleagues who were introverted. Over two years, there was a gradual but marked transformation because the more you discuss in behavioural courses the more you benefit. You learn how to articulate ideas.”

The MBA coursework gives emphasis on project submission and makes one work in teams always. “Almost everyone has become one notch higher in presentation skills because we give anywhere between 20 to 30 presentations to an audience of 40 to 100 students. We are more confident and have greater clarity in our communication.” says Gonsalves.

Workex factorAbove obvious reasons, if you happen to be a young graduate with a few years of work experience, two years of focused training, assignments, interactions and presentations would beautifully equip you to take on the markets, head on. Work experience adds weight to your credibility and gives you the confidence in the course of study.

Interestingly, Sunil had a different perspective altogether when he was a fresh graduate. The logistics company where he joined, offered him an avenue to pursue an MBA, but personal finance difficulty and the looming global economic crisis stopped him to proceed so. He did not want to let go the comforts of a stable job and get back to school again. Now, he cherishes his decision of holding on to his job, and studying his MBA degree after gathering sufficient work experience. He believes that this decision had paid back great dividends in his life. “I could appreciate every small nuance of management education better, as my ground experience on the job had me polished and made me more matured,” says Sunil.

There is always a great deal of enriching advantage in studying MBA with a good number of years behind you as work experience (workex, in popular lingo). Workex would endow a student with a sharp foothold of ground realities, and sharpen one’s goal orientation in career. “I had specialised in retail management to understand the market better. Since I came backed with practical experience, I was able to relate to the course much better,” says Ashish Vyas, who now works as Area Manager (Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East) for Jonathan Holland

& Associates after his management course at IIM Calcutta.

While Ashish’s objective lied in getting a polished bird’s eye view of the whole industry, he also hails the other advantages he had: expanding his business circle and improving on core skills with more confidence, “It added personal value with the tag of IIM. I was looking at long run benefit – not quick benefits like a promotion or salary hike. It helped me understand how the retail environment has changed and it bode well in getting the bigger picture. Life doesn’t happen overnight, but education could steer the way for a better future”, he observes. For many young professionals like Ashish, a management degree at mid-career has provided the connecting dots across streams, to work efficiently.

Decisions and strategies “I am experiencing and applying the techniques that I learnt at B school everyday at work. It helped me motivate my team to be goal oriented, and gave me a crystal clear idea on how to interact with colleagues and ensure execution of tasks diplomatically.” says Sunil, substantiating his learnings.

“An IT engineer only looks for the source code to generate a certain output. But at the project management level, you learn how all these things fit into the overall picture –at a project level. I can now understand clearly how the things I am doing affects the whole business through lots of hitherto invisible links,” notes Mario Gonsalves. At every juncture, a good MBA teaches you how to strategise and decide on what is best, for the moment, and even beyond.

Networking galoreTalented and successful people have an observable basic trait - to sincerely lend their hands to lift aspiring talent like them, and help them to be successful as well. The success virus is catchy and therefore should be pursued with intelligence and determination.

In the two years he spent in IIM Calcutta campus, Ashish has built a strong network of professionals who are now both friends, and potential business leads to him, by utilising the opportunities he was exposed to. The environment at a top business school is always a sort of crucible that melts in the

talent abundantly - with visiting professors, guests and participants on inter-collegiate events. “ It was a great networking platform that helped me shake hands with the best students from diverse organisations. There was this guy who worked for MTNL for two decades long, studying with me. Veterans like him shared their authentic ideas and gave me an insider’s perspective of what is happening in the industry, the observed best practices in the trade, etc. The IIM Calcutta brand was an added advantage to me, as the best of people flowed into our campus almost every day,” beams Ashish. It is only true that in such specialized management courses, you get to learn as much from peers from the industry as from the staff themselves.

Choose before you dipAbundance of course branches and the mushrooming of too many institutes offering MBA programs should not let you settle for the mediocre. Choose carefully in where you want to be, and also, about the long term benefits of the course itself that you want to study. “Be selective in terms of where you want to study. The top 20 B schools in the country would be safe options while a correspondence course won’t give you the same results. Analyse how much value it would add for you if you invest two years in it. Check the placements in colleges you wish to apply for.” asserts Mario.

In a nutshell:To summarise in a nutshell, an MBA gives you credibility with your business peers. It leads you to think like a business person. The course work bridges the gap between academia and industry, exposing you to bright and successful network of people. A well designed MBA degree is designed to make your communication succinct, sharp and effective. Your problem solving skills would be groomed. You will learn how to read and interpret business statements, making everyday life easier in your future professional life. Further, a good MBA deepens your technical expertise and propels you to effectively apply your classroom business work right to the job demands - to fit every missing link on the bigger puzzle. You will take charge as a complete manager, with hands on expertise in business organisation tools. If all is set, plunge into it with full heart. What else are you waiting for?

Revathy Ramaswamy

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The making of a manager

You may be an IIM or even a Harvard graduate but if you lack interpersonal skills, you sure are going to land in the hall of infamous managers. Here are a few lessons that your B school might have skipped…

Although this is a beaten out of shape word, for the purpose of this article let us define interpersonal skills again…. Interpersonal Skills, in other words called ‘people skills’ is the

skill that we put to use when we interact or deal with others. It also includes being able to support and encourage others while dealing with them.

As a Manager, in whatever discipline one belongs to, one has no choice other than dealing with people - those who report into him, those to whom he reports into, peers, vendors, customers, and the list goes on and on.

Now let me ask you a question? At a conscious level, is there anyone who needs to remind you that for you to become a successful manager, you need to be interpersonally effective?

Given the premise that we all love to improve our interpersonal skills, let me not teach you anything that you already know. Instead let me tell you some of the reasons as to why we are not as interpersonally effective as we would like to be.

In my experience of being a manager for over 15 years and in my current role as a Consultant and Coach for over 8 years, let me give you my perspective…

Number pressureThink of those month ends… Two more days to go and you have a lot to catch up with on numbers. While you very well know that you are behind your targets, here comes a reminder from your boss, on

the hour, every hour, on how far you are on your monthly numbers. Unfortunately, one of your team members who has been a consistent performer, who is not up to the mark this month, comes up to share his thoughts, how would you deal with him? While it is unfortunate, it is a simple truth that some managers treat their team members as one more ‘resource’ like a computer or a photocopier in their office to get ‘output’.

I don't like these guys! As humans we cannot avoid having perceptions about people! We make perceptions almost instantaneously as we meet people. Unfortunately, this includes some of our team members. While we cannot say why, we simply don’t like some of our team members and either consciously or unconsciously treat them the way we perceive them to be.

Inability to resolve conflicts While conflicts are unavoidable, we sometimes do not know as to how we can resolve them. Think of this situation… Two of your star performers who consistently contribute nearly 45% of your monthly target are in an argument in a team meeting. It is the month end and how do you plan to handle this situation?

Why do I need to be interpersonally effective?Although this might sound strange, I have come across a few instances when I have had managers seriously asking me this question. Logic! As long as I am able to effectively complete my job and achieve the targets, why do I need to build relationships?

I am an introvert! Sometimes you would wonder how these guys grew to a manager’s


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being candid, we sometimes give such comments to our team members that even those who used to voluntarily seek feedback, quit coming to us because of our ‘Mr. Original’ status.

Inability to ListenSome managers tend to think that they have been promoted to give sermons. I was witness to a team meeting of one of my clients, who had called for a meeting to seek inputs on how the team was going to implement the new process from the following week. While the meeting went on for over an hour, as you guessed it right, he spoke for over 45 minutes. While many of us think listening is a skill, here is my definition, “Listening is 95% attitude and 5% skill”. I have heard many managers tell me that they would like to express their ideas before their team members because they think they will otherwise lose their importance.

While I can go on and on, let me share with you some simple tips on how we can enhance our interpersonal skills.

Self awarenessAbility to know who you are, your strengths, weaknesses, inhibitions, reaction to routine situations, etc. is the first step to enhance our interpersonal skills. The more we know about ourselves, the more we can relate with others (team members).

Empathize Putting ourselves in the situation of others and thinking about how we would respond/react to the situation is also an important aspect.

Consciously give creditGet conscious about giving credit to team members even on small things. Be genuine in doing so.

Remain consciously 'unbiased' Everyone in your team is there to win! None of them would like to fail in their life. Give them a chance; look at them with a fresh pair of eyes.

Finally, remember, “People do not like people who disagree with them”. While you do not want to totally agree to their suggestions, as you have your own limitations, agree to their views.

position. They don’t like to interact with others and are proud to proclaim that they are introverts.

Inherent negativity Some managers are inherently negative and even when they are not asked, will jump with something like this, “Let me tell you why this won’t work…” While in the first instance they may sound as someone who is helpful, thoughtful, etc., over time team members will realise the true colour of the manager. The irony is that the manager himself will never realise that his team members never come up to him for suggestions.

Inability to give constructive feedbackAs a manager, we are supposed to give feedback to our team members on their performance. For many of us, feedback means telling something negative about the team member’s performance. While you still would like to tolerate this, excusing him on his lack of understanding of the word ‘feedback’, they are either given belatedly or it is too generic which directly affects the self-respect of the team member.

Failing to recogniseMany managers take their team members for granted. “He anyway was supposed to do this,” is a usual comment that you will hear from them. While we all know that need for recognition is what differentiates us from animals, we many times fail to give it to our team members because we are either currently or in the past deprived of it.

No guts to say "sorry"Think of this situation. You are supposed to join one of your team members for an important meeting. While he has been waiting for the last 10 minutes, you just got over with the previous meeting with your senior management. Now you are meeting your team member who is waiting for you. Would you 10 out of 10 occasions, when it occurs like this, genuinely apologise to your team member for having made him wait for you? We either take our team member for granted or have got such XXL size ego that prevents us from saying a simple “sorry”.

Mr. Original!Over time, because of our success story, we have either consciously or unconsciously developed some habits, behaviours, traits, etc. One fine morning, we wake up and start saying, “This is me”. On the pretext of Swaminathan V

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IIM AhmedabadCourse name: PGPX (Post Graduate Programme in Managemnet for Executives )Duration: One year (full-time)Eligibility: Graduate, minimum 27 years of ageSelection process: GMAT scores, leadership profiling and personal interview.

IIM CalcuttaCourse Name: PGPEX (Post Graduate Programme for Executives ) Duration: One yearEligibility: Graduate, minimum five years experienceSelection process: GMAT Scores, professional experience, academic record and personal interview. Two references from senior managerial candidates.

IIM LucknowCourse name: Post Graduate Programme in Management for Working ExecutivesDuration: 3 Years (part-time)Eligibility: Graduate (50%), minimum three years professional work experienceSelection process: Written test, GD and interview

IIM IndoreCourse name: Post Graduate Programme in Management for ExecutivesDuration: Two years (alternate weekend)Eligibility: Graduate, CAT/GMAT/BAT scores and minimum five years of professional experienceSelection process: Personal interview Faculty of Management Studies (Fms),

University Of DelhiCourse name: MBA Duration: 3 Years(part-time)Eligibility: Graduate, minimum 3 years experience – employer sponsorship requiredSelection process: Written test and interview

Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management studies (JBIMS) Course name: MBA - 4 programmes with different specializationDuration: 3 Years (Part-time)Eligibility: Graduate and minimum 2 years experience Selection process: Test, group discussion and interview

XLRI, Jamshedpur Course name:Executive Fellowship Programme in Management Duration: 20 days duration each spread over a period of 2 years.Eligibility: MBA, managerial / supervisory experience of minimum five years experience Selection process: Personal interview

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade – IIFT, PuneCourse name: MBA(International Business) Duration: 3 Years (Part-time)Eligibility: Graduate with 3 years experience Selection process: Essay, GD and interview

Course name: Executive Masters in International Business Duration: 18 MonthsEligibility: Graduate with 5 years managerial experience or PG degree with 3 years managerial experience

Course name: Executive Post Graduate Diploma in International Business (Via VSAT)Duration: 18 Months Eligibility: Graduate with 5 years managerial

Executive Management Courses


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experience or PG degree with 3 years managerial experience Selection process: Essay, GD and Interview

Aegis School of Business, Belapur, Navi Mumbai Course name: Executive MBA Selection process: Two letters of recommendation and valid test score in GMAT, GRE, CAT, CMAT, XAT, MAT, SNAP,CET or Basic Aptitude Test for Employability (BATE).Eligibility: Bachelors degree (Mandatory). Work Experience: Minimum of 2 years full-time work experience in any field is mandatory. Candidates with substantial family business experience are also considered.Duration: Two years, part-time

Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), Noida Course name: PGDM (International Business)Selection process: CAT-2010 + GD+PIEligibility: Graduation (Min. 10+2+3) with 50% marksDuration: Two years, full-time

Great Lakes Institute of Management, ChennaiCourse name: Post Graduate Global Executive Program in Management (PGXPM)Selection process:Applicants for admission are evaluated based on work experience and profile, past academic performance, essays, and letters of recommendation, and performance in the interview and group discussion.Eligibility: Valid GMAT/ CAT scores or GLMAT test scores.Duration: Two years, part-time

IBS, Hyderabad Course name: The Executive MBASelection process: The selection of applicants is made through application and interview. Eligibility: A bachelor’s degree with medium of instruction as English, from any discipline, with 50% and above as calculated by

respective University and 3 years or more of executive level work experience.Duration : One year on the campus and another three months on a project with a company.

ITM Business School, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Nagpur and Warangal Course name : Post Graduate Diploma in ManagementSelection process: Short-listed candidates will be called to attend the interview process through the course of several selection rounds. A high entrance test score alone does not guarantee a call for interview or Admission Offer.Eligibility: Bachelors Degree from any AIU recognized University with minimum 50% marks aggregate. Final year students may also apply. ITM accepts the CAT, XAT, MAT & GMAT. Selection is based on overall academic performance , followed by scheduled micro presentation and interviews.Duration: Two years (full-time)

Sadhana Centre for Management and Leadership Development (SCMLD), Pune Course name : Post Graduate in executive leadership (PGPEL)Selection process: GD, written test, psychometric tests and bonus marks for academics aggregates above 60% in 10th, 12th and graduation will be taken into account.Eligibility: Graduates (10+2+3 years of education) in any discipline from any recognized university. Final year students awaiting results / appearing for exam also can apply provided they fulfill eligibility conditions by July and produce testimonials. Duration: 1year

Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, DelhiCourse name : Post Graduate Diploma in

Management for Executives (PGMAX)Selection process:CAT/GMAT Recent Scores or Test to be conducted by LBSIMPersonal InterviewEligibility:Manager in public/Private sector companies located in NCRPreference may be given to professionals such as CA, CS, Cost Accountant, Engineers, Architect, Doctors etc.Duration: 15 Months

Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar Course Name: Postgraduate Diploma in Management (PGDM)

Selection process: The final selection will be made on the basis of the candidate’s performance in the XAT as well as in the Group Discussion and Personal Interview (which factors in the past academic record and relevant work experience).Eligibility: The minimum requirement for

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admission to the Programme is a three-year bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline from a recognised university. Duration: Two years (full–time)

Institute of Management Technology, GhaziabadCourse name: Post Graduate Diploma in ManagementSelection process: A written aptitude test followed by personal interview. The aptitude test will be conducted at IMT Ghaziabad campus.Eligibility: The candidate should have Bachelor’s Degree in any discipline and two years of work experience after graduation (one year in case of Post –Graduation or those with professional qualification).Duration: Three years (part-time) Management programs for VPS, CEOs and senior managers

Harvard Business School in India

About the course:A decade ago, HBS began researching and developing cases on companies operating in India. In 2005, HBS established the India Research Center (HBS IRC) in Mumbai to develop intellectual capital on the critical challenges facing the country’s business organizations and leaders in key industries. Using this information—developed by faculty who have relationships with major decision makers at growing Indian-based companies—HBS IRC offers a unique Executive Education program that shares this practice-based thinking with senior executives across the region.HBS IRC brings the world to you through ‘Building a Global Enterprise in India’. Taught by HBS faculty with deep global and Indian expertise, the program incorporates the latest thinking on new management ideas being embraced by India’s fastest-growing companies. Additionally, the program focuses on companies in other emerging markets that have addressed issues similar to those confronting Indian companies today. Using the case method pioneered by HBS, you will be immersed in study with an unparalleled

group of peers from both developed and emerging markets. Unlike any other executive education program, ours combines on-the-ground, research-based knowledge of India with the global perspective of one of the world’s leading business schools.Application ProcessProgram participants must be nominated and sponsored by their current employer. HBS must receive your application and all required documents in order to prepare the application for review by the Admissions Committee.

To apply, you may use their online form or download an application from their website.For more information, please contact:Harvard Business School IRCTelephone: +91-22-24916756 Fax: 0091-22-24900724Email: [email protected]

INSEAD Leadership Programme for Senior Indian ExecutivesAbout the course:This programme aims to address this scarcity of general management skills in fast growing companies. The programme has several learning components: week long immersions at INSEAD’s global campuses and in India, project work, 360° assessments and coaching and ongoing personal development.By developing an integrated approach to general management, the INSEAD Leadership Programme for Senior Indian Executives will prepare you for senior management roles and provide a timely boost for your career. Over the 12 months of the programme, even as you pursue your current career, they enable you to learn from the best minds in business as well as from an outstanding peer group and apply the new knowledge gained. Benefits•Enhance the depth and breadth of fundamental business knowledge. More specifically, an in-depth understanding of individual functional domains as well as the linkages across functional domains that are critical to drive business performance

•Acquire and improve interpersonal skills such as networking, persuasion & influence, communication, negotiation and coaching skills that are essential for effective business leadership•Heightened self-awareness of emotions, personal and business values and blind spots that together lead to development of your own idiosyncratic leadership style and ability to leverage it effectively for business successCourse duration: One year

Eligibility Proven record of demonstrated leadership and impact. Minimum 10 years or 12-15 years on average of business experience, with significant time in management, recognised career progress and enthusiasm about learning and intellectual development. Checkhttp://executive.education.insead.edu/ilpsie or visit www.eruditus.com/insead to download the form.Selection: Rounds of interviews before acceptance.

MDI – PGP-IM

MDI Gurgaon in 2006 launched a unique, first of its kind programme in India - the Post Graduate Programme in International Management (PGP-IM). This is one of the efforts made by MDI to develop managers with appropriate mindset and ability to work in global markets. The programme was launched in collaboration with European School of Management (ESCP-EAP), France. The unique dual degree programme is delivered partly in India (MDI) and partly in Europe (ESCP-EAP campuses). The first phase of the programme is delivered on MDI Campus, at Gurgaon. The second phase of the programme is delivered in Europe at the London, Paris & Turin campuses (English Track).

In Europe, students will not only get classroom learning opportunity, they will also get an opportunity to work there or in India on a paid internship basis. In addition, there will be scope to get placement in Europe. Living and working in Europe will enable students to understand and appreciate other cultures, hone their capabilities to work


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across cultures and develop global mindsets.

Pedagogy

There will be classroom teaching through case studies, simulations and role play. Direct exposure to workplace realities will be provided through consultancy assignments and internships in the corporate sector. An integrated batch of ESCP-EAP students and MDI students will go through the entire programme. Close interactions of this kind will develop understanding, appreciation and tolerance of differences across cultures and develop the skills to work globally.Programme structureThe programme is spread over six modules. The first three modules spread over 8 months would be delivered at MDI. The fourth module of 6 months duration would be held at ESCP-EAP Campus. Fifth module will constitute 4 to 6 months of internship in India/ Europe while the sixth module of 1 V2 months would consist of dissertation work. Module 1 and 2 focus on providing basic inputs in qualitative and quantitative domains and provide analytical as well as communication skills. In the 3rd and 4th modules the focus shifts to giving an International Management perspective to the students. The 5th and 6th modules are dedicated to providing in-company exposure in a global context.

Advanced Program on Strategic Management (APSM) by NITT-IMPERIAStrategy is about power. It is a skill and a craft. It is in general a mode of thinking. Crafty strategists deform and transform business and societal spaces and existing institutions, setting ‘new rules of the game’. Strategizing becomes a valuable skill in a dynamic complex environment – where change is the order of the day. Businesses in India stand at such a juncture today - with positive expectations and ambitious investment plans seeking new engagements with global business and markets across the globe. In this new environment, often characterized by enhanced pressures of

competition and greater integration across global markets, charting a path of growth would become more challenging. Regulatory changes as well as novel application of information and communication technology is creating new business challenges and possibilities. This new evolving world offers exciting possibilities of growth and profits, but creates new challenges as well. Strategy would take centre-stage in this new world. Designing innovative strategic moves would be important – in opening novel turfs for non-liner expansion and growth or protecting existing domains from threats. The program would emphasize looking at issues from a strategic perspective. Understanding of market rivalries, institutions and power, leaderships and transformations would be a few pivot areas of the program. Several contemporary areas and developments would also be explored. Functional areas, such as marketing, would be explored from a strategic perspective.Program Objective•Developing a strategic thinking mode – understanding how power is wielded and negotiated in multiple contexts, especially amidst great ‘complexity’ and increasing returns.•Understanding strategic landscapes of industries, including the interface with law and regulation •Discerning the strategic significance of few contemporary developments such as outsourced models of business, vigorous use of informatics, delayering of organizations and so on. •Strategizing in a network mode – competition and cooperation •System thinking and strategyPedagogyThe program will use multiple modes of interactive delivery. Lectures and readings of concept pieces would be linked to discussion of business cases (and business histories), analysis of anecdotes to ground theories/concepts in practice. The program will also use extensively the widely distributed knowledge pieces within the web (in the public domain) through use of links, thematic sites to aid considerable self exploration by motivated senior managers and business leaders. Each platform interaction would require pre-reading and preparation in

group-based modes by the participants. Exposure to a few computational and analytical software tools to aid system and network thinking would also be provided on a lab mode.Program Duration and scheduleThe duration of the program is six months with one session of three hours each week. Total Number of Program hours: 90 hours Who should attend?This program is aimed at managers in organizations who are currently in roles that require them to handle strategic issues, or managers who are looking to move into such roles. Senior and middle level managers and profit centre heads would find the program particularly useful. Working professionals wishing to participate in the program need to have a minimum experience of 7 years. Managers with longer and broader experience would benefit more from the programme.ApplicationWorking executives who are graduates (10+2+3 or equivalent) in any discipline with 50% marks, with an experience profile of at least 7 years after graduation are eligible.Eligible candidates will be selected on the basis of their performance in the Program Aptitude Test to be conducted by NIIT Imperia, together with the assessment of background and motivation based on the application form submitted. Senior applicants with experience would be preferred.

Brochures and application form for the programs can be downloaded from www.niitimperia.comFor further details visit:http://www.niitimperia.com/programs/detail-page-for-programs/academic//course/80.html ?courseCat=13 47


Harvard Business School in India

About the course:A decade ago, HBS began researching and developing cases on companies operating in India. In 2005, HBS established the India Research Center (HBS IRC) in Mumbai to develop intellectual capital on the critical challenges facing the country’s business organizations and leaders in key industries. Using this information—developed by faculty who have relationships with major decision makers at growing Indian-based companies—HBS IRC offers a unique Executive Education program that shares this practice-based thinking with senior executives across the region.HBS IRC brings the world to you through ‘Building a Global Enterprise in India’. Taught by HBS faculty with deep global and Indian expertise, the program incorporates the latest thinking on new management ideas being embraced by India’s fastest-growing companies. Additionally, the program focuses on companies in other emerging markets that have addressed issues similar to those

confronting Indian companies today. Using the case method pioneered by HBS, you will be immersed in study with an unparalleled group of peers from both developed and emerging markets. Unlike any other executive education program, ours combines on-the-ground, research-based knowledge of India with the global perspective of one of the world’s leading business schools.Application ProcessProgram participants must be nominated and sponsored by their current employer. HBS must receive your application and all required documents in order to prepare the application for review by the Admissions Committee.

To apply, you may use their online form or download an application from their website.For more information, please contact:Harvard Business School IRCTelephone: +91-22-24916756 Fax: 0091-22-24900724Email: [email protected]

INSEAD Leadership Programme for Senior Indian ExecutivesAbout the course:This programme aims to address this scarcity of general management skills in fast growing companies. The programme has several learning components: week long immersions at INSEAD’s global campuses and in India, project work, 360° assessments and coaching and ongoing personal development.By developing an integrated approach to general management, the INSEAD Leadership Programme for Senior Indian Executives will prepare you for senior

management roles and provide a timely boost for your career. Over the 12 months of the programme, even as you pursue your current career, they enable you to learn from the best minds in business as well as from an outstanding peer group and apply the new knowledge gained. Benefits•Enhance the depth and breadth of fundamental business knowledge. More specifically, an in-depth understanding of individual functional domains as well as the linkages across functional domains that are critical to drive business performance•Acquire and improve interpersonal skills such as networking, persuasion & influence, communication, negotiation and coaching skills that are essential for effective business leadership•Heightened self-awareness of emotions, personal and business values and blind spots that together lead to development of your own idiosyncratic leadership style and ability to leverage it effectively for business successCourse duration: One yearEligibility Proven record of demonstrated leadership and impact. Minimum 10 years or 12-15 years on average of business experience, with significant time in management, recognised career progress and enthusiasm about learning and intellectual development.

http://executive.education.insead.edu/ilpsie or visit www.eruditus.com/insead to download the form.Selection: Rounds of interviews before acceptance.

MDI – PGP-IMMDI Gurgaon in 2006 launched a unique, first of its kind programme in India - the Post Graduate Programme in International Management (PGP-IM). This is one of the efforts made by MDI to develop managers with appropriate mindset and ability to work in global markets. The programme was launched in collaboration with European School of Management (ESCP-EAP), France. The unique dual degree programme is delivered partly in India (MDI) and partly in Europe (ESCP-EAP campuses). The first phase of the programme is delivered on MDI Campus, at Gurgaon. The second phase of

Management programs for VPs, CEOs and senior managers


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48

the programme is delivered in Europe at the London, Paris & Turin campuses (English Track).

In Europe, students will not only get classroom learning opportunity, they will also get an opportunity to work there or in India on a paid internship basis. In addition, there will be scope to get placement in Europe. Living and working in Europe will enable students to understand and appreciate other cultures, hone their capabilities to work across cultures and develop global mindsets.PedagogyThere will be classroom teaching through case studies, simulations and role play. Direct exposure to workplace realities will be provided through consultancy assignments and internships in the corporate sector. An integrated batch of ESCP-EAP students and MDI students will go through the entire programme. Close interactions of this kind will develop understanding, appreciation and tolerance of differences across cultures and develop the skills to work globally.

Programme structureThe programme is spread over six modules. The first three modules spread over 8 months would be delivered at MDI. The fourth module of 6 months duration would be held at ESCP-EAP Campus. Fifth module will constitute 4 to 6 months of internship in India/ Europe while the sixth module of 1 V2 months would consist of dissertation work. Module 1 and 2 focus on providing basic inputs in qualitative and quantitative domains and provide analytical as well as communication skills. In the 3rd and 4th modules the focus shifts to giving an International Management perspective to the students. The 5th and 6th modules are dedicated to providing in-company exposure in a global context.

Advanced Program on Strategic Management (APSM) by NITT-IMPERIAStrategy is about power. It is a skill and a craft. It is in general a mode of thinking. Crafty strategists deform and transform business and societal spaces and existing

institutions, setting ‘new rules of the game’. Strategizing becomes a valuable skill in a dynamic complex environment – where change is the order of the day. Businesses in India stand at such a juncture today - with positive expectations and ambitious investment plans seeking new engagements with global business and markets across the globe. In this new environment, often characterized by enhanced pressures of competition and greater integration across global markets, charting a path of growth would become more challenging. Regulatory changes as well as novel application of information and communication technology is creating new business challenges and possibilities. This new evolving world offers exciting possibilities of growth and profits, but creates new challenges as well. Strategy would take centre-stage in this new world. Designing innovative strategic moves would be important – in opening novel turfs for non-liner expansion and growth or protecting existing domains from threats. The program would emphasize looking at issues from a strategic perspective. Understanding of market rivalries, institutions and power, leaderships and transformations would be a few pivot areas of the program. Several contemporary areas and developments would also be explored. Functional areas, such as marketing, would be explored from a strategic perspective.

Program Objective•Developing a strategic thinking mode – understanding how power is wielded and negotiated in multiple contexts, especially amidst great ‘complexity’ and increasing returns.•Understanding strategic landscapes of industries, including the interface with law and regulation •Discerning the strategic significance of few contemporary developments such as outsourced models of business, vigorous use of informatics, delayering of organizations and so on. •Strategizing in a network mode – competition and cooperation •System thinking and strategy

PedagogyThe program will use multiple modes of interactive delivery. Lectures and readings of

concept pieces would be linked to discussion of business cases (and business histories), analysis of anecdotes to ground theories/concepts in practice. The program will also use extensively the widely distributed knowledge pieces within the web (in the public domain) through use of links, thematic sites to aid considerable self exploration by motivated senior managers and business leaders. Each platform interaction would require pre-reading and preparation in group-based modes by the participants. Exposure to a few computational and analytical software tools to aid system and network thinking would also be provided on a lab mode.Program Duration and scheduleThe duration of the program is six months with one session of three hours each week. Total Number of Program hours: 90 hours Who should attend?This program is aimed at managers in organizations who are currently in roles that require them to handle strategic issues, or managers who are looking to move into such roles. Senior and middle level managers and profit centre heads would find the program particularly useful. Working professionals wishing to participate in the program need to have a minimum experience of 7 years. Managers with longer and broader experience would benefit more from the programme.ApplicationWorking executives who are graduates (10+2+3 or equivalent) in any discipline with 50% marks, with an experience profile of at least 7 years after graduation are eligible.Eligible candidates will be selected on the basis of their performance in the Program Aptitude Test to be conducted by NIIT Imperia, together with the assessment of background and motivation based on the application form submitted. Senior applicants with experience would be preferred.

Brochures and application form for the programs can be downloaded from www.niitimperia.comFor further details visit:http://www.niitimperia.com/programs/detail-page-for-programs/academic//course/80.html ?courseCat=13

49


I love meetings. You can invite me for a meeting, anytime, any day, any place, any topic and I will be there. All ready for a discussion, deliberation, brain storming and planning. For me, meetings have

always been what an oasis is to a sun burnt, dehydrated traveler on foot in the Sahara desert. Sure they don’t have lovely women dressed like the ones in Prince of Persia, or goblets of wine and bunches of grapes. But they do offer that relative peace and quiet smack in the middle of an inhospitable terrain. You can figure if you are in a good meeting room going by the following rules. I call them ‘The Meeting Code’!

The Meeting CodeThe first meeting code was compiled thousands of years ago when an Alpha caveman decided to gather the Beta and Gamma cavemen to dis-cuss a strategy to bring down a woolly mammoth. We know how that meeting went, considering that there are no cavemen or mammoths nowadays. Anyway, my point is, this is an important code which has a mythical past and has evolved to keep up with times, unlike other doctrines.

1. Go Prepared! When entering the meeting room, make sure you ask your best friend to call continuously to update you on the exact time that Kingfisher calendar is to be released (or anything that is THAT important!). Next, make sure you do not put your phone on silent. Put it on the lowest volume so that everyone can hear the call but not get too bothered. This way, they will just roll their eyes and not ask you to turn the phone off. When your best friend calls, cut the phone two to three times to signal your interest in the conversation going on in the room and the fourth time it rings, say “Oh, I am sorry… it’s a very impor-

tant customer and there is a goof up by some other department. I need to step out for a while.” By doing this, you have achieved three stars for: • Customer centricity • Politeness• Commitment (by disconnecting the call thrice)

Don’t stray away from the room as you will need to jump right in when they conclude and list out the action points. Since you were away from the meeting, you are not likely to get any actions to execute. If you do, ask for an explanation and chances are high it will go to someone else as no one wants to extend that meeting now.

2. Choose the right chair Never be in the far corner. Pick the chair nearest to the door. Now, you can slip in and out for smoking, calling your girlfriend, placing an order for a movie, playing bricks on Blackberry… all the while being seen by people sitting inside the meeting room. This works splendidly when there are glass walls or glass doors. The key is to ensure no one gets disturbed when you slip out but they can see you all serious and businesslike outside. You can get two stars for this: • Not interrupting anyone during the meeting • Being hands-on in case of a life and death situation involving ‘cus-tomers’Make sure, when you come back, put up a serious face, rub your fore-head and look visibly upset. If someone asks you, just say, ‘I don’t know why people cannot get that I am in an important meeting!’

3. Think! But do not tell until askedYou know that story about the stale fish on a fishing boat and how

Business!

Who said office meetings need to be boring? We unleash 'The Meeting Code' -

meetings will never be the same again!

We mean


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50

• Trying to keep meeting on track so that no one wastes time

4. Be nice to office help You can have the worst ego stand-offs with your boss and get away but make sure the office boys are on your side. These guys are the lifeline of meetings. They keep meetings going on and on and on! Thanks to coffee and cream biscuits.

So make sure to say ‘Thank you’ and smile to anyone who is serving food in meetings. Even if he is a jerk who keeps eyeing your current boss’ secretary, with whom you hope to score a movie date. Believe me, biscuits in meetings are more important than some stupid movie date. You can get many to go out with you for a movie but if deprived of biscuits and coffee, your corporate ladder will crumble because of your sloppy behaviour in meetings and you will have no money for movie dates.

With this, you score on several points: • In case the boss’ secretary is keeping minutes, she will see how polite and gentlemanly you are (yes!!). • You will always have energy to go on and on – sugar and caffeine cannot go wrong. • You get to pick out the best biscuits from the assortment – hoard out all the creamy ones. • Your coffee will be perfectly made – exact strength and sugar. • You can offer a cream biscuit to that new intern once everyone else has polished off the plate (make sure boss’s secretary is not around when you try this). To be continued...

Partha Rao

putting a shark in the fish tank ensured that fishes were fresh when they came on shore? Too bad if you don’t, I am not going to tell you.

But here's a gist Brain cells are like fish in a tank. If you leave them too long without the need for a swim, they become bored, slow and stupid. You need a shark among your brain cells so that they are kept on their feet and they keep swimming. This technique, which is called the ‘Brain Shark Idea’ is known to keep the brain healthy. Brain Shark Idea exercises are best conducted in a meeting room. So when in a meeting room, go in with an idea. Maybe you can try and compile the best dialogues from Andaaz Apna Apna, or think about the number of times Madhuri did ‘dhak dhak’. It can be anything. But you need an idea. And now, make sure you think. Think really hard and keep writing in illegible handwriting in your diary about all that you thought. But never ever smile or smirk!

People will think you are concentrating and writing down points for discussion later. Just to impress any bosses around all will feel obliged to do the same and no one will bother you in a short while. Now, do not ask any questions or offer suggestions unless you are asked to.

If you get a question thrown at you, just say, ‘It depends … I am com-posing my thoughts around this and maybe we can take the discussion up when we wrap up’. Since everyone has been writing and waiting to be the Alpha, it will be pandemonium at the end and no one will bother you. You get can two stars for this as well • Being attentive

51


Barter LeaderThose born with this style, always trade off freebies or gifts and follow a ‘give and take’ approach. For getting their things done, they will definitely barter and in an organisational context, it could be even as small as overtime or comp-off to many other intangibles.

LEADEROSCOPE Ever wondered what kind of a leader you are?

Presenting Leaderoscope (leadership horoscope) with 10 zing styles that predict whether you are

a Gandhi or a Hitler?

Just pick one picture (from the lot given below) that suits you best and read what it means. Of course, as a Leaderoscope consultant, we give you Individual Development Plan (IDP) to attain the other dimensions, but for a FEE!

Butcher LeaderThose born with this style, have ‘no love lost’. Detached attachment is their profile and will butcher the executor if the person deviates from the expectations or directions and some times, even the full stops and commas are not negotiable.

Barrier leaderThose born with this style will have a knack of creating rightful obstacles and each obstacle is very valuable; they can find faults well and easily. They may not find solutions but can be a good critique.

Boxer LeaderThose born with this style will fight for the functionality and for people reporting to them and the actual issue will be secondary. High in emotional quotient, subjectivity is their forte. Apparently fair, they will never trade off and at the cost of bigger picture, they will win the argument.

Butter leader Those born with this style have excellent diplomacy and will cross levels through their flowery language and high adjective quotient. Language and approach is their route to get results. Promises are plenty and honouring is a distant reality.

Bitter Leader He is the one who wears the hat of ‘I am not OK and you are not OK’ and for him the world is full of bitterness and everybody is at fault. Their style enables one to paint the worst case scenario of any situation.

Batter LeaderThose born with this style are ideally suited for constant follow-up. The level of micro management is very high. Hourly progress monitoring is their forte. Mid-night calls, early morning calls and Sunday calls are very common and is a usual practice with them.

Barker Leader Those born with this style are highly energetic and the noise is more than voice. They don’t bite but make miserable noise till things get done


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The writer is CEO and Architect, Organizational Capability, Center for Excellence in Organization,

Bengaluru 560071. www.exploreceo.com.

What shoula be your Leadership

Style?

Butcher Barrier

Boxer

Butter

Bitter

Batter

Barker

???

Barter

Then who is the right leader and what would

be his birth style?

Better Leader Those born with this style exhibit all the above eight leadership styles and are audience and context-sensitive. They believe in different strokes for different folks and do not apply the same stroke in every situation.

However, great leaders are ‘Butler Leaders’ – like Swami Vivekananda, Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Anna Hazare, etc,. To know more on who is a Butler Leader, watch out this space in the next issue.

Lounge 91664,New # -20,21st Mainroad,Anna Nagar, Chennai-40P :044 42878730www.thelounge9.com

Wanna hook up ?S. Deenadayalan

Cuisine

This month, Chef Patel of Raintree Hotel, Chennai, shares with us two quickies that can keep you

energised for that hard day at work and the best part, you don't have to slog it out in the kitchen.

Corporate

Greek Salad, Serves 4

IngredientsRomaine lettuce, torn into pieces - ½ head Iceberg lettuce, torn into pieces - ½ head Bell peppers, diced - 1 cupSeedless cucumber, diced - 1 cupSmall red onion, sliced - 1 Cherry tomatoes, halved - 1 cupKalamata or other brine-cured black olives, rinsed - 1/3 cupFinely chopped fresh oregano - 2 tsp.Fresh lemon juice - 2 tsp.Extra-virgin olive oil - 2 tblsp.Feta, quartered - 240 gm

Method Toss all ingredients together except feta, then season it with salt and pepper. Put the salad on the serving plates and top it up with feta.

Pan grilled fish, Serves 4 IngredientsRed snapper - 1 kgSpinach - 800 gmTomato - 400 gmBlack olives - 50 gmOlive oil - 100 mlBaby potatoes - 250 gmChopped garlic - 20 gmNutmeg - 5 gmLemon - 3 nosFresh basil - 200 gmSalt - 10 gmBlack pepper powder - 10 gm

Method• Dab the snapper fillet in a paper towel. Marinate with salt, freshly ground pepper, lemon juice, oil and lemon rind. • Cook it with the skin side down over a cast iron pan or a non stick pan. • For the tomato olive dressing, cut red plum tomatoes, lengthwise, into four. Roast with salt, pepper and olive oil in the oven over a high temperature. Marinate these tomatoes with salt, pepper, fresh basil, halved kalamanta olives, olive oil, tomato juice and lemon juice. • Pick and wash the spinach leaves, saute with some chopped garlic, olive oil, grated nutmeg and lemon rind. Remove the excess liquid. • Peel and boil the baby potatoes, cut thick slices and saute with a little olive oil.

AssemblingArrange sautéed spinach at the base in the centre. Elevate the sautéed potatoes. Arrange two baby crisp skin fillets of snapper on top. Warm up and drizzle tomato and olive dressing on the sides.

Editor’s note: Dear readers, if you have easy-to-make recipes, e-mail us at [email protected] to be featured in this column.


NTERTAIN

54

Business on cardsLook at what the tarot cards predict for your profession this month…

Eight of swords/Moon reversed

Death/Devil reversed

Page of cups/Two of cups

Hermit reversed/Hierophant reversed

Temperance/strength reversed

Eight of swords/five of cups

Taurus - Taureans, please take note of the fact that this period is very important to you as you have turned up with both major arcane cards, which signifies major happenings. You have recently completed a task or duty and it’s time to bid goodbye and move on. This can signify the ending of a job or even a retirement. But this is for your betterment as you are going to come across more lucrative offers.

Gemini - Geminis are in luck this month. It brings a lot of good proposals professionally and personally too .This period might help you meet your soul mate or you could discover your life purpose and work towards your soul path. This period could also see you turning your hobby into an enjoyable and profitable venture.

Leo - Dynamic Leos are in partying mood, but too much of socialising and networking is leading to stress and confusions. You need to get away from the crowd and introspect on the next move. Some situations that might affect your future life need to be sorted out or anarchy will be the result. Your rebellious attitude is likely to upset higher-ups and create disharmony; Meditation is key to your solution.

Virgo - Practical Virgos are feeling trapped this month but do not lose hope. Counseling or taking advice from a trusted confidante will definitely see you through this bleak period. If you look around you, you will see ways and means to remove yourself from unpleasant people and unwanted situations. Stop being emotional, use your strength of being pragmatic and practical.

Aries - Arians, you are likely to feel trapped in the present circumstances, but the worst is over and it’s up to you to remove your shackles and move forward with new vigour. Moon reversed implies that some new revelations will help you make the right decision, some mystery or perplexing situation is going to get resolved. Also, please be wary of trusting new people blindly. Situations which seem rosy are not so in reality.

Cancer - People having their cancer in sun will be surprised by dichotomy in their own nature. Usually, you are well-balanced but some incident might turn you aggressive. Those who are timid need to be strong and see to it that others do not bully them.


NVISION

56

King of wands reversed/Nine of cups reversed

Six of wands reversed/Page of cups reversed

Six of wands /Seven of cups reversed

Four of cups/Chariot

Queen of cups reversed/Emperor Five of swords reversed/Knight of cups

Pisces - Pisceans, you have proved your mettle and have come out victorious, and if you have won ethically, your joy will be doubled. You are also likely to get an offer which might include traveling abroad or an offer to take up an assignment that is close to heart. Keep your passport and immigration papers ready as some of you may even decide to move overseas.

Scorpio - Enigmatic Scorpions, the victory that you wanted and worked hard for has lost its charm and has turned sour. It could be that you are resting on your laurels or have temporarily lost interest in the topic. Don’t abandon the project, give it some time. If a rude or unpredictable colleague is the cause of your disturbance, you need to sort out the matter and make most of your status quo.

Capricorn - Cappys rejoice, for your hard work has paid off and trumpets are blowing in your honour. But at the same time, do not take up new offers without analysing in depth for there might be some misleading facts which will later lead you to regret your decisions. Tarot advises you to take chances but only after being fully informed. Do thorough investigations before you open the bottle of champagne.

Aquarius -Your moodiness and unpredictable nature are turning you into an eccentric individual. Guard against the tendency of indecisiveness, you might lose a good opportunity to stabilise your future. A father figure in the form of your mentor or even boss is there to sort out your emotional problems. Guard against indulging in too much alcohol or taking up excesses.

Libra - Librans are known for their charm and diplomacy but maybe this time your charm has worked against you. It’s quite likely that you may be the target of an unpleasant senior or get into an unwanted flirtatious situation. You are advised to exercise restraint in your personal and professional life, as getting into excess might take away your content state.

Sagittarius - The lively Sagittarian is feeling a bit down this month. Could it be that restlessness is getting to you? Do not despair as travel is your solution; a long journey is on the cards for you, which will help you expand your horizons. If you cannot plan an official journey, it is an excellent time to take up a holiday to get you out of the blues. Also, focusing on your priorities will help you plan your next move. This month, hard work pays more than expected dividends as chariot is showing the way; so stop wallowing in laziness and make the right moves.

Anjali Sinha

The writer is a professional tarot reader and occulist. For business advice, contact her at engage@theenterprisemagazine,.com

57


Volkswagen

Volkswagen is going places with its tremendous growth in the Indian automobile market. From around 4000 units in 2009-10 to over

44,000 units in 2010-11, the German auto-mobile giant registered a ten-fold increase in the sales. Lapping up on the success, Volk-swagen has introduced the all-new Passat. In-troduced in 2007 in India, Passat went on to become one of the finest luxury sedans in the country. Volkswagen has now introduced the new Passat at a crucial time where the luxury car market is enjoying a healthy growth annu-ally. And with the new edition, Volkswagen’s Passat aims to solidify its position among the rising demands of the luxury car segment.

A walk around Volkswagen’s all-new Passat’s transformation is not just an upgrade in the engine or the cos-metic changes inside the car. The new Passat comes as a new car all around. The completely revamped exterior draws your attention in-stantly with the new front grille, attractive Bi-Xenon headlamps bordered by LED running lights, LED tail lights, distinctive C-pillar and expressive 5-spoke alloy wheels. The front of the new Passat gives out a classy and muscu-lar profile. New front chrome grille reflects the company’s new styling and the Bi-Xenon headlamps offer a futuristic feel with its LED running lights. The front bumper with the air intakes, surrounded by chrome and integrated fog lights completes the front of the new Pas-sat. Rear view mirrors, with integrated turn indicators, compliment the design and fit per-fectly. The side profile of the car is neat with

prominent lines along the waist and lined with chrome in the bottom. The C-pillar not only makes a great part of the design but also gives a feel of space inside the car. In the rear, the LED tail lights border the corners. They are attractive but remind you of the rear of Audi A4. The Volkswagen logo in the back doubles as the boot opener and also sports a reverse camera beneath it. The 16-inch Barcelona 5-spoke alloy wheels are a great addition and look fantastic on the car.

The Inside JobStep inside the new Passat and be welcomed by the all-black interiors. The complete black interiors, though uncommon, feel great and give a distinctive edge with wooden highlights through the dash and the sides. The comfort and space for the driver and passengers are ob-viously the most important factors for the in-sides of a luxury car and the new Passat passes with flying colours. Especially with the front seats that come with built-in, fully adjust-able, active air-conditioning to circulate cool or warm air. Add to it a 12-way adjustable system with driver-seat memory and you get a new level of customisable comfort. In the rear also, the leg room, head room and thigh sup-port are given the necessary attention to offer premium comfort.

In the cockpit, the typical VW three-spoke steering wheel offer height and reach adjust-able manual setting, with mounted controls for gear shift, multi-function display, radio and telephone. The instrument cluster is made of two large dials for tachometer and speedometer with a display in between for

PassatWill the new

Passat sail through like

its ancestors? Let’s take a test drive…


VOLVE

60

all the information related to driving. In the dashboard, major part of the center console is occupied by the multi-function infotainment system that hosts various functions such as music system, mobile phone operations and more. Below it is the climate control system and above is an analog clock. The electrically operated sunroof, providing ventilation and ambience, and tilt-and-slide sunblinds in the rear do their jobs flawlessly. Loads of storage space can be found around the car and a spa-cious 565-litre boot is enough to manage your family’s luggage easily.

Drive HappyVolkswagen has introduced the new Passat with a range of its BlueMotion Technologies, with most of them benefiting with the driv-ing. The heart of the Passat is the advanced 2.0 L TDI engine delivering maximum out-put of 170PS at 4200 rpm and a maximum torque of 350Nm at 1750-2500 rpm. The engine is refined to draw maximum power, with better fuel economy and lesser emission. The high and mid-range revs were fantastic and the response of the engine is immedi-ate at any level. Mated to the TDI engine is a 6-speed DSG transmission that makes sure there is no loss in power during gear shifting. In its automatic mode, you can either choose the balanced comfort setting or the sport set-ting for higher performance. The option of a manual 6-speed gearbox is only available in the Trendline version of the new Passat. Both

the DSG and manual gearboxes are optimized for longer ratios and incorrect shifts to in-crease energy efficiency. The auto start-stop system switches off the engine automatically whenever you stop and take your foot off the accelerator and starts it again when you press back the accelerator, thus reducing the emis-sion and saving the fuel. With the brake ener-gy recuperation system, every time you brake, the resulting kinetic energy is converted into electricity and stored in the battery, recharging it. And to prevent energy loss during the gear shifts, the gear shift indicator tells you when to shift the gears, aiding in fuel efficiency. The drive of the new Passat is in every way won-derful. The car handles the corners with great attention and thanks to a perfect suspension setup, you can hardly feel a pothole.

Indulgence There is the keyless entry and start/stop system, Kessy, with the button placed in the center console. And to pamper you more, the new Passat comes with the Park Assist system that allows for a hands-free reverse parking experience. All you have to do is look after the acceleration and braking after choosing a place while the ‘Park Assist’ takes control of the steering to get the car in the marked space with the help of the reverse camera. Also present is the Attention Assist system, which makes sure you don’t fall asleep during the drive. The system first identifies your steering pattern and gives out a warning chime and a

flashing icon on the dashboard if it detects any variance in the pattern due to drowsiness or carelessness. ABS and ESP of course are present and will make their presence known during sudden braking or while turning in high speeds. To provide you with entertain-ment in the new Passat, you have the RCD 510 premium multimedia system with 6.5-inch full colour touch screen display, with an MP3 player, six-disc changer, eight speakers, USB input, SD card reader and a Bluetooth interface. The new Passat is surrounded by six airbags – two front, two curtain and two front side – making a serious statement for your safety. And with the acoustic laminated windshield, silence is the new language inside the Passat.

Go for itThe Volkswagen Passat has always been a great car to be with. And with the new Pas-sat, Volkswagen has made the levels of luxury and comfort more exciting. The new Passat is now available only in Comfortline and High-line versions, with the Trendline model due in sometime. The pricing of the new Passat starts at Rs. 20.80 lakhs ex-showroom Chen-nai and is available in five colours – Cashmere Brown, Mocca Anthracite, Deep Black, Reflex Silver and Candy White.

Bala Subramaniam N

61


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• Vitrified tiles flooring

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• Covered car parking

XL Deodar I, Sriperambathur2/3BHK with area 950 to1300Sqft

• Swimming pool

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• Creche and mini community hall

• Mini shuttle service

Coral Springs, Madipakkam2/3BHK with area 911 to 1060Sqft

• Vitrified tiles flooring

• Landscaping on all suitable open space

• Security room at entrance

• Water and borewell storage

Jai Madhav, Jalladampet2/3BHK with area 1112 to 1513 Sqft

• Gymnasium and multipurpose Hall

• Security System with intercom facility

• Soft and hard landscaping

• Generator backup for common lights and lifts

Marutham Gateway, Tambaram2BHK with area 768 to 1250Sqft

• Vitrified flooring

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state

Hi, I am Rajesh, I work for an advertising agency. My previous boss had to leave the organisation suddenly due to a spat with

the management. I now report to a new team lead who pulls us up for everything that goes wrong. The team’s problem is that there has been no proper handover so we are not sure as to who is responsible for what job, so end of the day, it is mayhem. How do we sort this out? – N Ashok, Mumbai

Quite obviously the new Team Lead is also as confused as you all are. As a group you need to recreate the structure as you worked with the previous boss. Reassess roles and assign responsibilities. The group also needs to discuss norms of working together and the current conflicts serve as an opportunity to flush issues out. The new Team Lead needs to be understood more than censored. Engage in reassuring him of your support. Prima facie there seems to be a culture of blame. The senior management must be provided sensitive feedback on life at the operating levels as a group. Don’t attempt this individually if you value your job.

Hello, my issue is that I keep getting jobs from three of my bosses simultaneously. When I prioritise one work over the

other, the boss whose work is not done is irritated and I need to face trouble. How do I make them understand that am overloaded and cannot do everything at one go. – B Natraj, Hyderabad

Not the ideal kind of situation to be in. In fact, it can be down right nerve racking. Suggestion is to get all 3 managers together and relate the problem with specific instances drawn from each of them. One primary reporting authority needs to be specified who will be your appraising authority. If this ground rule is not established along with priorities on your role you will continue to be stressed without a thanks from any of the three. This is also an excellent opportunity to practice your assertion skills.

I have this ridiculous problem at office – my boss keeps spying my Facebook account after-office hours. He not only tracks me

but even leaves messages on every status message of mine with the tone of authority he uses in office. It is very embarrassing for me as

my ‘non-office’ friends find it very odd. – Sheela George, Bengaluru

Pardon me, but have you been visiting your Face Book during office hours .If you have , you have legitimized his incursion to your site. He can draw an official line on your Face book usage and you may have to toe his line. However, if you have not been using the Face Book during Office hours then it is a trespass in to your private domain. If I were you I would gently and firmly point out his extra constitutional actions and request him to avoid your site citing your friends and their remarks as reason and the stress it is causing you by his comments.

I have been working really hard for my company for the past 15 years yet my salary is well below the industry standard.

I have not looked for a job shift as I like my job and it is closer to my home. Last year, my manager’s son-in-law joined our office as admin personnel. And now, he has been promoted as the general manager and his salary has been tripled while my request for a hike has been rejected saying that the company doesn’t have funds. I feel this is unfair, how can I make the management understand my predicament?. – Vishali, Chennai

15 years and you have neither looked at other jobs nor have you discussed your career progression with the management. Apparently you worked for job satisfaction and the conveniences this company gave you as proximity to home. Sometimes a little too much of job satisfaction can lead to job complacence.

If that’s the case, you need to ask yourself a fundamental question - do I really want higher responsibilities or am I satisfied with the way things are. Perhaps this junior’s elevation woke you up to certain realities and that’s causing you some stress.

If on the other hand, you are career-driven and all your sincerity and hard work has not been recognized, then confront your management with your record of performance with a clear intention of getting elevation with higher compensation or seeking your prospects else where. This would also be a litmus test to understand yourself as what you really want in a job.

Q

Q

Q

Q

J X GregoryThe columnist is Founder-Director, SAGA Consulting. He is a Management graduate from XLRI-Jamshedpur’81 with over 30 years of

experience in HR, Change Management and Consulting. His work during the last 15 years in competence mapping saw him profiling over 4000 middle and senior management employees and in coaching them for higher responsibilities and leadership. Mail your queries to engage@

theenterprisemagazine.com

C RIBORNER


NGAGE64

XchangeThis column is a virtual meeting place for companies or individuals in need of funding and angel investors or venture capitalist firms.

Mumbai AngelsThe Angels are primarily focused on seed stage and early stage companies with strong teams, defensible technologies or services and well defined product to market plans. If you meet the criteria of the Mumbai Angels, we encourage you to submit a plan for investment consideration. You will need to submit a Business Case Analysis, Power Point Presentation and Team Profile (in the attached format)of

your business plan.

Selected Companies Process Following successful completion of the pre-screening process you will be invited to present your plan to the entire member community of the Mumbai Angels. In the interim between selection and presentation the Mumbai Angels provides value-added preparatory services to the companies. Using its expertise, the Mumbai Angels may help the companies refine both their written and oral presentations

in preparation for larger group presentations.

aNGeLs WaNTeD!

Focus

The

Client Code: TBEE0008Project: To market a technology that measures

break efficiency efficiently.Investment size: Rupees 20 CroresInvestment deadline: June 30, 2011

-----------------------Client Code: TBEE0009

Project: To develop a stabiliser with the expertise of ex-ISRO scientist at a minimal cost.Investment size: Rupees 15-20 Crores

Investment deadline: July 15, 2011---------------------------

Client Code: TBEE0010Project: To launch a quick service restaurant

model with the expertise of ex-Yumm restaurant proffesionals. Franchise expansion possible.

Investment size: Rupees Three CroresInvestment deadline: July 15, 2011

Interested investors or VC firms may contact us at [email protected] with the client code mentioned in the subject line. Entrepreneurs seeking investment can also write in to the same id.


NGAGE66

Opportunity knocks every monthYour Next stepBanking, accounts, NBFS and Insurance IT(Software, Dotcom, Infra.Mgmt.& UI Design)

Civil Engineering, Construction and Architecture

Sales Executive Italia groupKolkata, 0-2 Years: Candidate would be responsible for to gener-ate business by implementing the marketing and sales activities. To achieve pre decided volume and value targets for the given quarter / financial year as decided by Department Head. To be responsible for Channel / Project Sales. Shine Job Id - 267712

Executive - AccountingAdecco India pvt. Ltd.Mumbai-Thane, 0-1 Years: Candidates must be well versed with accounting and have ability to interpret financial reports, analyse financial Data, Accounting Data, balance Sheet, P/F balance sheet.Shine Job Id - 268352

Dealer - Equities, Derivatives & Commodities MarketReliance Man-Power ConsultantsMumbai-Thane, 1-4 Years: Desired Candidate would be responsible for Business Development, client ser-vicing and maintaing of existing & acquired accounts. Shine Job Id - 250019

Wealth manager2COMS ConsultingBangalore, 2-5 Years: Desired Candidate would be required to Build & manage Client Relations; Client servicing. Deliver Revenue. Ac-quire new customers. Cross sell multiple product. Ensure Financial Planning, regular portfolio review.Shine Job Id - 246111

Direct sales ExecutiveIndiaMART InterMESH LtdPune, 0 Years: Candidate Should be good in communication, En-thusiastic and ready to travel across Ahmedabad, MBA fresher or any person willing to make career in marketing field can apply. Shine Job Id - 256348

RecruiterTAS ConsultantBangalore, 0-2 Years: Desired candidate should have done MBA. Hr freshers needed for a US based IT company at Bangalore. Shine Job Id - 266945

Executive - Marketing & Business Development-GeneralM TechnologyDelhi, NCR, 0-2 Years: Desired Candidate should have done MBA (IT Software). Able to work in a stimulating and challenging envi-ronment Ability to gather requirements, document it, manage pro-gress and demonstrate results to clients is a must. Shine Job Id - 246281

Advertising, MR, Event and PR Management

Direct Marketing ExecutiveBACE Marketing Pvt. Ltd.Delhi-NCR, 1-2 Years: Qualification: Graduation. Candidate must possess excellent communication skills. Selected candidate will join Corporate Sales Team for dirrect sales and marketing to large coprpo-rates, multinationals, insitutions, public sector enterprises, ministries, UN Agencies, embassies etc.Shine Job Id - 248490


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FMCG, Food and Beverage

Branch Marketing ManagerCPHR Services Pvt. LtdAgra, Varanasi, 2-4 Years: Desired Candidate should be a Graduate with MBA having experience in Branch marketing strategy,marketing calender management, overall BTL Marketing activities,Media,Advertisement ,Vendors in Branch level management.Shine Job Id - 237921

Executive AssistantWell Reputed Client of HR LINKERSHaryana, 2-5 Years: Role of this position includes to ensure and create business planning, strategy implementation, market-ing policies, maintaining MIS etc.Shine Job Id - 241872

IT and Telecom Equipment

Desktop Support AnalystHelios Matheson It (Bangalore) Ltd.Bangalore, 1-4 Years: Candidate must have experience in voice based support on troubleshooting outlook, desktop, laptop, active directroy, exchange, VPN.Shine Job Id - 266434

DT EngineerZephyr Telecom ServicesBangalore, Chennai, DelhiNCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai-Thane, Pune, Other Andaman and Nico-bar, Port Blair, Anantpur, Chittoor, Guntur, Kurnool, Nellore, Other Andhra Pradesh, Vishakhapatnam, Vi-zianagram, Warangal, Itanagar,Other Arunachal Pradesh, Guwahati., 1-3 Year: Education: B.Tech/B.E. - Electronics/Telecommunication. Must have good knowledge about HSPDA, WCDMA, CDMA2000. Experience TEMS 9.0, ZXPOS CNT (CDMA Network Testing Tool), RF System Design, RF Propaga-tion Analysis, Link Budget Analysis. Shine Job Id - 268112

Healthcare and Pharma

Quality Engineer Panacea Medical Technologies Pvt. LtdBangalore, 0-1 Years: Educational Qualification: Diploma in Me-chanical Engineering. Shine Job Id - 268025

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60 SecondsIt’s your take on food, shopping, movies, books and life!

Lifestyle store - Oasis Mall, Koramangala .This shop has three floors and you can buy almost anything here. The ground floor has perfumes, ladies clothing, bags and accessories. The first floor has three sections. One for men where you have a variety of brands. The second section is where you can find your sole mate. Yes, they have shoes and more shoes. The third section in this floor is for kids. It has all branded items from toys, cribs, cradle, cycle to dresses for boys and girls. The second floor has complete home products like sofa, dining, crockery, backpacks, luggages, etc., Overall, although it is an expensive place, it is quality for money and I definitely recommend shopping here once in a while.- Ranjini Aravind, Manager-Accounts, Hofincons Infotech & Industrial Services Pvt. Ltd.,(a Transfield Services Group Company), Bengaluru.

SHOP

Go with it – Well, whether you need to go for this one depends on whether you are an Adam Sandler fan or not. If you don’t want to watch another rom-com where the hero was in love with his best

friend all the while, skip this. For the rest, you can watch this one for Aniston, she is fab and pretty much lets you go with it. - Surendar N, Mumbai

SCOOP

53.5RATING

52.5RATING


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53.5RATING

Lounge 9, Chennai has an amazing ambiance. Their themed rooms can make any evening special. And what’s more, you have a six feet projector screen where you can catch all the action – be it IPL or wrestling. Their

pastas and paninis are to die for. And if you love hookas, this is the place to be. Next weekend, visit Lounge 9 and find out why it’s haute and happening.

- Azeez, Managing Director, Zen Line Shipping - Chennai

SLURP

54RATING

The book “Made To Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive And Other Die” deals with how to make one’s ideas heard, understood, believed in, cared for and acted upon. Through a simple yet power-packed style, the author brothers - Chip and Dan Heath sure make this idea of theirs stick well in your head!- Smriti Muralidharan, Analyst, Goldman Sachs - Bengaluru.

Corporate employees can mail us crisp reviews at [email protected] on or before May 20, 2011. For Please mention

your full name, designation and company information for publication.

SCAN

54.5RATING

The game of life!- Harish Kumar, senior software engineer, Keanne, Chennai

SNAP

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Mail your entries (within 30 words) to [email protected] with ‘contest ‘in the subject line on or before May 15, 2011.

This month, tell us the story of how you messed up in an interview or how your candidate lost his mind during an interview, the best story gets a corporate gift.

The winning ‘Excuse me’ entries from last issue:

Sorry, I had the alarm set for 5 PM instead of 5 AM- Visu M, Bengaluru

My hair aches- Abdul V, Mumbai

I was mugged coming into work today.- Prabha Chandrasekar, Chennai

Congratulations!

Mess up

Name this product, give it a tag line and win exciting prizes.

Winning entry for last issue:

Stunner - Get used to adualation

- Thauqeer Ahmed, Bengaluru

Other interesting entries include:

Icare - Easy on the eyes, Sana J, Mumbai

Visage - Frame perfect, Sridhar , Hyderabad

Brand-ishMusic on the move!


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Arun R

amkum

ar


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IRON

Coimbatore: S-5,2nd Floor, Brookefields Estates, Brookebond Road, Coimbatore - 641001. Tel: 0422 - 2255656

Chennai: 55/61, Nowroji Road, Chetpet, Chennai - 600031. Tel: 044 42857087(Diagonally Opposite to Ega theatre)

Maybell brings an exclusive range of Lounge Wear,

Mix n Match Nightwearand more.

Add a new address to your list of

Lounging Spots

Is your corporate environment daunting?Is your team hostile? Do your ideas remain ideas?

For more details, contact TBE corporate training division

CautionMen at work

It’s time for a change! TBE presents ‘Happy hours at work!’

Let’s change the way the world works!

The Business Enterprise | Brisk Corporate Services Pvt. Ltd.10/3 A- 5th Street | Nandanam Extension, Nandanam | Chennai - 600035, TN,India. Ph: (+91) 44 4320 1140 | F: (+91) 44 4359 6379 | [email protected]

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