I shook hands with Mukesh Ambani as I received my degree. His words, “Srinivasan Congrats” still ring in my ears. For whatever it was worth, the MBA is truly OVER.
Whatever it was worth….now that’s a curious phrase. What WAS it worth, really ?
It was worth the peer group. That’s it. The peer group.
You can stop reading this post. That’s all I have to say.
You see, when someone tells you they ranked 4th or 17th in IIT-JEE , you simply KNOW their DNA is different ! Jokes apart, it is easy to acknowledge the stupendous nature of such achievements. Now lets say you pull out a random set of CV’s from the IIM Bangalore PGP Class of 2009. Here’s what you will see :
The first CV will read ‘1st rank in SSLC for the state of Maharashtra’. The next one will repeat the exact same wordings, just that the state would be Kerala this time. Then there will be one with a 1st rank in CET(Kerala) , yet another with a 2nd rank in CET(Karnataka) . Then there will be a couple of CV’s with CAT percentiles as 100. Yeah, you read that number right.
[ wtf this is max phootage !]
Amazing. Those of us who have written these exams probably know what it takes to get there. The mind boggles!
Now imagine setting up similar such individuals one against the other in an academic ‘battle’. Believe me, you DON’T want to get caught in the crossfire ! It is fair to say the words – ‘test’, ‘quiz’,’assignment’ and ‘exam’ get a different MEANING inside IIMB.
We pride ourselves that the best part of our Indian education system is its competitive nature. In that sense, my college is literally the culmination of that system. Indeed a (Very) Indian Institute of Management.
Success, in the business context, is the reward you get for hardwork, perseverance and intelligence. Ambani corroborates.
I believe high performance in academics is the best measure of that (esp for an age group predominantly under 26). So, the unique selection criterion of IIMB, with its ‘over’ emphasis on consistent academic performance, is really a clever strategy of Well begun = Half done.
I must admit, IIMB has been a humbling experience. In school, I used to have a condescending attitude towards people who were not in my circle of high-achiever friends. Here, I have had to stand outside that circle….
To say that talents differ amongst individuals is not enough, you have to experience it. Every person in this world is...different. Not unequal.
So much for the professional side.
On the personal front, I made some great friends. Really smart, perceptive individuals with whom you always end up having a witty and engaging conversation – be it cribbing about the system, or gossiping about who’s going out with whom. ( What are colleges for!)
Oh, I will certainly miss them : Them and all the L^2’s, Shubho’s quizzes, SecB-Bracket, IIMB Lingo, Tsepak, Section contests, Boston Legal marathons, arbit CP, Shyamal Roy’s classes, inter IIM & Sista, H-Mezz, F-top, and Gundu Rao.
And now, like T.S.Eliot, I say : Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi
**END OF PART II** [Anticlimax! no story this time]
5 comments:
Congrats!
I don't think academic excellence alone is the ultimate marker of greatness. This might actually be a drawback in our system. I don't think a Harvard or a Yale would accept someone who excelled only academically.
But considering I am not a product of an elite Indian school, perhaps this is a bit of "sour grapes" too ;)
@Harsha
You are right. Just that academic excellence is a useful proxy -especially when people are relatively inexperienced.
A lot of business schools do admire consistent academic excellence (a top 1% or top 5 standing whichever is less populous), especially if it has been established in a highly capable/competitive peer group.
It takes a lot to have an impeccable academic track record - commitment, ability to meet deadlines consistently, hard work and ability to stick to a discipline over prolonged durations of time, and of course, intellectual ability. So while academic excellence cannot be the only marker of greatness, it is quite a reliable marker of success.
There is also the question of what kind of alumni community does a school want to associate its name with. HBS may have a certain concept of a "Harvard Grad" - academically strong, strong risk appetite, professionally successful, financially well-off, physically fit and good looking. And so, it might be inclined to "select" those applicants who fit that bill. There may be applicants who are well capable of being all that I mentioned above, but might not get selected simply because they might not have those "qualifications" at the time of applying. An Armani shirt is expensive not because it costs a lot to make, but it is meant to cloth a certain type of individual. The same could apply to a HBS/Yale MBA. The school may put a lot of effort in making sure that is seen consistently around a remarkably successful community. In the process, the school creates a notion that it is the alumni that is deriving immense value from the school's brand but it's actually the other way round :)
very true..the peer group is what mkes it what it is
For whatever it is worth, it IS worth it.
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