History is in the Making! From where do you want to see it?

The world around us is changing, no one will question that statement. After years of stable progress the world has been thrown into sudden turmoil. Organisations are fighting for their existence, a nation stands on the verge of bankruptcy and people are running scared in all directions. Newspapers and journals have no qualms about brandishing around words like 'recession' and 'depression', with a common feeling that the times ahead are only going to be more turbulent. But this piece is not about the change as such, but how we are going to witness it. What kind of vantage point do you want, while witnessing the most historic turn of events in the 21st Century?

Over the last few weeks, several people I know have had doubts over their decision to join a B-School during this period. Leaving aside comfortable jobs to come here only to find their future's becoming seemingly insecure or at least a little less iron-clad than before. However, I am of a different view, I think that a B-School is the best place to be at this point of time. Consider this analogy, when history is being made, do you want to be part of the making or do you want to be the one recording history. The one's who are part of the events, may or may not come out victorious, and in this case God alone knows who (if anyone) will win. But those recording history are relatively safe, and yet have the added advantage of knowing exactly what happened. I think that's the kind of position I am in right now. At SP I have gotten a far greater understanding of events around me than I would have had I been anywhere else, same goes for any student in a B-School. With the vast number of knowledgeable people around me, it is easy to make keep track of and make sense of what is happening. For example the Economic Forum of SPJIMR sends out mails almost daily explaining economic events happening around us. But more than the knowledge its the perspective which really helps. It feels like having a real live case study where you can apply the stuff that you learn in class everyday. And as the situation evolves so does our knowledge, which means that after a year or so, once the situation stabilises (hopefully it will) we'll be best prepared to tackle the brave (or not so brave) new world. Compare this to situation to people who are working or directly impacted by the economic crises, they have a very narrow view of the situation. For example most players of the stock markets supported the federal bailout by the US governement without knowing the real impact of the act. But as a B-School student you are exposed to several views which you can study in detail before reaching a decision. Finally, from where I stand, the future is still in my hands, and I can still mould my career choices to the economic environment.

And as Pink Floyd said " "And would you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?".

So what do you think is the best vantage point to view this crisis from?

Thank God Its Wednesday !!!

Since here at SPJIMR we live our lives in between Wednesdays, i've decided to start a sort of "my week in review" section, every wednesday.

The High Points:

Well never thought I would say this, but the high point of my week was my trimester end exams. Oh yes those God awful exams which made me cringe during my times in Engineering, are actually a welcome relief in a B-School. Without saying much more I'll just give you guys a few facts; I slept for about 7 hours on an average during the 3 days of exams, while my average sleep time durina a normal working day at SP is about 4.5 to 5 hours. Perplexed! Me too. In fact my average sleep time during exams in engineering was about 3 to 4 hours. Somehow studying for exams seems utterly pointless, considering I actually ended up doing reasonably well (well enough to be in the middle 50% of the class, where I am extremely happy to be).


Well enough of exams, another good high for the week was the Federal $700 Billion bailout being rejected, although the stock markets didn't react to it that well. However I feel it is a good thing, particularly because the bailout would be equivalent to rewarding the recklesness and greed of the largest corporations in the world, which put us in this mess in the first place. However personal feelings aside, the B-school student in me tells me that in the long run it would be in the best interest of the economy as a whole for these companies to survive, even if it means rewarding (or atleast rescuing) their stupidity. Again however opinion on that front is divided, read this point of view from a Harvard Economist

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/29/miron.bailout/index.html



The Lows:

"What the HULL?"

Sorry for ripping of Times' headline, but that was my low point in the week, to watch agonisingly, on Saturday, as Arsenal lost (at home) to Hull City.It was a truly painful experience. Didn't help my exam preparations either! And it was made worse by the, awesome performance of Arsenal against Porto yesterday, which shows how awful a day Saturday truly was. And it troubles me that Arsenal are become one of the mercurial sides, who can go from the sublime to the ridiculous in a matter of days. And the problem is, earlier when Arsenal lost it was because of some lack of killer edge, or failure to convert their exceptional football into results, but this season whenever they lose, it it because they have played terribly, without any commitment or desire. That hurts as a fan.


Well I have to mention it cause it happened, the bomb blasts. Seems every time I sit down to write a blog, there has been a blast. And I am truly speechless about what to say about these hideous acts. We seemed to be trapped in a vicious cycle of hate and counter-hate, which just doesn't show signs of ending.I truly regret my words in the last blog where I said that I wouldn't think about these things till the next blast. I get the feeling maybe I tempted fate there. But honestly I would consider it a perfect week, if the next time I write a post I could do so without using the words bomb or blast. However tomorrow is Gandhi Jayanti and the 'International Day for Non-Violence', I just hope God does not like irony.



WTH Wednesday

Well this is the moment of the week which made me go WTH!!! (What the Hell), I do it quite frequently but this is the one moment where I meant it.

Well for this week's WTH (more of a WTF) moment; it's a truly comical moment, and I am sure Mr.Murphy will be rolling over in laughter in his grave, looking at Ferrari and saying "I told you so!!!", because what happened with Ferrari in the Singapore GP on Sunday, must surely come under the category of "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong".
I mean allowing a car to move with the fuel hose still attached to the car, is something I wouldn't expect from Indian petrol pump attendents, let alone a Ferrari pit crew, who I guess might be better paid than most B-School graduates (well maybe not)! It was just one of those moments that doesn't make you just laugh but rather roll on the floor with the kind of sarcastic laughter which Nelson has in The Simpsons (he basically points at the person and goes "Ha Ha", repeatedly). I mean for all the money that Ferrari spends on the car, and the fuel and the technology, you would think they can refuel the damn thing without a glitch. Too bad it happened to Ferrari, would have been even funnier, had it been Mclaren, or funnier still had it been Fernando Alonso, in fact Alonso might have gotten out of the car at that very moment and started throwing a hissy fit, as it happened the whiny cry baby spaniard, went on to win the race.

Random Nonsense

One interesting thing I realised this weekend was that, somehow exams seemed to bring out the worst in even the most talented people. And by worst I mean, people who you think could breeze through papers are actually fretting over it, losing sleep and getting nervous. Which kind of really surprised me until I came across this really good article:

http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Columns/Impostor.html

And it really seemed to connect with me, cause this is a feeling I have gone through personally, especially in a place like SP, where I am sorrounded by some incredible talent, it seems difficult not to feel out of place and wonder whether I deserve to be here. But then after reading that article, it was sort of comforting. And as Harsha Bhogle says, in his speech at IIM-C (a must watch), "One thing the college taught me is...that I after coming here I felt that I have arrived". And it is true, because for once after going through one rigorous, hellacious month at SPJIMR, I finally feel that this is something I can do, that maybe SPJIMR knows what is is doing when they selected me. And maybe soon I will be able to say, I too have arrived.

On that bright note. Ciao .

And SP Rocks!!!

Random Words on a Wednesday : "They claim to be be free-market advocates when its really an anything-goes mentality: no regulation, no supervision, no discipline. And if you fail you will have a golden parachute and the taxpayer will bail you out." - Nancy Pelosi

"Pinky: Gee, Brain. What are we going to do tonight?

The Brain: The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world. "