Reflections

Dear Blog,

It was early June when I was informed about the waitlist getting cleared and me getting admitted to one of the top B-Schools in the country, XL (officially, XLRI School of Business and Human Resources). Now, I sit at home, at the end of first term, thinking, was giving up a white-collar job in an IT-Major worth it?

The first few days, till the time we finished our “prep-course” and had the grand welcome on the first ever wet-night, were full of fun and wondering what the next two months would be like. I cannot thank the seniors enough for teaching me how to stay awake late though through unconventional ways ;). Then started the drill... The drill of squeezing all that’s left of a fresh graduate... But then, that is what managers are made of - Nothing!!!

There were OHT sessions in finance which knocked me out and left me wondering if I was on the right ladder!! Economics brought me back to life and gave me some hope. Just when I thought I could survive the bludgeon, the QT cane hit me hard and no "Poojan" or "Prasadam" could parry the intellectual demons. And then it was a series of malice tipped arrows fired at me from every angle. The aim then was, not to learn to make a living; it was to live to finish my learning!!! I forgot what excellence meant, it was plain survival. Finish tasks that fetch me a tenth of the total grade in little more than a tenth of the day.

Little did I realise that, in doing so, I was not just doing my best, it turned out to be the best that the time could allow. I realised that by doing so, I ensured I gained the maximum out of every subject (ok except one).

My learning from the first term (In no way exhaustive):

• First and foremost, friends are your biggest assets. Only they cannot be represented in monetary terms and thus are not a part of the balance sheet. But life takes into account these very intangible assets and bigger this asset item, the bigger is your balance sheet. Alas... Accountants and their principle of conservatism...
  
• 
• I can debit/credit a transaction. (slight errors permitted). I can analyse company financial reports and say how well they are doing (this info though should not be substituted for expert opinions)
• I know a person for high need for achievement/power when I see one. Need for affiliation... Why can’t I see beyond flattery!!
• I can identify segments and targets of companies and products (did anyone notice the shift of target of “SugarFree” from diabetics to general health conscious populace??)
• I know why government taxes cigarettes while subsidising wheat and rice.
• But most important of all, I can remain awake till 2 every night and not complain about work-induced health disorders!!

Relaxing,
MMM

P.S. It took a lot of will-power to not write about the end-term (not to mention one specific ET)