Quarter 3 - Week 1

OMG! Vacation's already up? That last weekend just went by so fast, I cant believe I've already jumped into the next quarter. It almost seems like it only lasted two days... sigh...

Warning: This post is long, I'll keep it short next time. But it really tells you about our profs. Read it.

This week we had an introduction to the four (yes four! not three!) subjects we're studying this quarter:

Law: Indian and International Systems - The prof is young, I'd put him around 35? He's studied Law at NLSIU here in Bangalore. Went on to a Judges college (?). I didnt really get that, but at the end of it, let's just say he's now equipped to make decisions if there's a dispute and give his opinion on it, wanted or otherwise? The difference between him and us... is that he's got a degree to prove that his rants are grounded, while we dont!

A very grounded prof, he had the class in splits with his deadpan expressions and timely wisecrack delivery. Confident, authoritative and yet we catch a glimpse of the lighter side of him every ten minutes or so. So he began with a very simple and yet vexing case of a mother approaching the court for abortion in her 21st week (look it up, you cant abort after 20 weeks), and how this dragged on for long, and what would we have decided - abort or not. Looks like a simple "problem statement", had us discussing the merits and demerits for over an hour and a half! His point being that it's not easy out there to decide stuff, so watch out for the rest of the course.

Principles of Marketing - Woah! so you'd think that "marketing" is it! The M in the MBA..! Well, seeing how we did Strategic Management(WOAAHH!) in quarter 1, these high profile topics do give you a rush when you say it out loud... and this one had the same effect. You'd also think that the prof of this is someone young.. fresh in the field. Imagine our surprise when this old man walks in, bald shiny head and all... and the whole class hushes up while we wait for him to sit down, or cough or murmur(I dont want to say "croak", touch wood). You almost feel like you're in front of ur grandpa, and that you should touch his feet or something.

And then he spoke.

That first class of his, pin drop silence. You know when you hear confidence in a voice, you know when you hear experience in a voice, you know when you hear raw power in a voice. A voice filled with "I've seen it all." without the ego, the calmness of a powerful beast as it's ready to pounce. It was just... awesome. To say it was impressive... doesnt do justice to that class. The way he calls on the students with a "You Suhhh!" (slightly faarin accent, but adds class bigtime.), the way he shakes with mirth at a couple of his funny real life anecdotes with one finger on his lips and a wide contained smile at some joke which only he truly understands. Make no mistake, those funny lines arent duh! or something. It's like as if there's some comedy or irony in some event, and only he has heard it in all its form and understood the underlying basic funda. The voice of a man who's still seeing it all, and walks the hallowed corridors that are shrouded with secrecy, amongst the marketing giants of today.

He started off with Steve Jobs' Commencement Address to Stanford (2005) . Read it. Full of fundas, but sometimes that's the only way these giants can share their experience with you. He told us to expect a surprise quiz anytime, to read up Kotler even though it's a dictionary, and to come to class with a six-slide presentation before cases. For the second day itself. He's serious, and in a way that you DO want to come prepared. The next day we studied about Tata Steel, and how it turned itself post liberalization, and how 2001 was a key point in that turnaround.

Management Accounting - This professor was quite good too. She started off with trying to tell us what keeps Management Accounting different from Financial Accounting (we did this in Q1). Her's was the last session of the week. I cant really give you a proper introduction to her, since I was so tired by now, that I was sleeping. Last night none of us got a good night's sleep after the marketing prof's announcement of preparing for today. And that man didnt even give us that promised surprise test! (I am thankful for that though!!) Three hours is all I got. So I just kept slipping in and out of reality through her class. But she tried valiantly to keep us active. Maybe next week I'll give you a better insight into this teacher.

Quantitative Methods 2 - This prof is young too! Probably around 34? Honestly, he does look like the pundits out of our 11th-12th grade classes.. the one who mugs bigtime. There's a rumour in class that he's an All India Rank of 3 in IITJEE! He talks with confidence about the subject, but he's also trying his hardest to make it appealing to us. So there's a couple of jokes he cracks to get us laughing... but sometimes these are some real PJs. Got to give him one thing though, he's sincerely trying to get through to us. And that gets our attention. Put all that funny fluff away, and see the man trying to make us see what he can see... and you know why such a young man commands the attention of 80 odd people year after year, to explain to them the science and math of Operations Research.

Apparently after the feedback of the last year's batch, he is trying a newer technique... of giving an example first and then teaching the underlying theory. He seems the kind of prof who's really willing to take in your feedback, all so that he can get through to us better. So we studied some part of Linear Programming, and he's going quite slow for us... but maybe the raftaar will increase after all.

Say anything you want, but this is why we understand at times the real value of the Indian Institutes of Management. These teachers arent run-of-the-mill people who've failed to get a career in the world of practice, they've CONSCIOUSLY chosen to share their knowledge even when they're amongst the brightest and can make a helluva lot more money out there in the corporate world. They shine in their classrooms so we can shine outside. They sacrifice their exposure to the corporate world, so that hundreds more can make their mark. And yet, from within the halls of IIMB, their brilliance shines through for all of the corporates to see.

That's also probably why they get paid big fat bucks to come out and give talks to global corporations every once in a while. They are in control of their life, unlike many others out there! ;)