A fever called Toyshop

A course we are studying in term 2 - E-Business – has been hogging the focus of all MBA students for the past many weeks. Today was the culmination of the long hours invested by each of us.

Toyshop – a fictitious company - formed the backdrop of our group assignment. It involved a presentation to the Toyshop management (read: Cranfield prof’s) with the recommendations of how to make Toyshop healthy and competitive. It was like a case in strategic consulting with the emphasis on Information Systems and its deployment.

Like many other teams, we also had been practicing and timing our rehearsals for this day over the last many days. Well, soon enough, the day had arrived as we could see many teams moving around dressed to kill. After all, you don’t get a second chance.

Our team trooped in the room and settled in our seats. Quick introduction and we were informed that the presentation should not be more than 20 minutes. And there it was – the first unexpected thing – our timings had shown us that we need 27 minutes for the presentation. Now we had to think on our toes and signal each other where to cut and squeeze in the complete presentation without rushing. With faster heart beats, we saw each of us, speaking slightly faster than what we had practiced while five pair of eyes kept glancing at their watches.

We managed this first challenge with just-in-time results. 19 minutes 57 seconds.

Time for section II of our assessment – individual questions round with no help from other team members. This meant that we know each bit of the case and our proposals. Two rounds of questions to each of us followed. This was an interesting experience – while we were presenting our proposals, I could see the management buried in the paper copies of our presentation. I was wondering – are these Professors listening? Why do seem so disinterested?

My doubts were washed away when the questions were cannoned at us. They were not only listening, but picked up specific phrases form what we had voiced and were not on the paper presentation. Spooky, I guess, but that’s why they are the world class faculty at Cranfield.

Soon enough our question session ended and we trooped out. Eager eyes, raised brows and pleading looks met us in the forum just outside the room. And I was unsure what to say – how did we do? Well, only time will tell.

The Master showed his class

There could not have been a better way to enjoy the Valentine’s Day. It was The Hobday Masterclass – very aptly titled. Cranfield MBA’s enjoyed their day with the Master.

As part of the Presentation and Communication Skills (PCS), it was the day with Peter Hobday – one of Britain’s best known broadcasters. He has been the top presenter on early morning radio programme “Today” for many years. This programme has been a required listening for politicians, businessmen and other opinion formers.

Every year, Peter spends a day with Cranfield MBA students, talking about the media. And instead of a monologue, the students face the anchor of Today in a live, recorded 3 minute interview. Only the students who face Peter can vouch for how long these 3 minutes can turn out to be.
Our batch had been shown a few video recordings of previous years where Peter was seeing displaying his skills are literally “cornering” students. The idea, though, is quite meaningful and objective. Just like the press conference, where a team met the journalists on television, here you meet the journalist alone.

Quite a few of us had volunteered to be in the hot seat. And some of us did a great job surviving his skills of laying down traps and catching your own words. Ammar Waqqaf (Syria) gave the audience something to cheer with his passionate views on how US invasion of Iraq was wrong. Ian McDougall (Britain) talked about Manchester United, Hillary Fitzgerald (Britain) talked in favour of ban on fox hunting and Richard Caseley (Britain) established that the Australian cricket team is the best. I too had volunteered and got interviewed on benefits of joint (extended) families.

Oh! How can I forget to mention that some lecturer’s were also roped in to get drilled on various issues. This was, obviously, the best part for us students – to see our professors being grilled by Peter. It was a great exercise.

We then had four volunteers being asked to face the media as the ones who are announcing the sacking of 500 workers in a factory. They too, were interviewed “live”. The key learning of this exercise was “managing the message”.

The highlight of the day was Steve Carver being asked to take the hot seat and a topic was given by Neale Johnson (Britain) who also donated a good amount to the Cranfield Charity for the upcoming London Marathon. Steve was asked to defend the views of legalising marriage of homosexuals in UK. Being a natural as he is, Steve sailed through the grilling interview by Peter.

While these sessions are simulations rather than reality, I am absolutely sure that the lessons have been ingrained in our minds on how to manage the media. Of course, practice makes one even better.

Things are getting hotter

No, it is not the climate that I am referring to. Today is a day that will now happen quite often. The day was packed with action on “careers” – the buzz word for any MBA student midway in the programme.

In the morning half, we had a 90 minute session by the Partner of a recruitment consultancy firm on what and how of career search. And who did he turn out to be? No marks for guessing – an alumni of Cranfield MBA 1991 batch – Guy Beresford. Through anecdotal narration, he shared the common faux pas that a student can commit. He shared tips such as “you are not an MBA, you are a business professional with a MBA” and also suggested a few insights into CV building and interview techniques. We also got to know some details about the hot sectors and also that we need to be prepared for questions such as “What three things did you get out of the Cranfield MBA?”

His sessions shed light on a head hunters’ perspective on job hunting and career management and this session was quite useful.

The evening of this day saw the last of alumni nights. We had quite a few alumni turning up to address our batch and share their experiences post Cranfield. In fact such is the commitment of Canfield alumni that one MBA came direct from the international airport, having arrived back from USA. To her, meeting us was more important than the jet-lag she was feeling. The points that these alumni share are invaluable and help us understand many lessons which are “real”.

The job hunting season shall start soon and it will be time to apply these learning’s in our lives.

It was along day………

Today was a long day with classes from 1345 till 1920 hours. But the good thing was that we had two guest speakers addressing our streams, and nothing better than to see a successful alumnus coming over to address us.

In our E-Business lecture, the European Director of Information Strategy from a global recruitment services company addressed us. He is an MBA from Cranfield and a wonderful presenter. He presented on how their organization integrated Information Systems with the overall strategy of the firm. I could visualize my past experiences and relate with what he had to share.

The second guest speaker of the day was the Director – HR from British Gas. Together with the Senior Manager from the organization, he presented the challenges faced in HR and also rbought out some of the myths about HR as a function.

All in all, it was a thought provoking day.

A weekend away to Peak District

While the English weather may be a good object of criticism across the world, seven students take a weekend break away to Peak District and enjoy the weather and scenic beauty of the country.

Friday afternoon, we left the campus to drive down to Castleton in Peak District. We put up in the youth hostel and stay put for the night after a fabulous meal at a local pub.

At 1000 hours on Saturday morning our “walking men” - Richard Caseley and Ian Morley (both British) led us on a trek of approximately 5 miles. It was a debut trek for Divya and I and it was worth the effort. We went on a long walk across a well trodden path and reached a height of over 1500 feet (thanks to Ian’s GPS equipment) with the temperature close to 4 degree C and a wind chill of another 5 degrees. The greenery and calm will remain deeply etched in our memories and the long stretches of cattle farms will keep calling us.

We were back to our shelter spots by afternoon. After lunch, we played many indoor games – cards, jenga, air hockey and also watched Wales beat England in rugby on television. With tired legs giving way, it was an early retiring to bed.

Next morning – Sunday – we went to the deepest cavern in Castleton. After we had stepped down 105 steps below the ground level, we were taken on a boat journey inside the cavern. Matt – our guide and a university student – was an amazing host. With his fantastic sense of humour, he kept us involved in the entire journey and back, explaining to us the history of miners who used to work in those caverns.

Once we had checked out from the hostel, we drove across to the reservoir in Castleton. It is possible the largest man made reservoir in UK and a beautiful place. On our way back to campus, we stopped at Blackwell where we did a lot of window shopping, enjoying the hustle bustle of a Sunday in the market. After a typical English tea, it was time to start back.

It was a great break and a rejuvenating one – given that from now on, the MBA journey gets uphill and tougher. The WAC’s are approaching but I am still reeling under the beautiful memories of Peak District.

The bad news is …………

Ever experienced how a car feels like when you put the fourth gear direct from the first gear? That is what I am experiencing in week 4 of Term 2. Suddenly the lull is over and the storm is looming large. In the midst of all this, I have to deliver bad news. Nothing can be worse than this.

This afternoon, it was like a hurricane. 1245 hours – the lectures get over. Neil Marshall (Britain) our stream representative takes over to share some information. The clock ticks on. At 1258 hours, I and my team start to panic. In the middle of Neil’s sentence, we get up from our chairs and lift our bags to rush out. His complaining voice drowns behind us. I find myself rushing to the TV studio – I thought I was flying. 1300 hours – our appointed time slot - we reach the studio and enter to meet Paul and Hannah – the actors who will be with us for the next 90 minutes in the presentation and Communication Skills (PCS) tutorial. The tutorial is on “how to give bad news”!

Flashback to last Friday – Steve Carver had taught us that there are times when MBA’s have to keep aside their logical hats and use their hearts and emotions. And giving bad news is never logical.

While Steve’s voice was echoing in my mind, in my rush, I had completely forgotten what my role was. Last afternoon, we had split up the three role plays amongst the six of us. As we sat down in the studio, we were informed that only three of us would be doing the role plays. It was Becky, I and Dennis – in that order.

Becky had to fire her employee. The camera whirred and Paul became the employee to be at the receiving end. I had difficulty remembering that he is an actor – it was for real. Becky did her role well. 15 minutes had passed by and I was sitting there watching the drama. It was then time for feedback to Becky – posture, eye contact, questioning skills, listening skills, etc. etc.

I was next and in the role as the MD of a company I had to tell Jo – the character played by Hannah – that she had been passed over for a new position in the company. This was adding to the many firsts at Cranfield in my life. As Jo walks into the room, I find myself getting nervous. I was on camera, my performance getting recorded. And soon enough, I had mentioned the bad news to Jo. As I begin to explain the reasons of the decision to Jo, I see tears in her eyes and my lips go dry. Thank God I was seated.
I continue on, trying to keep away the logic and instead use empathy to soften the blow. I had no clue how I was doing. 15 minutes were over.

Feedback time – I was staring at Hannah – was she acting? Gosh, the tears were real. In my shaken up broken words, I goofed up, stating something like “….tears in her ears……..” and everyone was rolling away with laughter. Except for this, I had faired well enough. But got a few pointers from the tutors where I need to improve.

In the last role play for our team, it was time for Dennis to give bad news for indiscipline. He did a good job. There were a few observations from our tutors on how can he improve, what verbal cues he missed, etc.

As I walked out the door with my team, I was wondering it was just last Friday when we saw the video on how to give bad news. Today, I found myself using some of the points I observed then. Can learning happen so fast? It can and it does happen. The technique of teaching is what makes it happen. I am sure if I had read all this in theory from a book, after 3 days, I would have even forgotten who the author was. But these are lessons of a lifetime……….and no one will ever forget them.