United colours of Holi

Indians celebrate the festival of colours - Holi - on campus

Holi is a festival of India that is celebrated with colours. The festival marks the start of harvesting of crops. On a parallel note, it is also a festival of friendship - when people forget their past differences and meet and greet each other by applying colours to each other.
It was an unexpected plan - Amol and Radha beat us to be the first ones. We had planned that we would colour them first as it was their maiden Holi after marriage. From our apartment, the next target was Rajeev and Shweta - who also celebrated their first Holi after marriage. Then the journey began. From Rajeev's place to Bala, to Himanshu, Kartik, Subhash, Arvind and to Tejas's house. It was like a caravan which kept increasing in size with all of us applying colours to each other every now and then, trying to create patterns on the faces that looked clean. As if not satisfied with this, Varinder and Jeeva was also roped in and they got their share of colours.

The festival took an international turn when Kaifeng (China), Ian (Britain) and Alex (Peru) were joined in. Greg (France) was excused as his dad was walking with him but Veronica's (Mexico) jogging turned into a sprint as Jeeva tried to leave traces of our festival upon her. Better luck next time, Jeeva!
For the benefit of those who may still be groping with what this festival is all about, here is an excerpt:

Holi is the most colourful festival of the Hindus and falls on the Full moon day in the month of Phalgun according to the Hindu Calendar which is the month of March as per the Gregorian Calendar. This Holi festival has many elements of primitive and prolific rites and reveries that have defied civilisation and prudery. During the three days of this festival, particularly the whole country, towns, cities and villages - go gay with merry makers, streets, parks and public places are crowded with people, daubed in diverse colours, looking funny and ridiculous. Children and youngsters vie with each other in being original and use fast and sticky colours. It is all a mirthful abandon for them.

On the eve of Holi, huge bonfires are lit with logs of wood, basketful of cowdung cakes, ghee, honey and the new crop brought fresh from the fields. When the fire leaps up in high and strong flames all those present, walk around the bonfire seven times, pray and invoke the blessings of Agnidev. Women prepare delicious sweets and put in the bonfire as "Naivedya" to Agnidev. When the fire lies down, water is splashed on the embers and the ash from the extinguished fire is applied on the forehead by everyone. Some of the ash is preserved in the house all through the year to apply to the foreheads of children as an effective remedy against any impending evil.
This festival of Holi - a festival of myriad colours, of gaiety, of friendships and re-unions all over the country. Thus Holy is certainly a vital part of our Indian life and culture in which religion still is a living force.

Intermission

It is time for a breather as we break for a two week vacation. The MBA trip will restart soon and this break will be a much needed energy booster.
It seems only yesterday when we met in September 2004 for the Pre MBA and embarked upon a journey we thought is very long. Little did we realize then that we would be biting our own words. Long? The journey so far has seemed like a flash of lightening. Poof! And here we are six months later, looking back with awe - did I really cover that distance so far! Wasn't it just a few weeks ago when I had met 125 other students durng the orientation week? Wasn't it only last month when we had written those 5 exams in 3 days? And of course it was only today that we completed another 4 exams in 3 days!
Term 2 is over and with it a few other things also come to an end. Only to give way to begin some other things like job search, projects, new electives and new teams. Looking forward, September 2005 seems so far, yet so near. After all, Cranfield MBA does seem like a 3-hour Bollywood movie wherein the entire life story of the hero - from birth to youth to family and so on is covered convincingly.
But as of now, I better catch up with my sleep that has eluded me for so long and also enjoy my share of popcorns that one longs for during intermission.

Reality bites

We got bitten - severely - by the hounding press reporters. Today's assessed press conference left us realizing what the phrase "resting on past glory" means.

What can be worse than waking up early morning, get dressed in business suits, be at the school reception at 8:30 am to pick up a case for Press conference, run through it, face the press and then criticize ourselves at 10:00 am? Yes, nothing else can truly be worse than this.

We were given a real life case from the health sector in UK and we worked our way through the team discussion and division of roles during the 60 minutes. At 9:30 am it was time to face the music, literally. After the initial statement is delivered by the Chief Executive of the board, if the press asks you on why is the press conference called, I call it a googly. Because at that moment, I suddenly lost my thought process and was left thinking, "this is a trap, this is a trap". And soon enough, we all realized that Christian Wards (New Zealand), a doctor in real life, who was playing the role of Chief Executive had got stuck in a maze of tough questions. One thing lead to another and our performance and control on the proceedings kept sliding down. We had muddled up. Adding oil to fire was my mistake on a factual information that I had totally missed reading in the case given to us. Clearly, we were under prepared. And the doctor couldn't have resurrected us alone.

The clock kept ticking away and my heart beat gave full company by synchronizing itself. With a pulse rate of 60 per minute, you can easily imagine what must be happening to my mind. Things were even tougher this time compared to those practice sessions - the panel was nastier and even bigger in strength this time. We were facing five cannons today.

Time over. Feedback session began and as expected we had much to hear from them. Top piece of advise to us- we forgot who our customers are; we also were found inadequate on the use of 3R's principle: Regret, Reason and Remedy.

As we trudged out of the TV studio towards our syndicate area, I was sure one of my team members would have wanted to kick me for my faux pas. I too wanted to do something similar to another team member. But of course, none of us did any such thing. After all, it was a collective responsibility. Now a few hours later, I am coming to terms with our performance and am looking at the lessons of a lifetime. I even wonder whether corporates prepare their executives for facing such situations. Good that Cranfield is preparing me to face crisis.

With today's Press conference, the core course of Presentation and Communication Skills (PCS) comes to an end. Keeping aside the assessments, PCS is the most enjoyable, relevant and learning course that one can experience. It is sad that we won't have more of PCS during Terms 3 and 4. While I will definitely miss PCS, I intend using the learning's not only in the remaining part of the MBA, but also during my lifetime.

Time for hot seats again!

I never though this could ever happen.....but it is a reality and difficult to fathom. I only have 24 hours in a day and it is just not enough.

Exams are round the corner. 4 exams in 3 days next week starting Monday. And a host of submissions have been happening during the past few weeks (a clear sign has been the fewer number of diary postings this month). We have had two WAC's, E-Business group presentation, PCS Press conference and Strategy presentation. We also had to firm up our Business Start-up idea for next term. On the heels are E-Business individual report and Strategy group report. Most of us are trying to find projects too. Some of the students are appearing for job interviews as well. And of course, lectures, team meetings and revisions (if any time is left) also need to be managed.
At times, my heart sinks from the mere feeling of "so much to do, so little time". And we have covered six months of our MBA.

We are going through the last of our lectures this week. We had our last session on Macroeconomics with Prof Joe Nellis. It was a wonderful session that encapsulated the entire term into one complete picture. I am going to miss his sessions and above all, his banter with our sports rep Ed Lamb (British).

I am just back after attending the last tutorial on Financial Management with Prof David Myddelton. I find David one of rarest of Professors in the field of Finance who has a classic sense of humour. He is an icon and an authority on the subject.

We recently received back our FIN WAC's assessed by him and another professor. Alongwith our assessed WAC's, we also got a 6 page typed out hard hitting feedback on our works. Some teams got individual feedback too, over and above this common one. What has surprised me is not the content of the feedback, but the fact that the faculty invested so much time and energy, first in marking our WAC's and then preparing such an elaborate feedback for us.

So it is now time to test ourselves again and sit in those hot seats next week. If only I could change something about the days and the hours available.............

Over and done with!

Ahhhhhh! A sense of relaxed feeling washed all over us this weekend. We have bid goodbye to Written Assessment of a Case (WAC).

Two WACs in a fortnight are a difficult pill to take and our batch gulped the second WAC down our throat this week. Financial Management and Macroeconomics were lassoed this weekend by Red and Green streams. The two WACs are quite similar and yet contrasting to each other. While both involve a lot of numbers, it is the approach that is unique to each subject. While both involve "science", there is a big element of "art" too. But while one is looking at a firm and a specific problem, the other is looking at a country as a whole and even beyond. The outcome is nearly the same - not in terms of content but the way it is presented.

An interesting observation from the four WACs across the two terms has been a reinforcement of reality - your past can come to haunt you. So when you are here to learn, stash away your stereotypes and learning's - approach each task with a fresh, open mind.

So, we had situations where qualified accountants floundered in the Accounting and Financial Management WACs. We also had students with Economics background fumbling in the Microeconomics WAC. And why? Because understanding or knowing your subject is as important as presenting it. While it is not about formatting your report with glossy colour, etc., it is more about keeping in mind what your reader would need. Isn't that true about real corporate life? Many of us make business cases for strategic proposals and when they are turned down or rejected, we crib and shout, "Why does s/he not understand what I mean?"
Well, no marks for guessing who is on the wrong!

So, while all of us enjoy the feeling "WACs are over and done with", in my heart I know, we all will miss it too in the next two terms. I am conscious that post Cranfield MBA, someone just might ask me, "Give me three things that you took away from Cranfield MBA".

I know the top item in my list - WAC!!!!!

I need help!

Fi Ivin – an expert in Image management – addressed us this evening and shared some eye-opening points that need due attention.
While we all know of corporate branding, today’s session was with a difference – it was about Personal Branding. Cranfield Careers had rolled out a competition a few weeks ago inviting students to apply with a portfolio of their pictures. One student each (male and female) were to be selected by the image consultant and a free consulting day was on the offer.
The evening started with Fi explaining the importance of managing your external personality and what critical difference it can make to one's career. While I listened to her, I was reminded of a quote I read somewhere:
“I’m sick of hearing that beauty is only skin-deep. That’s deep enough! What do you want - a n adorable pancreas??????” - Anonymous
But the message is subtle – we need to not just have content in terms of knowledge, hard and soft skills; we also need to know how we appear to the world. And it is not without reason – after all, do we not get impressed by well dressed, clean and neat personalities? Do we feel like interacting with someone who is shabby or untidy or has long, dirty nails? My choice would be same as that of anyone else.
If one works on one's image, the transformation can be a revolution. We saw this is the "before and after" images of a few individuals on screen. Then to reinforce this reality, we were introduced to Neil and Hillary - the winners of the competition. They appeared before us in the transformed status. Using their personal examples, Fi explained the importance of the right shade of colours for our attire and how it can enhance your personality. Her explaination also included the appropriateness of shoes, tie and even the cut of ones jacket. It was quite a thought provoking experience.
To end it all, we all were asked to answer a questionnaire where we had to tick off our choices from a list of 15. Anyone who had less than 8 ticks, needed help. It is needless to mention how many ticks I had.......

The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned, "Mother, you must come and see the daffodils before they are over." Finally, I promised, reluctantly. I'd driven only a few miles when the road was covered with wet, gray fog. As I slowly executed the hazardous mountain turns, I was praying to reach the turn-off. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house, I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! There is nothing that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch in this weather!"
"I'll drive," Carolyn offered. In a few minutes, we were back on the Rim-of- the-World road heading over the top of the mountain.
We parked in a small parking lot adjoining a little stone church. I saw a pine needle covered path, and an inconspicuous, hand lettered sign "Daffodil Garden." I followed Carolyn down the path. Then we turned a corner. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down every crevice and over every rise. Even in the mist, the mountainside was radiant, clothed in massive drifts and waterfalls of daffodils. A charming path wound through the garden with several resting stations, with Victorian wooden benches and great tubs of tulips. It didn't matter that the sun wasn't shining. Five acres of flowers!
"But who?" I asked Carolyn. "Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "That's her home." On the patio we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline. The first answer was simple. "50,000 bulbs." The second was, "One at a time, by one woman, two hands, two feet, and very little brain." The third was, "Began in 1970."
There it was. The Daffodil Principle. For me it was a life changing experience. I thought of this woman, who, more than thirty five years before, had begun one bulb at a time to bring beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top. No shortcuts, loving the slow process of planting. She had changed her world. Her daffodil garden taught me about learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time, learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time.
"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five years ago and worked away at it all those years. My wise daughter responded, "Start today."

This article is reproduced from a mail that I received from an ex-colleague. It inspired me for many reasons. Like many other students on the MBA course, I have wondered many-a-times:
“Have I been able to extract the best so far?” “It is already mid-way in the programme, have I lost out on the past five months?”
The answer is plain and simple – what is not important is what you have gained so far, what is more important is what you CAN gain starting now!