Livestock@ISB

Connecting, the "TiEISB Connect" Way!

2006-09-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

Today marked day 3 at TieISB Connect. Organized by TiE-Hyderabad Chapter and Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (WCED), ISB, TiEISB Connect is a unique forum. This forum enables aspiring entrepreneurs, early-stage ventures and growth-stage ventures to interact with potential investors, successful entrepreneurs and mentors. This years event featured nine tracks, each discussing entrepreneurial opportunities in sunrise sectors.

The Media track happened to be today and I must say that it was very informative to say the least. Each speaker brought to the table their insights on where the Media industry is coming from and where it is headed to. I, along with partner in crime MS, had the pleasure of actually doing a write up on these accomplished personalities.

The campus has been abuzz for the last couple of days and justly so! What with the likes of Chief Minister Dr.YSRaja Sekhara Reddy and Peter Mukherjee finding themselves here. For more on the event, do visit www.tie-isbconnect.com

Another highlight of my day was seeing my profile on the ISB webpage. Get there by going to www.isb.edu/pgp/visit/Shelton_SMartins.html

Quite an eventful week thus far I must say! With mid-terms round the weekend, the tensions on campus are slowly again getting to crescendo.

Sure is going to be a fun time the next two weeks! Mid terms once done will only give way to the Finals which will be 12 days from then!

Tell me! Could it get any better than this?

:)

Changing TIMES (read DNA)

2006-09-11T14:10:00.000-07:00

What is this life if full of care
We have no time to stand and stare?

-William Henry Davies

Words from the distant past (a poem in primary school I think) that had stuck with me and finally make sense today!

Caught up in a web of academia, the wanting for career-actualisation and aspirations, one tends to lose grip of the initial clutch...one tends to forget about the DRIVE! And, when faced with this situation, the best gift that you can give yourself is time...

Thats prceisely what I did!

This end term, I forced myself into travelling home to Mumbai by road. A long journey it may have been but it was one that helped my recap my recent past and put things into perspective. The 12 hours that I spent by myself helped me redefine important aspects of my life.

One of the downsides to a good management programme is the growing urge to bring structure and objectivity to everything you do! Excellent in a professional setting (maybe), helps in a personal setting (sometimes), lets you "Live life on a whim, be spontaneous?"..... NEVER! Drawing the line and finding time and occassion to just let yourself go is important for holisitc satisfaction (to mortal me at least)

This musing may come across as highly philosophical but Hey! I'm human too!

With realisation came action, narratives of which I shall bring forth in blogs to follow!

For now, TIME is back to being my biggest rival! :)

Just raced against it to complete and submit an Investment Analysis assignment.

Moral and irony of this narrative: Times may sometimes bring with them challenges, trials and scar. Although time heals just as well

PS: If you were wondering what I was getting at with the title of this narrative, there is a pun that comes with it. I hope the context of this write up would help you catch it! If not, let me know and I will "decompose" it for you! :)

Taking the sweetness out of my life.....

2006-08-23T22:28:00.000-07:00

Get up this morning, all stressed and rearing to go with academia. My minds a blur! What after having read 4 hours of Operations Management and then having dreamt about it too.....

I proceed to perform the regular morning chores: frowning at the hair standing on my head, trying to get the blur a little less hazy, recapturing the agenda for the day and of course, the mandatory cup of jhatka chai (the Dip Dip Dip types)

Water is set to boil in a kettle and I get talking to my acad mentor Mr. V about everything from APV, NPV, M&M and stuff.....

Make myself my tea and return to talk more with Mr. V for ten more minutes...constantly stirring my cup-a-tea...discussion ends, me feeling more anxious about the forthcoming exams. I leave V to do his thing while I take my cup and proceed to my room. This is the life, the bright spot in my mornings, my warm cup of tea..... gives me a reality check, reminds me of my earlier days, friends at the local chai-ka galla, tea at work, evenings with mom, tea and Marie biscuits...reminiscent, I draw the cup to my lips, ONLY TO BE STOPPED IN MID STEP.....

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!

WHO THE %^&$ WAS GOING TO ADD THE SUGAR...

Well, thats that...see what OM, MADM, Entrepreneurship and Corp. Fin. can do to you.......

They sure can take the sweetness out of my life :)

SM

I know what I did last summer!

2006-08-22T11:30:00.001-07:00

.....and if you need assistance figuring out what you need to be doing with reference to your aspirations at joining ISB, I could let you know what I really had been upto

Yes, precisely a year ago, I was yet another aspirant! Uncetainty, cirumspection, anxiety, been done, done that, felt them all. After having grappled with second and third thoughts about the zillions of B-schools out there, it took some amount of research to zero-in on ISB as my academic destination (remember, ISB was not known as the 1 crore B-school yet at that time)

Lo and behold, 1 year later, I find myself on the other side of the fence. Yes, it may have been a long time ago, but I sure have not forgotten.

If you aspire to join the ISB fraternity and need any form of council, assistance or gyan, do not hesitate to get back to me with your queries/concerns (if any). That is, of course, provided you think me worthy of such an act

As far as I'm concerned, yes, ISB so far has been a thrilling movie of sorts...you just don't know whats round the bend (read, weekend) Can't be spending anymore time tonight on the blog. Have a bidding game to prepare for, a Cororate Finance homework to finish, yet another Entrepreneurship pre-read and a Corporate Finance Case to complete!

Looks like its going to be a long night
A grapple through the darkness
Till I finally snooze at sunlight!

SM

Comfortably Numb

2006-08-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

"There is no pain you are receding,
A distant ship smoke on the horizon"

...intense, abstract but yet in their own way, these lines speak volumes!!!

I have always believed that

There is a song for every season,
There is a rhyme for every reason

...and ain't this evident from my musings and writings thus far?????

When shock is so frequent, it tends to lose its sting...the recipient goes into a state of numbness. You may worry about my state of affairs but I say phikar naka . Control yaar...that's what its all about. If nothing else, a good B-school prepares you for the realities of everyday life: dealing with stress, learning to "let go and trust", hedge your risks in making a trade-off, identify the NPV* of an investment (including that of a relationship) blah blah blah...

Going off on a tangent, got myself a different hairdo today that was received with mixed emotions. Just wanted to "let my hair down" (pun intended) and that's precisely what I did. The move again seemed to "numb" quite a faction of society. In case you're wondering what I would look like now, there you go......

Key take-away: Innovation invariably will be met with ridicule. No exception when it come to hair either I guess :)

To my fellow-men (and yes, sadly enough, fellow-women as well)who explicitly chose to express displeasure of the top of my head, all I can say is

Hair today, gone tomorrow

:)

SM

*NPV = Not perceived Value (the Martins Dictionary)
= Net Present Value (Brealey Myers)

And the gyan keeps coming.....

2006-08-17T12:48:00.000-07:00

Just came out of a presentation by BCG on consulting as a career option and was it enlightening to say the least!!!

The panel entertained questions ranging from insightful ones to ones that were candid and came straight from the heart.

Resultant: A very fruitful gyan session on Consulting.

That's what a good B-School like ISB can do to you...in less than 4 months I can confidently say that I have seen, heard and assimilated information more rapidly than I ever have in the last 27, eventful years of my life. The diversity that ISB incorporates into its batch (through a meticulous selection process), the environment it creates (through classroom discussion simulation) and the industrial knowledge sharing it promotes (through such speaker series) is just outstanding.

As days turn into months, one can only feel the intensity of such sessions build with all Clubs putting heir best foot forward in an effort to gain important air time(which is of essence in a place like ISB)

Here's looking forward to another 7 months of such informative liaisons......

007: THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH!!!!!

2006-08-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

That sure is right for this precisely happens to be the predicament that the batch of 2006 has placed us, the batch of 007 in. Achievements as “celestial” as the ones attained (with the placements of 2006) most definitely solicit an unearthly retaliation!

While on that topic, here’s some food for thought:

Batch of 2006 leaves for the batch of 007 (ironically) 7 zeros to gape at,
What will 007 leave 008? How could we better that?????

My very presence on campus makes me reminisce of that old but popular Dylan tune, “Knocking on Heaven’s door”. Heaven is probably the only place that would quell the anxiety that most of us feel about times ahead and boy, am I knocking hard.

Cutting to the chase, I should admit that belonging to the ISB fraternity is awe inspiring in a number of ways…physically, mentally, academically, psychologically…..it goes on. I guess, in a nutshell, reason could be found in the one important variable of...PERCEPTION!

It is the mind game of perception itself that stirs sentiments of anxiety, apprehension and in some cases, fear. A strong proponent of the belief Darna Mana Hai, I am now led to believe that at ISB, with its academic demands et al, a slight amount of Darna Zaroori Hai. Having been cut off from main stream acads, most of us are faced with the challenge of getting back to the study rhythm, of making those grey cells function all over again. Guess that ones just a matter of time (or so we hope!) With terms flying by before we can say "ISB", we acknowledge the sentiment that a day just does not have the sufficient number of hours affiliated to it.

Puns and historical excerpts aside, I am sure that the batch of 2007 looks forward to making that long-anticipated “knock”, with the hope that the door to opportunity will be opened to us…..

Will history repeat itself? I guess time would tell!

However, in the meanwhile, with the wealth of opportunity in the economy today, I can guarantee, it sure is A TIME TO (make a) KILL!!!!!

Living on a prayer!

2006-08-12T05:02:00.000-07:00

...Divine intevention, WHERE ART THOU!!!

Thats probably the only saving grace after the debacle of todays Mid-Terms

Stark realisation: Effort is inversely proportional to reward
(Disclaimer: In my case at least)

Well, what the heck, tomorrow bring another sunrise and today??? Lots of fun!!! Dinner with buddies, a ride out into Hyd town, a huge mirror pool party and a late snooze into tomorrow

They say, "Take life with a pinch of salt" Well, I'll take it with all of these for now, THANK YOU!!!

I sure hope ur thinking "I'll say a little prayer for you"
:)

Mixing Business with pleasure!!!

2006-08-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

Never been a proponent of the cliche...still trying to isolate the two...UNSUCCESSFULLY!!!

Thats what you get when you have (yet) another set of mid-terms round the bend (read tomorrow) Pleasure needs to find its own in all the academic mayhem. Lots of Operations Management and Corp. Fin., undigested, I decide to drown my woes with pleasure, enter Bon Jovi and the Eagles.

"Desperado" never before made as much sense as it did tonight.

"Don't you draw the queen of diamonds boy,
She'll beat you if shes able
The queen of hearts is always your best bet"

...and so the song of life goes on...another tune another day, yet another set of trade offs!!!

01:35 and my pillow beckons
What tomorrow brings, who knows, Could I ever reckon?

2 days, 2 blogs, not a bad comeback now is it

V and N are you'll listening

To the rest of you, all I can say is......ITS BEEN A PLEASURE!!!

Coming out of Oblivion!!!

2006-08-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

I know its been a good three months since I last blogged and yes, the title says it all!!! Its been a hectic, crazy three month and things just seem to speed up as time goes by...id like to thank my roomies, Venu and Nissim who are solely responsible for getting me to blog again...their digs at me (over my infrequent blogging) sure did work

3 months, "n" assignments and 3 trips to Mumbai later, I can vouch for the fact that ISB does help "create" leaders...i say create because, as always, YOU ARE WHAT YOU MAKE YOURSELF OUT TO BE FINALLY!!!

There is that much that a fine education can help you achieve, from there on, you're on your own!!!

This term so far has been hectic...there ain't no need for me to manage any time, for as they say in Management, YOU CAN NOT MANAGE WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE!!!

I shall leave you on that note, with the promise (as always) of more to come

SM

REALITY BYTES

2006-04-22T04:26:00.000-07:00

Firstly, my sincere apologies for having not written over the last couple of days...fact is, ISB has kept me occupied again!!!

I finally arrived on campus on the 15th and since then it has been unexplicably hectic...for starters, an "n" number of "gyan" sessions with alumni, then orientation and finding my space

Now, for a bit on the campus. Trust me that no pictures or adjective-rich description can do justice to this sprawling and magnanamous campus...she truly redefines "state of the art"...just like some of my predecessors, my first couple of hours were spent taking in my new habitat!!!

The ISB alums who yet happened to be on campus had a tight schedule of orientation and fun planned for us. Events include(d), a Talent Night, sports, community service and more.

The gastronomy on campus is also worth making a mention of. I have to agree that it is a very good deal given the quality and variety of the spread.

Today basically saw the end of a nice orientation week...next week, welcome pre terms

Guess these days will probably be my last few days of relaxation before I get into the rigors of a "not-so-easy" and challenging MBA

After all the anxiety, waiting and anticipation, REALITY finally dawns. I call this blog REALITY BYTES in honour of all of my batch made from the IT sector, one that accounts for a chunk (read 48%) of the student population

I am sure that the weeks to come shall bring their fair share of surprises. Rest assured that you will be kept in the loop!!!

Reason, purpose and drive...

2006-04-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

Having religiously followed the blogs of my predecessors and realizing their importance in my R&D on ISB, I would like to provide:

1. Those interested in ISB with a birds eye view of my life as I go through ISB

2. Those uninterested in ISB (but interested in knowing about me and my exploits) with an "AS I PROGRESS" report

The name of my blog says it all, pun intended

The crux will be on keeping the blog as up-to-date, informative and creative as possible. This would be made possible through your continued comments and feedback

So, while I tread on, I welcome you to.....

READ ON!!!

It came, I saw and it conquered.....

2006-04-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

.....and if you are wondering what I am talking about maybe an email whose subject line was "Admission Offer" should ring a bell...

Yes! After having almost written off my prospects of getting into ISB, I was pleasantly surprised (to put it mildly) to SEE an email from the Admissions Office at ISB making me an offer to the batch of 2006-07. With the COMING of that email, I must say, life has not been the same. It's been a roller coaster ride since then!!! I resigned from my previous occupation with a leading cruise line company, flew back to Mumbai on the 27th of March and since then have been scrambling to barely meet ISB's strict deadlines...ISB has CONQUERED my days in the literal sense as it is all I think about

Just read some article on a web page today about how the batch of 2006 has rewritten B-School placement history...wonder what my batch of 2007 will conjure up...

Guess we will just have to wait and watch...

If you ask me how I feel right now, one adjective comes to mind: ANXIOUS!!!

Really looking forward to the year ahead and the experiences that it will undoubtedly bring