A beautiful journey! :)

30th May 2009 – Day 1 in SJCBA.
What exactly happened that day, no one knows. A bunch of 120 unknown faces, (Thank God I knew 7 of them!!) staring at each other as the Director, Dean and the faculty kept bombarding us with “Rules and Regulations , “Strict Attendance”, “Discipline”, “Time sense”, not to forget the monstrous “CGPA” tales while we young and over anxious (anxious for the lunch break, maybe, or for the boring talk to get over and the day to end!) sat and listened. Some even made notes!
What followed, was a roller coaster ride. Like a REAL Roller Coaster ride. Or maybe, the journey of PGDM @ SJCBA would put the best roller coaster in the world to shame!
We weren’t spared, right from Day 1. For most of us, this kind of schedule was a Culture Shock!
80% Attendance?? Were they Kidding!! 
We slowly began to digest the fact. As they say, if u can’t beat them, join them. We “joined” the system. We were all now- Josephites!
We entered class each day, panting for breath, trying to make it by 8.25! Even though the classes were at 8.30, we had a few “Strict Disciplinarians” who believed in entering class 5 mins early. Which of course meant that we had to be in Before them!! We waited. While the lecturer spoke, we waited, ever patiently, for the clock to strike 10, so that we could RUSH to the canteen for a lovely strong cup of syrupy brown drink that could be classified as coffee or tea. (yea, you can even call it Bournvita or mocha or cappuccino, it’s your wish! The drink remains the same!) And the routine followed throughout the day. How many cups of the drink we had to keep ourselves awake, nobody knew. Or perhaps, Anthony’s cashbox was mute but live spectator to this whole drama.
We lived in a constant fear of Surprise Quizzes (Remember the MIS Nilgiris problem!) and “Not-so-Surprise” quizzes, tests, presentations, assignments, mid terms, end terms, more presentations, more assignments, in-class assignments, take-home assignments, (Gosh!) etc. And in between all this, we even had to Study!! How???!!!! (Pah! Like THEY care!)
And to add Lighter moments to our never ending exam schedule, we had so much to do! St Ignatius feast, Little Christmas, New Year party, Founder’s Day, Father’s Birthday! (Yes, that was a bigger event than all of the others put together!) needless to say, we enjoyed every bit of it. (should I mention that all we had to do most of the time was listen to speeches and at the end of it get a free goodie box with the standard Veg puff/Samosa+ a slice of sponge cake+4 banana chips?)
Constant chaos, confusion, frustration, irritation, also got added to the regular happy, cheery, worried-sick, tensed emotions. (Courtesy new “administrative staff” in the second year!)
Placement season started earnestly and like every year, saw various ups and downs, tears and smiles, tensed moments, curses, happy-hugs, and what not! And then all of a sudden..it was over! Juniors announced our farewell party, and we realized, our short stint at SJCBA is getting over!
2 years rolled by, it was all over in the wink of an eye! To describe the 2 years in a nutshell, I’d like to say:

A thousand tears, million smiles
Walks that lasted several miles

From the canteen chai to ching-lung rum
There wasn’t a single moment of glum

Candid moments, we all shared
For each other, we always cared

Teachers became friends new,
Chatted and laughed, oh they walked the ramp too!

As the time came to bid adieu,
We realized what the place meant to us and how time flew!

A jouney we’ll cherish forever, despite a zillion groans,
Because in love we are- with the people, the campus, the bricks and stones!

31st March 2011. And its all over…but, as they say, every end is a new beginning in itself..

Book Review- The Professional.

“Great Public efforts are often rooted in deeply personal experiences and sometimes very personal feelings.”
Subroto Bagchi, The Professional.

“The Professional” takes you through a roller coaster ride of real life incidents and rich experiences of professionals, and their journey up the corporate ladder. However, what’s interesting is that the experiences and incidents listed are not just about how to conduct yourself or what to do in an organization, but it also tells us about the people who knowingly or unknowingly broke the ethical code, and what happened to them or what the organization had to undergo because of them. It is a classic example of both sides of a coin being beautifully illustrated.

Bagchi lists seven essential elements of a True Professional – Integrity, Self Awareness, Professional Qualities, Managing Volume, Managing Complexity, New world Imperatives, and the “Professional’s Professional” – in that order. He talks in detail about each aspect, how it affects the both the individual and the organization, how it fosters growth, and how the organization and the individual can benefit by inculcating strong values and ethics in themselves. He articulates the importance of moral and ethical codes, and how an enterprise can stand apart and create a niche for itself in the ever-competing global market.

One of the most admirable qualities of Bagchi is that he has not given only the positive examples of MindTree and flipsides of other companies. It takes great courage and confidence for an author to write about the mistakes of his own company and employees and Bagchi takes away the prize for that one. He engages the readers in the process of unlearning and re-thinking about the ethical codes instilled in them, while subtly infusing great values into their system.

The book aptly describes what it takes to be a True Professional in this era of cut throat competition, where companies and people combat dirty. It shows the true spirit of a passionate Professional, and the consequences of choosing the easy path as against the right path.

A good read for everyone- from a budding person on the threshold to a successful corporate career to a highly established individual ranking high on the corporate ladder. It is also equally relevant to your roadside vegetable vendor, or the municipal worker, the police, or any individual who works earnestly to earn his income. For, ultimately, a Professional is not who a person is in terms of what his business card reads, but what the individual is, inside out.

So, do you think you are a True Professional?