A Little Problem There, IIMs

I gave the CAT exam this year in an attempt to secure admission into the prestigious IIMs and such. But my preparation was incomplete in some respects and so I ended up with only 86%. However, some of my friends managed to secure excellent percentiles in the range of 99+.

But no, even 99% isn't good enough in our country. They didn't get any significant calls, just because of their lack of work experience and previous academic records. I remember all the brouhaha that took place when the IIMs' admission criteria was announced. While I fully support the work-experience criteria and somewhat partially the graduation percentage criteria, I find the inclusion of the secondary school and senior-secondary school percentages to be unnecessary. To support my case, I present to you three arguments :

Argument 1 : In school, we are too young to realise the importance our marks hold in our future. We were naive and carefree. We did not know what IIMs were. Heck, we didn't even know what IITs were, let alone IIMs! Why must we be punished for a mistake our kiddie versions committed 6 years ago?

Argument 2 : The subjects we studied in class Xth and XIIth mainly consisted of English (or some other language), Science, Maths and Social Sciences. Now if we observe the IIM's testing procedure carefully, it can be easily pointed out that English and Maths are tested in CAT already, the social sciences part is covered during the GD/PI rounds and science is mostly applied logic. Now, when we are being tested on similar subjects again during the admission process, then why is our former selves' ability to score in these subjects being considered at all? Why isn't our current performance being given the full priority? IIMs try to test the candidate's true current potential via CAT, yet they fall back upon their previous performances.

Argument 3 : One of the reasons given by IIMs for this step is that they are looking for 'consistent performers'. I agree that consistent performers will most likely perform the same way in the future. But does that mean we should disregard people who have attempted to change for good? People who have started performing well once they found out the course / subject / job of their liking? How can someone be expected to excel in excel in everything he/she has come across in life? In my opinion, IIMs' reason is unfair to the people who were probably not comfortable with the subjects taught in school. As they say, nothing is permanent but change. There's no guarantee that a high scorer in school and college will necessarily be a better manager or thinker than any of the others. Oh, and doesn't the candidate's securing of a 99%+ in CAT despite having 70% in school suggest that he has improved a lot in 6 years?

Oh yes, ranting against the system is easy and anyone can complain. But luckily, I also came prepared with some solutions to the supposed 'problem' we have at hand : 
 
The proposed solution :
Apart from CAT, I also gave other tests like NMAT, SNAP, IIFT etc. But one exam I particularly enjoyed giving is the XAT exam. It was just because of one section called the 'decision making' section. Anyone who has given this exam will understand what I'm trying to say. I felt that each MBA exam should have a section like this one because in the end, 'Business Administration' is all about 'making decisions'. So, if I was given the privilege of designing the structure of IIM's selection process, here's what I would do : 

1. Restructure CAT : Have the following sections -

• Quantitative Ability - Testing basic maths
• Verbal Ability - Testing basic english skills
• Logical reasoning and Data Interpretation : Interpreting stats and facts
• Decision Making : Because management in all about the ability to take correct decisions. Give this section a high priority.

2. Restructure the selection criterion and GD/PI round -

For selection, do away with the unnecessary childhood academic performance of the candidate. Instead, consider the recent factors like the graduation performance (but with less priority), work-experience, extra-curriculars etc.

After the selection, have the following rounds :

• Business case study round : For assessing how well a candidate can process business data.
• GD : For assessing the communication abilities and GK.
• PI : For testing personality of the candidate.

Just to make things clear, I have nothing to fear from this rule of IIMs.. I have scored very good percentages in school board exams. But then opinions are like bad habits - everyone has one.

Oh, by the way, I am also planning on entering this article in this competition. Pray that I win.. :D

The Manliest Motivation

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."

We all have goals. We all have aspirations and dreams. We all want to succeed, good to know. But the road to success isn't paved with sweet flowers. Its rough in a sense that even the famous Indian potholed roads look cute in front of it.

Assisting in the process of enduring this journey called life is something called motivation. Motivation is fuel for the soul. Its the thing that is supposed to keep us going, everytime after we fall.

Motivation can come from a variety of sources and it differs for everyone. So, this being a kind-of personal blog, I will share one such video which inspires me, gets me on my feet and quit whining about life. This is one of the manliest motivation I've ever come across, more so when you hear it being spoken. Gives me the goose bumps everytime I listen to it :

Watch the video. I assure you that the video gets better with each passing minute!

And the full quote from Rocky Balboa's speech (my favourite part) :

"I’d hold you up to say to your mother, “this kid’s gonna be the best kid in the world. This kid’s gonna be somebody better than anybody I ever knew.” And you grew up good and wonderful. It was great just watching you, every day was like a privilege. Then the time come for you to be your own man and take on the world, and you did. But somewhere along the line, you changed. You stopped being you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you’re no good. And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that! I’m always gonna love you no matter what. No matter what happens. You’re my son and you’re my blood. You’re the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, ya ain’t gonna have a life. "

 So, what are your ways of remaining motivated towards your goal? What quote / action / memory do you take help of, when you feel down? Reply in the comments below!

So It Begins... Again

I am back at it. After a lot of experimentation and correction, I am back on Blogger. I knew it wouldn't be long before I was back.

So what motivated me to come back? Here are some of the top factors in no particular order :

1. I am preparing for MBA exams and I need to improve my English and creative writing abilities. Though at this time most of my exams are over (with disappointing results), there are still some of them left (including that of my dream college - MICA). These exams require a lot of creative writing expertise and I'm wishing that I started a bit earlier..

2. As a medium for studying parameters of Web reputation management and influence (my areas of interest).

3. I think a LOT. A hell LOT. I need a medium to put my ideas down. I don't care too much about people reading my blog, but I'm sure I might build a decent readership in time.

4. My very good friend Sarabjeet. He has been a regular blogger for more than 2 years now and he is an excellent example of dedication and focus. His efforts are finally bearing fruits and I've seen his follower count increase exponentially in the last 3 months! This was the final kick for me to reconsider blogging as a hobby.


But then Sarabjeet asked me : "For how long can you blog on without stopping again?" (With reference to my previous failed attempts at blogging)

Well, Challenge Accepted bro.