Unified system for MBA Admissions

I was just wondering why can't we have a unified system for MBA Admissions in the US. Every university has its own application, own set of similar essays, we need to send GMAT/TOEFL scores multiple times, arrange transcripts to be sent to each school and so on....the question is - Do we actually need it? Why can't we have a common system where a prospective candidate just needs to send one set of GMAT scores, one set of transcripts and so on?

There can be a common body just like GMAC or ETS which would handle everything. There can be common set of essays (Goals, Leadership, Failures, Ethical Dilemmas, Personal History, Extra Curriculars etc.). Agreed, the WHY XYZ MBA question would need to be drafted for each school the applicant intends to apply - but that should be fairly easy for the applicant - at least all his other essays would be common. So here is how it can work -
1. Applicant registers on the unified website and creates an account.
2. He is shown a screen where he can select the schools he intends to apply. For each school, appropriate fee would be applied.
3. Next, he writes the common essays for all schools and provides the background information like Family Information, Employment information etc. Again, this is common for all schools --> just imagine the amount of effort saved.
4. The applicant can then write the customized essay(s) for each school like the Why XYZ.
5. Two recommendations are submitted, again the same recommendations can be used by all the schools.
6. Once, this is done, this unified body can generate separate pdfs for each scool - complete with all background information, essays (including the customized essays) and recommendations and forward this document (either electronically or paper based) to each school the applicant had checked in Step 2.

I think it just needs a little initiative and will of the schools and can save a lot of trouble for the applicants.

CEO Traits

I was reading an article about traits required by CEOs where some UoC professors did a research and came out with some surprising conclusions. To set the context right, the complete article can be found at -

http://www-news.uchicago.edu/citations/07/071119.kaplan-wsj.html

Here is a brief summary of the article -

Here are five CEO traits that correlate most closely with business success at buyout companies -- and five that score lowest, according to University of Chicago researchers.

Traits that matter...

• Persistence

• Attention to detail

• Efficiency

• Analytical skills

• Setting high standards

...and not so much

• Strong oral communication

• Teamwork

• Flexibility/adaptability

• Enthusiasm

• Listening skills

Well, interesting find. Isn't it. However, I beg to disagree. I think I am sticking to the adage of Chicago GSB - "Challenge Everything!" [Well, I might have got denied two times, but I am still hooked up to the Challenge Everything theme it seems or perhaps I always believed in it?]

What my opinion is that these two set of traits are both important depending upon the type of company a CEO is heading. Not even "type" but I feel the quality of people in the company. If a company is made up of mediocre junta the first set of traits becomes very important. I am assuming the CEO is a "true" leader - analytical, sharp and intelligent. Yes, then it becomes important for him/her to be persistent in his/her efforts, not to get bogged down by initial goof-ups by his employees. It becomes important for him/her to be very attentive to details because there is a high probability that important details have been missed by his staff. Analytical skills are important because of course we need someone to analyze the critical issues and challenges - if the staff is mediocre the CEO has to don the "thinking cap". If he/she does not set high standards, it would be almost impossible to break the shackles of mediocrity. Yes, a CEO in this setup does not require team work - he/she would be wasting his time listening to others in his team who probably can't even think what he/she is thinking. Also, why would he/she need listening skills in this case? Why listen to some crappy suggestions by crappy staff.

On the contrary, if the team is a set of highly talents individuals - the second set becomes more important. You need teamwork and good listening skills because every opinion counts and is valuable. You can not rule in such a setup blindly - collaboration is the key to leverage strengths of every talented individual could make the difference. If you are not flexible or adaptable then it might so happen that due to the CEO's adamant attitude important ideas might never get implemented.

So, I believe that both the sets of qualities are important for CEOs in different settings and blindly saying one set is more important than the other might be injustice to important qualities like oral communication, Teamwork, Flexibility/adaptability, Enthusiasm, Listening skills.

What a waste...

...it was. But first, my sincere Thanks to the people behind the great (pun intended) party! Well, I usually avoid my company's parties, but this perhaps being my last Infosys sponsored party in the US, made me to think - Why not give it a try? To get it straight... the food was simply pathetic! The banquet hall reminded me of the scene of free "temple" meals. But that's fine, it happens.

Then came the more horrendous part. The movie - 'Welcome' was perhaps the most unwelcoming movie I have seen (or I should say seen it partially). I don't care what rediff is saying about the movie or whether it is breaking any record in the UK! For me, it simply didn't work. The humor, the least I can say was stupid, dumb ass and stinky! Yeah, I know many people might have actually enjoyed it but well, this is my blog and I have the last word. I am sad that I wasted a few precious hours but glad that I was able to save some!

What is wrong with Infosys? Challenges ahead...

Attracting Talent
This is the biggest challenge faced by Infosys today. Infosys needs a "brand" revamp with respect to its prospective workforce. The competition from other companies is immense and people scout for better opportunities, better salaries and better brand name. In fact, this challenge is not just limited to Infosys but can be safely extended to other Indian IT companies like TCS, Wipro and the likes. The biggest testament to this fact was that in my own college, TCS was not invited for campus placements this time. Reason - they were paying too low and with McKinsey and other top companies recruiting from the college you can imagine the opportunities available today.

Retaining Talent
This point is closely linked to the above point but there is a fundamental difference. I do not buy the idea of "Attracting and Retaining Talent" as the single biggest challenge. These are two separate issues and they need to be tackled independently. I can give an insider's view on this. As I see it, Infosys has lost the personal touch, it no more cares for its employees as it used to do some 5-7 years back perhaps. Ground reality is that an "individual" has been replaced by the term "resource"...literally. Why should an employee pay out of his own pocket for the hotel or the cab if he is relocating to a new location? How can a company expect an employee to find an accommodation right from the first day in the US if the only prior exposure to US to that employee has been perhaps through Hollywood movies, FRIENDS and Sienfield? Agreed, if the salary which an employee was getting was amongst the highest in the industry no one would ever complain, but this is also far from reality with Infosys salaries just hovering around the industry "average". Retaining talent is definitely a challenge and nothing less than a revolution is required to change some of the policies which are negatively impacting the employee morale.

Training Talent
Well, "Talent" seems to be the buzzword. I can't help it. If a company feels that passing a mandate for compulsory certifications is good enough, something is terribly wrong. I cleared the "technical" certification last time and I admit blatantly, I don't know a word. I have seen this company grow from 20,000 employees to its present with more than 80,000 employees and I have personally witnessed the drop in the quality of work being produced. OK, this is related to my first argument about hiring talent, we are working on it but we also have to work on training the existing talent which we have. Knowing the fact that we might not be attracting the best, raises the criticality of this point to unimaginable levels. Basic processes, professional communication and skills like these can be taught. Infosys has supposedly one of the best training plans, but have those training centers become mere assembly lines where there is the concept of one size fits all? I am not sure, but anecdotal evidence says that this might be the case. There has to be a better feedback mechanism for employees and a careful monitoring by the HR department at an individual level to help the employees become competitive and fit to deal with global challenges.

"Phony" Processes
I was once very proud of Infosys's strong processes and I would not lie - I still am! But, a part of me also believes that Infosys sometimes has to carry the burden of its own processes - which are becoming more and more rigid with less flexibility for customizations. Again, we need to realize they a "One Size Fits All" approach will not keep us in the game for too long! Just a very small example which is on top of my mind because we are currently grappling with it. If some stuff needs to be sent from the client location to an offshore Infosys office, common sense would dictate that it would be the sender of the goods who would be more concerned about the documentation. Well, as expected, Infosys had a multiple page document outlining the policies and procedures for such a process. Agreed, it is required for a company as large in scale as Infosys, I won't argue about that. But then being picky with the each and every detail in your policy is where the trouble starts. What if the client (who is sending the stuff) has a different policy and there is a conflict? Infosys will demand evidence, emails, client confirmation, client policy documents blah blah before it waives a simple rule in it's policies regarding loaned hardware. In the process, we have lost vital days, frustrated the client, and wasted important effort which could have been put to good use otherwise. Do we actually need such tight processes? Are we under matured? In fact, I think we have over matured and we need to loosen a bit.

Middle Management Crisis
I just can't emphasize how the middle management is negatively impacting the grand vision which NRN had for Infosys. Every manager in the company seems to be having a personal agenda which may or may not be aligned to Infosys's vision. How true it is - An employee does not leaves a company, he leaves his manager! We need to strengthen the middle management, infuse some fresh ideas and new breed of managers who can actually see beyond their limited scope of work. Instead of micromanaging they need to act as visionaries, motivators and lead by example for the younger generation. If you are in a position where you can impact your team member's career, it is your responsibility and a tacit commitment that you will do your best to ensure that the talented individuals (who are fast becoming a rarity) are identified and their career is well planned. They are given equal growth opportunities and the high performance work ethic is enforced. Promotions are not based on mere number of years of work experience and pre conceived notions are not formed about an individual by seeing how much experience he has.

I feel, these are just some of the challenges faced by Infosys today and most of these would be applicable to any other Indian IT services company also. These are solely my personal views and what I feel and I might be wrong. I would welcome any comments if you have any.

And they said "Quotas" were abolished in India...

General knowledge and common hearsay makes us believe that the dreaded Quota System has been abolished in India. I urge you to re-think. Well, to make things easier here is a hint: Supposedly, the best B-School in India does not believe in a "Free Market" policy. Surprised? Read On.

I just got to know an interesting policy of Indian School of Business or ISB, Hyderabad. This policy is concerning the "favors" granted to "The Firm" - McKinsey and Co. As surprising as it may seem - a student can not be offered an employment offer by any other company unless McKinsey completes it round of placement on Day Zero and declares its result. Now, what does that mean? That means that McKiney wants all ISB students to be "available" when they come to campus for recruitment.

Now picture this, I am a student (hypothetical) who does not want to go into McKinsey or into Consulting. Why should I wait till it completes its recruitment process? Isn't there something terribly wrong . Agreed, McKinsey was behind creating this great school but then should it be granted such special favors? I think this is totally against the Free Market philosophy. I was surprised to know that a company as respected as McKinsey is engaging is such acts. In fact, even without this "quota" students would be attracted to this company and it would be one of the first choices for students who are interested in making a career in the "exciting" field of consulting. Having such policies only takes the sheen away not only from ISB but also from McKinsey itself.

I can go on and on analyzing this but I would end my post as I believe I have provided enough fodder for the readers to think on their own whether the quota system which plagued India a few decades ago has really been abolished?

Comfort Zone

Well a New Year is just round the corner and most people are probably ready with fresh plans and bucket loads of motivation to achieve their challenging goals for the next 12 months.

Unfortunately, this spark of desire can be short lived as people gradually fall back into their comfort zones and never fully realize their potential or attain their dreams. Most people like to plan what they are going to do, as its fun and motivating to let your mind dream about changes you want to make with your life. However, without consistent actions on these plans and positive thoughts they will stay nothing more than just dreams?

Today I will write about a few reasons why we fall into our comfort zone and How to Break out Of Your Comfort Zone! After reading my post I hope each one of us would be more aware of not slipping into their comfort zones and how to get out of it.

First, Why Do We Fall Into Our Comfort Zones?

Incorrect feelings and beliefs that you're already doing well.

• Feeling that you're already achieved amazing great results keeps you in your comfort zone if you stop shooting for more.

• Now I'm not saying that admiring and being proud of your achievements is a bad thing, looking back at how far you've come is great motivating factor. But, if doing so takes away your hunger to reach new levels then it is a problem.

• The trick is to never be satisfied, there is always more to achieve. Never believe that you have reached your full potential in terms of size and strength.

Lack of confidence that you can achieve your goals.

• After the fun of dreaming about what you want to achieve you can sometimes be faced with the daunting task of actually trying to make it a reality.

• If you don't believe that you can achieve your goals you've got little chance that you will make them happen.

Also, failing to analyze you're present achievements compared to your goals.

• You need to be fully aware of how you're presently doing. Self-assessment can be hard to do, no one likes to put him or herself down or admit their lack of commitment.

• Being honest with yourself will reap much more rewards than sticking in your comfort zone and pretending that you're doing fine and that someday things will start to click into place.

• You have to make results happen, they never happen by chance or mistake.

Fear of Success.

• I know this sounds weird, but when it comes to breaking your comfort zones your fear of success can be stronger than your fear of failure.

• People can actually sabotage themselves from reaching their full potential because that means actually breaking out of their comfort zone and standing in new, uncharted territory.

• Nelson Mandela talked about fear of success in one of his speeches: 'Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

So, How to Break Out Of Your Comfort Zone?

It’s always hard to step out of your comfort zone, but when you do get to step out of it, you definitely improve yourself.

The first step to break out of your comfort zone is conquering fear.

• We all fear different things and fear is one of the strongest human emotions. But when we overcome those fears, well our comfort zone gets bigger and expands, thus increasing our self-confidence and self-esteem.

• This certainly doesn’t mean jumping in and making blind decisions. To expand your comfort zone you have to take calculated risks, stop procrastinating, and it’ll expand. And as it expands, you will most probably feel better, and get more things done in less time.

Also, it is important to change your mind-set.

• Become an achiever and go-getter, rather than a procrastinator and an excuse maker. Don't view challenges negatively but view them as stepping stones that will propel the quality of your life forward and setting the tone for future achievements.

• When you have something to do, do it, even if you’re not sure what will come out of it, for example, if you have a tough phone call to make, well do it, you’ll feel better after the phone call than before.

Do things you don’t do really often, or haven’t done before.

• You want to gain more knowledge and more experience, so get involved, take whatever courses, hang out with people you respect and that have interesting conversations.

• Remember that if you had bad experiences in the past, chances are the same thing won’t happen again, but you won’t know if you don’t try it again.