Back to School

For the uninformed, I am going back to school. I had applied to US B-Schools for a 2 year MBA program. I have received admits from Darden School of Business (University of Virginia) and Haas School of Business (Berkeley).

The journey which started with the preparation of GMAT in December 2007 culminated on the night of 29th January 2009 when I received phone call from Berkeley and email from Darden. I have decided to join Haas.

The 4 months of application process was very exhausting. It involved researching school websites, selecting schools, writing resume, drafting essays, revising essays, revising essays, revising essays. . . (5-8 times), recommendations, transcripts, TOEFL (form few) , school fairs, interviews and much more. However the entire process made me introspect so much about my past, present, future, success, failure, achievements, contribution to society, learning experiences, mistakes etc. that my self awareness index increased manifold while preparing my applications.

There are many people who helped me with the application but acknowledging each one of them would make this blog sound like a post Oscar speech.

One a side note, Clear Admit Wiki is a good source of understanding the interviews process. I found it very useful in my preparation and hence decided to contribute to it. I have shared my experiences at Darden interview here. (also below)

Darden Interview: I was told by alumni and friends to prepare well for the 20 minute monologue in response to 'tell me something about yourself' opening. While I was getting ready to embark on the monologue, the first question came from the most unexpected quarters of my resume. I was asked - 'What did you do differently that you were able to record highest sponsorship in your undergraduate festival'. My interviewer was an ex-Mckinsey Associate Principal and I guess he was adept at startling candidates.

I was thoroughly probed on the reasons for choosing a US business school over IIMs (India) which give equally good ROI. He wanted to see if I have a good enough reasons to invest a fortune in the US MBA education. I was able to convince through the argument of diverse class profile at Darden, compared to IIMs where more than 60% of class comprised of engineers.

I was then questioned on my experiences of leading teams on client projects and how I improved my team's performance. Here my interpersonal skills were thoroughly evaluated. I had sufficient content to appease the appetite. But a person who has had limited people interaction would have not fared well. Overall, almost 25% of the interview (~15 min) time was spent discussing my experiences with colleagues, clients and peers. One needs to prepare well for this section.

Finally, my interviewer spent around 10 minutes evaluating my business acumen (I guess he was validating my professional achievements). I was probed on some client projects (consulting). I was able to strike chord with the interviewer when I told him about my experiences of working in a restaurant. He also had similar experiences during his graduate education and we had lot to talk and laugh about. So if you have anything interesting or out of place to talk about, do not hesitate to share as it will make you stand apart.

Finally, I was able to improvise my questions based on my interviewer's background which I think was well appreciated. I asked him about his experiences of working in Consulting vis-a-vis Industry and his recommendations for me (I told him earlier that I would not pursue consulting after MBA).

Overall the interviewer was very friendly but with no-non sense demeanor. He had not read my essays and only had access to my resume prior to the interview.

I received admit, so I guess all went well. Good Luck!

Fun Brands

Earlier blogs on fun brands here. Humor is definitely a winning formula to engage people (customers) especially when times are tough and laughter is rare.

A Healthy Experiment For Advertisers

From Business Week.

When Google announced its television venture—dubbed Google TV—nearly two years ago, it sounded promising. The search giant is trying to replicate its Web model for TV, offering a self-service, auction-based system for advertisers. Advertisers can choose shows that best fit what they are selling. For example, a travel agency can visit a special Web site, type in, say, "cruises," and Google finds programs through guide information that might mention cruises, like an episode of King of Queens in which the characters Doug and Carrie go on a cruise. Advertisers bid on the ads available for that program, decide what they are willing to pay, and upload their commercial, which is delivered directly to the TV network. Companies pay only for those TV sets tuned in to their ad for five seconds or more, data Google gets from set-top boxes. "We're about speed and flexibility," says Mike Steib, a former NBC Universal (GE) executive who runs Google TV.

Full article here

Dedicated to my Great Grandmother

My Grandmother passed away on 5th February 2009 . She was 86.

I could not reach in time to meet her. Now this hollow feeling, of not being able to see her one last time is inflating and deflating like a balloon inside me. There was so much to say to her, appreciate her and thank her for. She was ok about 12 days ago when I last met her. Sudden deterioration in her health led to untimely demise. This sudden revelation that I would never see her again is very hard to internalize.

She was a great person, a true inspiration for all of us. Today we remember her for her rock like grit and determination that she exhibited through out her life. Her life had been replete with pain, loss and struggle. My grandfather expired early (her eldest son was just 15), leaving with her 3 sons and 2 daughters to take care of. That was 50 years ago and social environment in those times made life of a widow extremely difficult. Not only did she educate all her children and ensured a respectable professional life for all of them, she also protected her ancestral land from prowlers hoping to seize the legacy from who they considered a feeble woman. Never ever they would have found themselves so much on the wrong side. She single handedly fought the legal battles, managed farming in her land, carried out land transactions, resolved family disputes and traveled between her home town and ancestral village all her life. Never did she put her personal happiness beyond her duty and her family’s happiness.

Her rock like inside was never evident to me, till I was mature enough to understand it. To me, she was a second mother to whom I went whenever I was scolded by my parents. I was her favorite among all her grand children and she always stood for me. Even when I was on the wrong side, she supported me. When I was a child, we had a story telling deal under which we use to tell one story to each other every night. I remember that I used to repeat same story again and again and again, and every time she used to listen and respond as if it was the first time she was hearing it.

She wanted me to go abroad for study. For past two years, every time I met her she used to ask me about my plans. I am glad that I was able to give her the news of my admission before she departed. She wanted to visit me abroad once I have a home and job there. She also wanted to fly once, and I was waiting for her health to get better. I sincerely and innocently believed that I would be able to fulfill her dream. I want to dedicate every moment that I spend in my MBA to her.

I don’t know if she was the greatest person on this earth. But she was definitely the greatest person I have ever associated with. I hope that I live up to the remarkable determination, patience and perseverance that she stood for. And I too, like her, put sense of duty and other’s happiness before mine.

I wanted to communicate all of the above to her and thank her for her love and inspiration. I don’t think I ever communicated all this to her so explicitly, but I hope she knows it. May her soul rest in peace.