Open House: The Details

Overall, it was an awesome, busy, fun and exciting 2 days on campus, the weather ruining things a little bit on day 1. We were greeted with a welcome kit for breakfast, followed by a brief welcome message by Dean Hubbard and Linda Meehan.

The rest of the Open House was really meant to give us a flavor for life at CBS: the cluster system, academics, career services, clubs, social events, corporate sponsored events, happy hour and late night partying (which I had no energy left to participate in).

Day 1: After breakfast, we were divided into clusters of about 40-50 people each. The first event was an informal "get to know your cluster" thing with some team games, quizes etc. During this session, we were handed a 12-13 page case document, which we were asked to go through sometime during the day before the 4pm Management Class. This was followed by lunch with current students and an elective class on "Strategic Intuition" by Prof. William Duggan. Topics discussed were Intuition, Strategy, Innovation with some examples like Napolean, Picasso, Edison, Apple, Google etc. Quite interesting!

Next was the Management Case class conducted by Prof. Ralph Biggadike. I think about 95% of the class started reading the case in the lecture hall but it was truly amazing to see how quickly people as a group were able to dissect and analyze a situation and offer a diverse range of viewpoints. A very engaging session this one. At 5 we headed to the International House for a panel on Entrepreneurship, very very impressive. 5 or 6 recent CBS alums talked about the companies they have started, all ideas born and refined while at CBS with help from the Lang Center and how successful they have become in such a short period of time. This to me was the highlight event at Open House. The evening was wrapped up by a Deutsche Bank sponsored cocktail party, followed by more drinking at Uris Deli Happy Hour, which I attended till 10:30pm before calling it a night.

Day 2: I was one of very few people at the 9am breakfast and understandably so since several people were partying till 3am the previous night at the Latin American Business Association (LABA) dance party. I wouldnt exactly put myself as a novice when it comes to drinking and socializing but this needed a different level of energy reserves. After a non-stop day from 9am to 11pm (which included 2 rounds of drinking), I give out kudos to those who had the heart to go drink some more and party till 3am. Thankfully, there were some people like me who started showing up for breakfast around 9:30am.

Breakfast was followed by two 1-hour sessions on academics and career services. Then we had a grand lunch with faculty, where Linda talked a little bit about the merits of the incoming class (some real rockstars there). We then had 2 interactive sessions with current students and an alum, Club Fair - a glimpse of all the student led clubs at CBS and then the Bloomingdales cocktail reception on the top floor of Bloomingdales. Getting there involved a quick subway ride whcih was managed by current students. Mike Gould (CEO and CBS alum), spoke about his perspectives on the MBA, Columbia and New York (this was most important to him and it was clear how much he loves and values the city). Open House officially wrapped up here and we left with gift bags and goodies (courtesy Bloomindales). Unofficially, there was more socializing, drinking and partying but I figured I'd have plenty of opportunity for that the next 2 years.

My one key take away from these 2 days was the sheer strength and reach of the CBS community, the amazing people already there and the ones that I will be with this Fall. I cant wait to get started.

Open House

In exactly two weeks from today, I'll be attending the CBS Open House. More than anything else, I am eager to meet other future classmates, in addition to the few that I have already interacted with at local events. Winter is almost gone and the gorgeous spring weather is just about kicking in. Cant wait to be on campus for an exciting, fun-packed 2 days. If any others are planning to attend Open House, feel free to get in touch with me.

World Cup Disaster

Team India was never really expected to lift the Word Cup but to be shown the door in the opening round itself was a bit much. I think every cricket fan in the world (Indian or not) would have liked to see India play in the super eights and that is a very reasonable ask from a team that boasts of players like Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Yuvraj and Dhoni.

World Cup 2007 has shaken the very foundations of Indian cricket and the future certainly doesnt look exciting. I do feel the loss to Bangladesh was a one time fluke but Team India has to be above teams like Bangladesh. A general casualness, lack of accountability and no burning desire to win has plagued this team for the last eighteen months or so. I think it is this attitude that upsets fans more than anything else. We dont expect Sachin to score a 100 everytime but we do expect to see a fight in every game. We want to see Team India believe in itself everytime it walks out on the field.

The biggest culprits to that effect in this tournament have been Tendulkar, Dhoni, Sehwag, Uthappa and Harbhajan and to a slightly lesser extent Ganguly, Yuvraj and Dravid. The former set of players should be simply asked to take a break from international cricket and iron out their flaws in domestic cricket. As much as Coach Greg is at fault, he is not the one playing the game. And no matter how good or bad your coach is, you just dont loose to Bangladesh, thats plain unacceptable. Even as a huge Tendulkar fan myself, I think he is the first one who needs to go: enough is enough. It is actually painful to watch him bat, struggling against B-grade bowlers from teams like Bangladesh.

Champions exit the game gracefully when they are in peak form. Isnt that what Shane Warne did? The man took 700 test wickets and was the spearhead behind England's Ashes demolition. Anybody who follows cricket knows very well that he still has it in him to take 50-60 more wickets in no time. However, professional sport is about being, well, professional. Its about giving your best, staying honest to the game and to your team. If you cant give 110% to your team then just go before you are thrown out.

I know the coming days will present lots of discussions and speculations as the BCCI sits to evaluate what needs to be done. To start things off, some BCCI officials need to go as well. Here's what I would do next. Rahul Dravid probably made the mistake of his life by winning the toss and electing to bat against Bangladesh. However, he still is a good batsman and I would keep him in the team, specially since I'd let go of Sachin and Sehwag.

For the short-term, I'd bring back Ganguly as Captain, maybe for 1 or 2 series. I'd give Ganguly just that much time to see if things work and put Yuvraj as Vice Captain to groom him as a future Captain. If Ganguly proves that he still has the old magic then he gets the Captains job for a longer stint otherwise he gets the boot. I'd encourage Kumble to quit one-day cricket and focus on tests only. Piyush Chawla would come in as his replacement. Dinesh Karthik would replace Dhoni as wicket-keeper till Dhoni has proven in the domestic circuit that we cant ignore him anymore.

Next I'd try to hire a world class bowling coach (dont know who it is right now but on the lines of Alan Donald, Wasim Akram etc) and get on the case of Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, Munaf and Zaheer. I feel we have tremendous talent here that needs some guidance and coaching to become true match winners for India. Pathan specially being a gifted batsman, needs to be mentored as an all-rounder, someone India desparately needs. I am positive there are enough talented youngsters in our domestic circuit to replace Sachin and Sehwag for the time being. They shouldnt take too long to regain their form and come back to Team India if they indeed still have the class that we think they have. The time to think has gone though and both of them must earn their place back in the team. You can save the 14,000+ runs and 41 centuries rubbish for your grandkids or whoever cares to listen.

Columbia's new campus

As many of you know by now, Columbia University is planning a new campus, which will be in the works over the next 20-30 years. The plans include a new facility for the business school as well but 20-30 years??

No, the business school will be completed in Phase 1 of the project over the next 5 to 7 years. From the sound of it, it promises to be an excellent facility with good design. The project is being done by two of the biggest and best names in the industry - "Renzo Piano" and "Skidmore, Owings and Merrill."

More details here.

The Pundit is back

... after being dormant for 6 months. Well, work was really demanding and busy and so was the re-app cycle. Along with that, extracurricular involvements didnt leave me with any time for blogging. However, I am thrilled to report that it all came to good use as I have an admit from Columbia Business School for Class of 2009.

Life is good again!

Man chases cop ...

This post is totally unrelated to business school admissions. However, the story referenced is an interesting one on standing up for what one believes and iniative in action to make a difference. Its not a heroic story about saving lives or leading a revolution but a simple everyday event that I am sure most of us have come across sometime or the other.

I was browsing a friend's blog yesterday and through links to other posters in the blogosphere I chanced upon this post. Definitely worth a read and thought!

The wait is over ...

at Wharton, did not make the cut. That wraps up my applications for Fall 2006. There is a price for rushing your apps and as I found out, applications to the top programs do not happen in 2 months, including studying for the GMAT. Its time to take a step back, learn the lessons, figure out a plan and start implementing it. I take encouragement from the fact that I was waitlisted at 2 top programs and was very close to getting in. I have to convert those into an admit next time and hopefully will be able to do so.

Unfortunately, I will not be an MBA Class of 2008 but its been great to know many of you and I wish you all the best. For the many others who were not successful this year, there's always next time and the story will be different next year with the right plan and focus. Cheers!