In the clutches of Term 2

The term break just flew by and here I am, in the thick of things in Term 2. Results of the end terms were out and there were some good (Stats), some decent (Mktg) and some not-so-good (Accounts/Economics) moments. It’s high time I recognized Drs. Stine and Waterman. Folks, if you’re in two minds about coming to ISB, the very fact that you can possibly attend some of the finest statistics classes on earth should convince you that this is the place in India to get an MBA. Dr. Waterman, in particular, has truly taken my breath away. I’ve never seen a more articulate and knowledgeable prof. True – his first impression is very different from Dr. Stine, but I found his lecture to be much more engrossing. Was it because of the foundation Dr. Stine laid for me, or was it because of the lucid real world examples that Dr. Waterman used – I don’t know. But whatever it is, the magic these two have created have helped me shed the hatred for Math I had. I actually loved Stats so much, that it easily became my favorite subject of Term 1. Coming from a math-phobe, this is saying quite a bit.

Tip for future batches: Pay close attention to profs during lectures and take copious notes. We had questions that specifically related to discussions in class (esp. Accounting and Marketing), which you couldn’t have gotten any other way.

Rundown of Term 2 (courses in ascending order of my liking):

Global Economics – The prof just started off with a bang, and not in a good way – I mean there was very little time for me to rampup and keep track of the big picture (ironical, considering that the topic is all about the big picture). Anyway, I’m having trouble keeping up. Maybe I should have read more of ET pre-ISB, but macroeco not as much fun as microeco was.

Decision Models & Optimization - Brand new prof (he just completed his PhD last year) and a boisterous class overjoyed at being able to use the laptop for the first time in class – this is a lethal combination and maintaining focus is difficult in class. The problems are fun, but hard. I think I like the subject, but am not paying too much attention to it, which ain’t good.

Competitive Strategy – What a subject, and what a prof! Dr. Kale (from Michigan) is an ace at dissecting a case within the time and getting to key messages that related to other pre-reading. We’ve studied Coke/Pepsi (we even tried the Pepsi challenge in class), Southwest and Apple. It’s great fun when your prof has actually talked to Steve Jobs and shares that experience with students. There’s truly some fantastic learning to be had in this course.

Marketing Decision Making – Great prof, and some good course content. But the best part of this course and the entire term (and possibly the best part of the entire year at ISB if I have to go by what some alums say) is the Markstrat game. Suffice to say I’m addicted and can’t do anything but sleep, drink, eat and breathe Markstrat. The INSEAD profs and Stratx are geniuses for having created this game. I’ll probably devote another post to this after we end this term.

What else?

Joined French classes (weekend classes all the way to the end of the year). I’ve also taken up Salsa (weekend classes for a month and a half by the good folks from the Shiamak Davar dance school). This is the first time I am trying to shake my legs in an attempt to do something similar to what other people call dancing and the fact that I do it in the Atrium in full view of all other students happily ensures that I look like the clumsiest oaf on earth. All good fun though – esp. because my partner is my dear wife who can easily overlook my foibles.

I also got myself elected to the student body of the Honor Code Committee. I had to go through a grilling by four professors who wanted to know when I would expel a fellow student for academic violations, before I could end up on the committee. I really hope there aren’t any hearings, coz if there are and if I’m on the hearing, I could end up being one of the most unpopular guys on campus. To all future dudes and dudettes who want to enter ISB – this stuff is taken very seriously here. Cheating to succeed just ain’t worth it - not in ISB, not in the business world, not anywhere. 

I am also participating in the NIIT Why Not challenge. It’s a funky contest to come up with innovative uses of every day products. My team is yet to meet up and the deadline is less than 2 days away. So I better get to putting my thinking hat on instead of writing this post.

Finally, for all you people who think I am left with no time to enjoy life – you’re mistaken. Here’s what I used to do at work (and was highly successful there) and I am attempting to do the same thing at ISB in the hope of getting good grades. What do you guys think? Good strategy, eh? 

So until next time…enjoy the great monsoon weather with a cuppa chai and some garam pakoras.