THATS LIFE

Jan 14th 2003... More than a thousand days ago... I landed up in an alien land with strange speculations....Never in my wildest dreams had I ever imagined that I would ever land up in S.Korea. In fact I was a bit disappointed as I was supposed to be deputed to Europe to begin with.
March 2006.....I am in the process of packing my items and saying goodbye to this country. But the memories which I will carry with me will always be amongst the most cherised ones. Although, I visited other countries as a part of my job profile, yet the charm of this lovely country was no where. I still cannot believe that in a couple of days I will bid adieu to all those familiar faces, with whom I have spent three of the best years of my life. I know, it is really difficult to imagine my life without all these people. But when I look back I realise that this is not the first time I face such a situation. The emotions were very much the same when I left home for the first time. They were no different when I waved my hands to those lovely friends in IIT for the last time. And now once again...

I am going to miss so many things in life. But this is life. We always have to look ahead.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

The ISB R2 results are flowing in now. Looks like the people in ISB too like to follow the dictum "expect the unexpected".
I still remember the 1st week of January, to be precise Jan 6. This was the date when everyone(except the ISB selection committee) expected the result to be out, based on the experience of the previous year. However ISB had other plans in mind and they decided to give the R1 aspirants a really tough time. The results were not declared until the next day evening.
And now, when R2 aspirants were preparing themselves for a tough day tomorrow, ISB decided to present them a surprise. The results are out well in advance. I really feel pity for the R2 admits. They really missed the day long roller coaster ride which we R1 admits enjoyed.

Congrats all the admits.. to begin with Rehan, Alok, Yash, Vibhor, Priya, Disha(2nd Disha in ISB Co07).....

And for those who didnot make it... remember that..." Sometimes if you dont get something which you think you deserved, dont lose heart, because soon you will realise that it was a wonderful stroke of luck"

IF SHIP HAD LIFE....

Can you imagine the kind of similarity that exists between a ship and human being? Here are some of them.....

(1) All the major machineries- Human mind.
All the machineries of a ship should be in good working condition for the successful operation of the ship. So should be human mind. If mind fails, the story ends. Mind defines the innate characteristics (in other words, nature) of a human being.
(2) Major pipelines- The emotions linked with various thought process.
Each of the pipelines has its own distinct role to play in the ships operation. Similarly there exists the minds role to allocate the correct emotion to the particular thought process. This provides the broad definition of human personality.
(3) Small, connecting pipelines that connect the major pipelines - Minds efforts to link distinct thoughts and conclude the effects.
These small pipelines which connect the major ones are no less important than the major pipelines. Similarly the connection our mind creates between two distinct emotions reflects the depth of human personality to a great extent. Imagine correlating two things which happened today and try to go deep into the process. Extend this approach as broad as you can.
(4) Valves - The mind's control device which decides what and when to blurt out the internal happenings to the exterior world.
Valves, when malfunction lead to disastrous results. Similarly the mind should have a good knowledge on what should be allowed to flow to the exterior world and when to close its valve. This reflects the effectiveness of the human personality.

THE BABY'S DAY OUT

It is so nice to meet old friends. And if this friend is the first one from your batch to present you a "bhabiji" and a "bhatiji", then the charm of the visit really enhances to the extent that you really start thinking of sweet things like marriage, family, kids and what not.
Akshita is one of those lovely babies who like to make friends, yet she decided to give some time before joining the senior members (papa, mama and the new uncles) in the fun. But once a friend, always a friend. This eleven-month old baby enjoyed almost everything- from the lunch to the beach. She also made some new Korean friends of her age group.
And as for Rohit and Vasudha, I really admire their patience in the process of raising the baby.I really wonder if I can make a dad as caring and dedicated as Rohit. Anyway, lots and lots of time for that and I really need not worry about all these things. This is indeed the charm of bachelor life...no responsibilities and no tension, only fun.

THE BEAUTY IN ACTION

1) During her sea trials.

2) Turning to find her direction.






3) Found her direction.
4) Cruising towards the high seas.

ONE MORE DELIVERY

They talked about their future career plans. They talked about stock market and bank interest rates. They talked about the difficulties they faced during the complete delivery process of the ship. They talked about the quality of the booz. They talked about their families. They talked about football tournaments and spring festivals. They talked about President Bush and his policies......The list was simply endless. Finally the party came to an end, and with it came to end all the colorful discussions. And all the people left for their respective abodes after a lovely evening that followed a hectic day. The party was thrown to celebrate the successful delivery of the ship R.

However, I am almost dead now and nothing can help me better than a good night's sleep.

JUST IN TIME

The line of demarcation between "doing the thing just in time" and "not doing the thing at all" is so thin. But people in this part of the world have just perfected this approach (Just in Time). Everything is done at the last possible moment and yet done with such immaculate perfection.

Tomorrow (no, today) ship R will be officially handed over to us by the yard and the yard is really determined to apply this "just in time" approach in the most intense way possible. And in this process they really drive us crazy. Just a few hours left for the delivery of the ship, yet countless things to do. Anyway, thats their way of doing things and thats why they are so successful.

THE RETURN OF INNOCENCE

Ever wondered what is the best way to live your life. "The return of innocence" from Enigma can provide an answer.

The return of innocence (From Enigma)

Love - Devotion
Feeling - Emotion
Don't be afraid to be weak
Don't be too proud to be strong
Just look into your heart my friend
That will be the return to yourself
The return to innocence.
If you want, then start to laugh
If you must, then start to cry
Be yourself don't hide
Just believe in destiny.
Don't care what people say
Just follow your own way
Don't give up and use the chance
To return to innocence.
That's not the beginning of the end
That's the return to yourself
The return to innocence.

SOME DAY I WILL BE "EFFECTIVE"

This weekend has been one of my most productive weekends. If the Satuday belonged to Mark's "What they dont teach you at HBS", Sunday was dedicated for Stephen R.Covey's "The 7 habits of highly effective people".Amazing books... I must say.

Although Mark is more towards corporate world and diplomacy, Stephen stresses on personal development, inner discipline and soft skills. Mark says "what to do to succeed in the corporate world". Stephen elucidates "what qualities go into the making of an effective person".

But the sad thing is that tips given by guys of the stature of Mark and Stephen are never that easy to follow. But then, "a journey of thousand miles start from a single step". Some day, I will be effective too.

BUSINESS AND PSYCHOLOGY

Just now I completed reading the book "What they dont teach at HBS" by Marck H. McCormack. Mark has done a wonderful job in intertwining Business and Psychology. I really liked most of his ideas and will like to put some of them in this post.

(1) His fear of failure was so strong because his desire of success was so great.
(2) I believe you can learn almost everything you need to know - and more than other people would like you to know - simply by watching and listening, keeping your eyes peeled, your ears open. And your mouth closed.
(3) Nothing blocks insights into other people more than your own ego.
(4) The people who work with someone can provide revealing information about that person.
(5) Though "The Godfather" is fictional, its psychology is real.
(6) If you let them know what you know, you will blow any chance of using your own insight effectively.
(7) If you dont react you will never overreact. You will be the controller than the controllee.
(8) One of the life's biggest frustrations is that people dont do what you want them to do.
(9) Consider doing the opposite of what someone expects. Often, it is remarkably effective.
(10) If you cant do it or dont want to do it, then dont say you will. Dont even say "I will try".
(11) And if you are not going to keep friends, you had better be miles ahead of the competition.
(12) Bad news is seldom as bad as it first sounds.
(13) If you alienate your peers, you wont need any other corporate enemies.
(14) Dont go one on one with the boss. If you win the battle you are probably going to lose the war.
(15) I will often pretend not to know the specifics of a situation just to get the other guy talking.
(16) Find the stars in other companies and make them friends. Ten years from now, they will become your biggest assets.
(17) Sell directly to the key person, and if he likes what you are proposing, he will know best how to sell it in.
(18) In several instances I have fired people without their even knowing. Instead I have found jobs for them and let another company "steal them away".
(19) Learn to say "No" even though it hurts.
(20) The cliche is, " Dont work hard, work smart". The truth is "Work hard, work long, and work smart".

THALIR

Today TAS handed me a copy of the book which he recently published. The name of the book is "Thalir" (a word in Malayalam, which literally means "budding leaves from a seedling"). The idea behind this book is to encourage budding writers to realise their potential. TAS has really worked hard on this project and I congratulate him on his success.

"Thalir"....The birth of a vision.
"Thalir".... The sweetness of innocence.
"Thalir".... The colors of imagination.
"Thalir".... The ambitions of passion.
"Thalir".... The glory of success.

Good luck "Thalir". Wish you all the best.

VICARIOUS NOSTALGIA

If I were asked to give the ISB interview again and the question of "whats your hobby" creeps in then guess what my answer is going to be? Reading blogs. I never used to read blogs until last year when I started thinking about b-schools. But now things are different.

I have almost lived the life of an ISBian minus the hardwork in this process. The excitement, the enthusiasm, the booz parties, the movies, ELP projects, exchange students, long lasting friendship, departing notes.... the list is endless. And I feel as if I were really a part of all this.

My four years in IIT Madras went fast, yet I could measure the speed of time. However time didnot allow me to keep a track on its speed for the last four years. I still cannot believe that I will soon be completing four years of job life, which is almost the same amount of time I spent in IIT. And when I think that next year this time, I will be graduating from ISB, I really feel something within my heart- something which creates a strange emotion within me. The year will be marked with new friends, fantastic people, novel ideas and great oppurtunities but like every other year, it too will come to an end. Hope 2006 turns out to be the year to cherish for all the admits.

A SMALL FORMULA

Do you get the best out of your gym? If no, here is a small foolproof formula. Involve in some skirmish in your office. And see the magical effect in the gym.
It was a rainy day today and I had decided to bunk the gym until I picked up a fight in the office, with this fellow who is designated as the CE (the highest "sailing" post in the engine room side for a vessel). I will not get into the details of the fight in this post but it did turn out ridiculous. I kept on wondering if it was really worth to create such a scene in the office but in the present maturity level I find no way to deal with such people who bask under the misconception that they are the best. May be ISB will teach me a couple of lessons on "conflict management". Anyway, that is for future and I will limit myself to the present. After the fight, I decided to drop in the gym for sometime. And trust me, I could run extra miles, could lift extra weights, could do more push ups and what not.
One of the best days in gym after one of the worst days in office....The deal is not that bad!!!!!!

PLATONIC LOVE.....A REAL CONCEPT?

Today is the perfect day to think about certain abstract nouns- those allpowerful nouns which dictate human emotions and actions. However, I limit my discussion only to the kind of emotion that exists between the adams and eves (man is a social being and let every adam choose only one eve and vice versa) of this world.
I was wondering if love, or rather "platonic" love is a real concept. The researchers on "love" have defined so many complex theories that I will just confuse my concepts if I go through those theories. Is "lust" a part of this love or another completely distinct entity. Is it possible for a couple to "just" love each other without any lust? If no, then what role does lust play in a successful relationship? If yes, then is it possible for the couple to abstain from carnial desires?
In either cases, what are the expectations from the relationship? What is "crush"? Is it "crush" that develops into so called "true love" (given the chance and oppurtunity). In such a case a milder version of lust (physical attraction) is the basis of love. Does this suggest that the lust is the harbinger of love? Or that lust gets transformed into love? In the modern day concept of "dating" where couples stress a lot on the "compatibility" factor as a precursor of the next stage of relationship, is love redefined as mere "adjustment"? Is love finite? Or is it infinite? Is it possible that the love between two persons die out with time? What is the unit of love? Is it a very complex function of all other human emotions?
Completely confused.....Can some wise being help me find a simple answer to all these complex questions.

BACK TO LAND

So finally I am back to land after spending two days and two nights in the sea. The ship is absolutely fantastic with no major problems. The weather was absolutely fabulous and very few things can match the pleasure of sailing on a ship when the sea is good.The reflection of the evening sky in the sea, the sea gulls escorting the ship, the enigmatic acoustic variations from the machineries as the ship keeps moving, the waveforms-all the things were so magical and enchanting.

However I had to sacrifice my weekend for this and I think it is a good idea to give my eyes some rest on this Monday afternoon. Nothing like taking a nap on a Monday afternoon.

A DATE

She is beautiful. She has a charm which very few can match. She has spent so many days in the yard with me and certainly I cannot let her leave this place without going outside for a date. So I have decided to give all of my time and energy to her this weekend. I am sure she will behave herself and will satisfy all the requirements. Time is so less and so much to do. Just not possible to avoid sleepless nights.But no choice.

So guys and gals, wish all the best to this lovely lady for her "sea trials". Just to mention something about "sea trials"....It is the first time the virgin beauty (a newly constructed ship) enters the high seas to ensure that everything is perfect with her. After sea trials, she will return back to the yard for a week for the final countdown. And then one fine day, she will say me goodbye to head for her real destination. And I will be there on the shore wishing her all the best.

WHY ISB?

Today, I will like to finish off the last of the series of questions, I have been discussing for the last few days. So, why did I go for Indian School of Business, Hyderabad?
The reasons are clear for me -
1) ISB is the school which offered me suitable answers to the questions (which I have already discussed in my earlier post).
2) ISB is a young school (although it has carved out a terrific brand for itself). And I feel I can learn a lot from the entrepreneurship ideas that goes into the building of such great projects. I feel I have learnt a lot just by following the day to day progress of this institute.
3) I strongly believe that I can pick up some really good contacts by being a part of this school. The awesome links this school has can be inspiration to any MBA applicant.
4) I trust that ISB is destined to be the top school of Asia- Pacific region. Just a matter of time before it turns out to be official. My long term interests are focussed in this region.
5) The cost of ISB MBA is very less compared to US MBA. This will provide me the freedom to choose my career with sufficient freedom without worrying much about the loan repayment.
6) And finally, few schools can match ISB, in terms of quality of faculty. And this can make learning look really easy and effective.

A DAY IN SNOW

I woke up to find one of the most beautiful mornings of my life.As I opened the windows, I felt as if I was in fairyland. The first snowfall of the season in the city! But the rest of the day refused to remain so beautiful. Normally I take 10 minutes to drive down to my office. Today, it took almost an hour. The schedule of the inspections (testing of ship machineries) was delayed. And some of the inspections were postponed. So extra work for tomorrow.The roads in the shipyard were too slippery and I had to walk with extra caution. Anyway, the day is over now and I hope tomorrow turns out to be a better day.
So friends, be aware of beautiful things. Beautiful things seldom make a beautiful life.

Have you ever seen snow in your dreams. If yes, then the following (based on the concepts of dream analysers including Freud) might be interesting for you -

1)Seeing snow in your dream: your inhibitions, repressed/unexpressed emotions and feelings of frigidity. You need to release and express these emotions and inhibitions. You may also be feeling indifferent, alone and neglected.
2)Seeing the snow melt: it suggests that you are acknowledging and releasing those emotions you have repressed. You are overcoming your fears and obstacles.
3)Seeing dirty snow in your dream: refers to a loss in innocence, impurity and uncleanness. Some aspect of yourself or situation has been tainted.
4)Dreaming that you are watching the snow fall: represents a clean start and a fresh, new perspective. It is indicative of spiritual peace and tranquility.
5)Dreaming that you are playing in the snow: indicates that you need to set some time for fun and relaxation.
6)Dreaming that you find something in the snow: suggests that you are exploring and accessing your unused potential, abilities, and talents. You have uncovered some hidden talent and ability within yourself.

KOSMIX VS GOOGLE

Finally, Google has competition. Kosmix is all set to challenge Google. The most interesting part is that Indian brains are behind this project. Good luck, Anand and Venky, wish you all the best for this ambitious project.

So guys, let me get back to our discussion on MBA. "Which school to choose?" - this is normally the most difficult question for an MBA aspirant. Well, the decision strictly depends on the individual.

Most of the information on B-Schools is available on the net. So, I will not go on to describe the strengths and weaknesses of universities. However the following questions may help you in your decision.

1) Where do you enjoy living - India or abroad? Before answering this question, you must have experienced both. Where do you want to be especially when you are down?
2) What are your strengths? Do they get the perfect "fitment" with the B-school curriculum and environment you have chosen?
3) If you have chosen a foreign B-school, then how long are you planning to stay abroad? If it happens that you need to stay more than what you have planned before joining the B-School, then will it affect your life in a major way?
4) What kind of contacts do you want to gain? How are these contacts going to help you in your choice of work environment? Can you maintain these contacts once you are out of B-School?
5) How ambitious you are? (Ask this question again and again. A really difficult question).
6) How is your family life getting affected if you join the particular B-school? Is the career of your spouse getting seriously affected by your decision?
7) What kind of back-up plans you have in case you are going for B-schools abroad? Have you done enough research on things like work permit and visa.
8) Is the B-school rated high in the place where you intend to spend the biggest chunk of your life?
9) How important is family for you? For instance if the choice is between a very high paying job which involves remaining away from family for weeks and an average paying job which gives you sufficient time to be with your family, then which one will you choose?
10) Where will you like your kids to grow up? (It is not that easy to migrate countries especially from western to eastern when kids are used to the western culture).
11) If you are more biased towards a foreign school-How amiable is the work culture of the domain you have chosen? If you have worked abroad for years, then there is a chance that your contacts are mostly in western countries. In such a case, if you want to relocate back to India, can you find a suitable job? In such a case your competitors will be mostly successful Indians who are used to Indianised way of business. In other words, is ur job domain really global enough to take you to any role in any country you choose to.

Why I wrote the last point is because I have seen the difficulties people face while relocating back to India.

Saying all this, I will not overestimate the role of an MBA in one's career. It again comes back to your workplace. Your B-school can only teach you but it cannot make you famous. Only when you become famous (using all your skills and abilities), they will say Mr.X is from XXX School. And this is how a XXX gains its reputation.

ONE MORE TITANIC?

Sometimes I feel really disturbed witnessing the cruel aspects of business. The recent example of an Egyptian ship sinking in the Red sea is a glaring example of this. How can the owners of this vessel think of making money out of the vessel, when they know that she is already 25 years old? How can the classification societies allow her to sail with 1400 passengers at a time when she should have been taken out of service and allowed to rest? I am sure SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) will redefine some of its clauses to create a safer maritime environment. And I hope that classification societies will learn something from this disaster. But the people who really suffered have no faults of their own.

Anyway,I will get back to my discussion on MBA and briefly go through the pre-requisites to get an MBA from good institute from either India(ISB, as admission process of other good colleges are different) or abroad.

1) Prior work experience - According to me, this is the most important single criterion. The advantages are numerous. Apart from the job related knowledge and experience, a person learns a lot about the subjective picture of the work environment. He tends to be more mature in his thoughts and decisions as compared to a fresh guy just out of his college. And when people from various backgrounds meet together at one place (lets say at B-School) , it definitely creates a great mutual learning center. Students also gain from the contacts they make with various professionals from diverse backgrounds. I know, a fresh guy just out of college may not appreciate what I wrote, but I am sure, some day he will.

2) Essays - Your marketing skills will be best exhibited here. Assume that these essays are the products you are selling to the B-school. It is a good idea to read good sample essays to help you realise the best way to pen down your skills and ambitions. Do enough soul searching which will help you bring you closer to your post MBA goals.This will help to write clear and lucid essays. Give sufficient time to the essays (they really deserve this time and energy) and if possible ask some of your best friends and well wishers to suggest modifications.

3) GMAT- This is perhaps the easiest way for the B-school to judge the present intellectual ability of an applicant. Although, schools are aware that a GMAT score depends a lot on a single- day-performance, yet the importance of this exam cannot be underestimated. I strongly urge applicants to give sufficient time and energy to this exam. The higher the score, the better it is.

4) Reputation of undergraduate college and performance during this time- I feel B-Schools place this factor quite high in their selection checklist. A reputed undergraduate school and a good undergraduate performance speaks a lot for an applicant. Good undergraduate performance includes both academic and extracurricular activities.

5) International Workexperience- This is a huge plus for any B-School applicant. International experience provides lot of skills which are extremely important to do business in different cultural set-ups. Different countries have different cultures and what may seem very polite in one culture can be the reflection of lack of confidence in another culture. Again, confidence in one culture can be potrayed as rude arrogance in another. For instance, Japanese and Korean (especially the older generation) normally donot like looking straight into the eyes while talking with each other. The same thing if done in America can tempt Americans to challenge your confidence level. Although a lot about cultures can be learnt from tourist books and guides, yet international work ex has no real life substitute. Knowledge of international languages (like Spanish/French/Chinese) adds an extra feather to the cap.

6) Extracurriculars- Extracurricular activites if correctly projected can be extremely strong positive factors in the selection process of an applicant. So all the applicants, make sure you do something out of your regular work/study life. It can be as easy as finding some time from your schedule to do some social service, play some sports or learn some musical instruments. Just start the process and it becomes a part of life.And once you get a B-school dont forget to continue all the good things you started doing before your MBA application.

7) Recommendations- Good recommendations show superior "superiors-management" skills on the part of the applicant. Know your recommenders well and give them sufficient time and information so that you get good recos.

I think this is enough for the pre-requisite section. Will be back tomorrow. Ciao.

Prendre Plaisir a Vendredi Nuit

Friday night..............Party time back again.......Not the best time to blog......All the people reading my blog, have a rocking Friday night and a lovely weekend.

STORM AFTER THE LULL

Finally the day ended. One of the rare days of my life, when I had to receive three phone calls at the same time. Normally I hate office days just after a set of holidays. But, now that I am going to do an MBA, I think I should start appreciating such days.

So I should like to close down the "Why MBA" topic with the following "whys".Let the "whys"be limited to the job environment only at this stage of discussion.

1. To make better decisions in the office.
2. And thus win the confidence of people (includes all the people who matter to you).
3. And thus increase your confidence level.
4. And thus accept bigger challenges with greater alacrity.
5.And thus gain better access to the higher levels of work and management.
6.To make better decisions again, this time in a completely different set up.
6.And thus earn more influence, power and money (depending on what your aspirations are).
7.And thus quote yourself "successful".

But all the "whys" (except point 1) are not so independent in nature. (The "And thus......" factor is always there to torment).

So lets hope that our MBA can provide us the ability to take better decisions (than what we could have done without an MBA). Otherwise this degree will be limited to our CV which is nothing more than a piece of paper.

Now that "Why MBA" discussion is over from my side, we can digress from this topic. Looks like "Rang de Basanti" is a great movie. A "must see" when I get back to India after a month.

Now I have to cook, eat, complete the pending office work, make calls back home, and finally get to the bed.

Bye for now. (oops, whats this sound.....)

Oh .......nooo. I had boiled eggs for my dinner. Looks like the water got dried, the egg got fried and the kettle is so angry with me that it will never agree to boil eggs for me. Poor me, have to get a new kettle now. I am such a bad cook........

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

No No.. I am not going to present my reviews on Roberto Benigni's classic "Life is Beautiful". But I decided to borrow this name for todays post. This movie has always remained amongst my all time favorites (after 1998, ofcourse). Any time, when I have strange emotions, the scenes of this movie flash before my eyes.

Ship R was launched today in yard H. I have attended so many lauchings, but I have never felt this kind of emotion before. There are so many things we do without realising that we are doing it for the last time. But today is a different story. By most likelihood, this is the last launching I will be witnessing. Now that I have mentiond the word "launching", I will write a couple of sentences about launching. In the lingo of a Naval Architect, launching is that stage of a ship's construction when she enters into the waters for the first time. No, not to sail. Construction work is still not over. But the hull is ready and ship neednot stay in the drydock. After the ship is fully launched, the machineries which are installed on the ships are tested. But she is strong enough to stay in the quay side, half of her body inside the water and wait for further co-operation and warmth from all the people who are involved in her birth.

Well, now let me get back to analyse the question "Why MBA". This is a very complex question mostly because we human beings are inherently different from one another. Have you ever thought why you dislike some particular food (lets say water melon) while your friend cannot live without that? Why is it that each of us have a distinctive choice of books, music, movies and more importantly people?There is no clear answer to this question. The inference is that we are all different from our neighbour in our ideas, aspirations, passions, profession and similar abstract nouns. So my idea of pursuing MBA is strictly based on my ideas, aspirations, passions, profession........

Now after spending time in some wonderful yards, why do I decide to pursue an MBA. There are people who say-" if you wanted to join an MBA program then why did you join IIT, and why did you join shipping and what not". I feel that there are lot of people who think that MBA and technical skills are mutually exclusive to each other. You can either possess one of the two skills. But is this really the situation? I guess not. I strongly feel that in the kind of profession in which I am in, technical background is a big plus. And I do feel that the same logic holds good for other professions also. If I donot understand how MEPC 107(49) (those who belong to different professions, read MEPC as the governing authority which dictates rules to prevent maritime pollution) is going to affect the fleet and hence the trading, then how do I decide to make the most logical budget planning for the marine environment protection department. Just to reiterate, a single instant of marine pollution by a single ship has the potential to create unprecendented economical and environmental disasters.

Now that I have mentioned the need of technical knowledge, I must admit that nowadays the decision making role is often assigned to an MBA who may or maynot have technical background. So here fits in my decision to knock the doors of an MBA school. If it involves pure financial decisions like bonds, equity etc. then technical knowledge doesnot matter. But if it involves decision making that can affect the safety of people, trade ambience, operations and the marine environment, then I feel the MBA must be backed with sufficient technical knowledge. Having said this I give due importance to all the hard core finance, marketing MBAs who are equally effective in creating the wealth of a company. Also MBAs develop decent soft skills and proactiveness (not that non MBAs dont have it) which is extremely important to remain competitive in the fast pace business world. Thus I feel MBA will be a great learning experience. Also one should not forget that going back to any school is the quickest and the most effective method to gain contacts.

Having said this, I must agree to the fact that there are amazing individuals around us who are in the peak of success without an MBA. After all it depends on one particular individual what way one chose to make one's life beautiful. Isn't it? With MBA, if required; without MBA if possible.

OK guys, I think enough of blogging today. Time for me to switch over to a different work (trying to practise the so called "time management").

byebye