Creativity

Struggling with essays...Writers block...Can't get creative.
Here are some tips to Kickstart your creativity. (from the web)

1. Journalling :Each morning as soon as you get up, write three pages of anything. Typically you will write about what you did the day before, ideas, dreams, problems, and rambling thoughts. You may need to get up 30 minutes earlier to do the writing.

2. Regular Fresh Input: By giving your mind fresh inputs each day, your memories get triggered and combined with the new input. Sometimes you will get ideas or gain new perspectives. How do you get new input? Do something new each day. Listen to different radio stations, read or borrow different magazines, take a stroll through a shopping centre. Keep your eyes and ears open, and taste, touch and smell things. Don't forget to carry a notebook or micro-cassette recorder to record your ideas during the day.

3. Learn a new Creativity Technique each week : Just like learning new words in a foreign language, you will need to practice the technique until it is second nature to you.Books like Michael Michalko's Thinkertoys, Arthur VanGundy's Brain Boosters for Business Advantage, Robert Alan Black's Broken Crayons or James Higgins' 101 Creative Problem Solving Techniques.

4. Relax!: Listen to music on headphones while lying on the floor. Sit outside in the sunshine and do nothing. Take a stroll, ride your bike or go for a swim. It's important to give youself time to unwind and let your subconscious mind do its work. Getting ideas in the shower or while you are driving has almost become a cliche, but it is true.

5. Learn to Draw: Teach yourself to draw. Books like Robert McKim's Experiences in Visual Thinking as well as the numerous books on cartooning, Robin Hall's The Cartoonist's Workbook should help.

6. Learn Mind Mapping: A written list is not the best tool for planning, note taking or idea generation. Use Mind Mapping instead! Buy some coloured pens, large sheets of paper and a book by Tony Buzan or Nancy Margulies. Develop your own symbols, icons and visual vocabulary for your mind maps. Writing long hand is left brain, but mind maps use the right brain by employing colour and visual information. There are other books on the subject by Joyce Wycoff (USA) and Dilip Mukerjea (Singapore).

7. Associational Thinking: The mind stores information by association - a concept underlying the Ideafisher program, and the compilation of a thesaurus. Either can be used to generate ideas. Personal association can be a great start followed by a thesaurus.
Eg:To demonstrate associational thinking, write the word Happiness in the middle of a sheet of paper, and draw lines radiating out from the word. Write down your thoughts on what the concept of "happiness" means to you. Ask other people to do the same exercise and compare.

8. Be challenged!: Take a new challenge each week. Work on a new problem each week, explore something new with the purpose of solving it, or generating ideas.

9. Adopt a genius: You can benefit by learning from the lives, ideas and actions of the great geniuses of history. Adopt a role model - maybe Leonardo da Vinci, Picasso, Einstein, T. S. Eliot, Thomas Edison

10. Imagine :This tip is from me .:) Imagine or day dream..What if you were invisible..What if u were born female..What if you were the member of the admissions commitee..what if you were the CEO. You'll enjoy that

Asian B Schools.

You all know about the ISB yahoo group.
But what about the folks aiming for other Asian Schools -AIM,NTU,NUS etc.

Herez the group.

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/AsianBschools/

Surprise Yourself Dude!

My Visa expires on the 29th of this month. My I94 expires in July.
I had enough tensions/surprises in life and a new one hits me today.
Queen's has invited me for a personal interview to Kingston.
They would provide me 600USD to attend a personal interview.This is so good!!
I would have got a chance to see a new place, a new country, but bcoz of visa thingy,will have to say NO..

Let us see if they agree for a telephonic interview.
But baby, am impressed with myself..With a low GMAT score, Iam able to pull some interview calls.Had I got a 700+ at GMAT, I should have thought about Kellys and Whartons. He he he.!

How do I feel?
Take me to ISB..before I belong to some other place.!



Hi XXXX,

We have completed our initial assessment of your application and are very impressed with your candidacy. We would be delighted if you would join us in Kingston for a personal interview.

We would be pleased to provide you with $600USD towards your expenses to travel to Kingston. Additionally, we will provide overnight accommodation so you can be a student-for-a-day here at Queen's MBA.

Your day at Queen's will include a program orientation, a classroom session, lunch with your student host, a tour of our award-winning facility, and your admission interview. ..............



We look forward to hosting you at Queen's!

Thank you,

XXXXXXXXX
Program Assistant
Queen's MBA for Science & Technology
Queen's School of Business

He has moved

Hez moving from Belgium to India.
Hez moving from work to school.
Hez moved from Ebloggy to Blogsome.

MBA Dreamer had been having trouble with his "ebloggy" for some days now.
He has an ISB admit and ppl would definitely be interested in reading
his blog.

So, here is the his new blog..
Check it out. The look is cool.:)


BTW, am addicted to blogging. Got up at 5am today and decided to put in my thoughts.

A Town, a Team, and a Dream -Friday Night Lights




If you loved watching Hoosiers and Remember the Titans, go watch it !

"It took me a long time to realize that there ain't much difference between winning and losing...Except for how the outside world treats you."


"Being perfect does not mean winning every play or making no mistakes.
Being perfect means to go back onto the field knowing that you did everything you could have done, with clear eyes, love in your heart, joy in your heart"

I got a new laptop at office today.I told my manager that since I was returning to India, I didn't need it.He agreed.
The news spread and by afternoon,almost everyone in team was aware that Iam leaving the place in month's time. :) . Look how fast the news spreads.

Our client manager was taken by surprise when he was informed about my plans. He came down to my desk and told me that I was making a good decision. I felt good.
He also sent an email Cc ing all my managers in the organization.

This is what he said

"....I hope to work with you again . You've always got a can-do attitude and have
always very upbeat and positive. All-in-all you're simply likeable and great to
be around......"

I got an empty feeling after reading that message.In a couple of months time, I will be away from this place and will miss all the action.

ISB felt that I couldn't add diversity to their class...or thought I wasn't good for them. But if you listen to me, I would say that they didn't do the right thing by not picking me up. :)

They don't know what they are missing. ;)

Am in the WL status ..and if we use common sense, I don't think I'll be able to make it to the final list.

I will apply again to ISB...5 yrs from now. My application then will be so strong then that the adcom wouldn't even think twice before saying a NO or keeping me on hold.This is a promise Iam making to myself.

So, for the time being,ISB's loss is CMU's gain.
Unless and otherwise, a miracle happens.

Yours sincerely,
Indian Blogger

I submitted my papers this tuesday at office stating that I would join CMU.I'll be returning to India and will work on getting a student visa.

From today for some time,I'll stop blogging.Partly because my hopes of making it to ISB are over and partly because I have nothing new to say.

So, don't bother checking my blog.
All the best for your application process.

And regarding giving another shot at GMAT, I don't know.

Blog


A new Blog from a potential ISB student.
All the best bro.!

Waitlisted.?

Now,what exactly do I conclude from this.
That the adcom found guyz better than me or the adcom expects to find guyz better than me in the second round.

Makes me feel like those Indian cricketers who are named in the 14 member squad for a series but never get a chance to play and then finally get dropped.!

Had this been the second round, the wait would have been ok.
But now...itz a 2 months wait.A painful wait.

There are a few who have told me that itz almost over.
"Get practical and carry on with life". But nah, yeh dil hai ki manta nahin.Hope Floats !

I will do whatever I can to improve my chances.
I don't think there'll be any who will prefer other institutes over ISB.Atleast not in the R1 folks. And I can't expect ISB to increase its intake.

So what do I do? Try my best, make the correct moves and hope that the 'Waitlisted' stautus disappears.

The 'Waitlist' tags does not help. I feel I have been dinged !
Anyway, herez a quote to make one feel better if has been Wailtisted!

God answers prayers in 3 ways...
He says YES and gives u what u want....
He says NO and gives u somethin better....
He says WAIT and gives u the best...!!

Spidey Boy!

Rohit got an admit and I could hear the happiness.Congratulations!
While talking to him, he revealed something that surprised me.


Am sure a lot of you must have downloaded Spidey's GMAT notes at testmagic.com.
The notes are a kind of bible for anyone who is weak in the verbal section of the GMAT. I have these notes on my desktop of my computer and there have been times while studying from these notes,I have thanked the man who made them.
And today, I got to know that our pal is the Spidey Man. Wow !
I am so happy to hear that.

ISB is honoured to have you with them. All the best Rohit.
Thank You dost for the notes. They are simply AWESOME.

Waitlisted

Dear Mr XXXX,

Our Admissions Committee has completed the review of your application for admission into the ISB and while we are impressed with your accomplishments, we cannot provide you an offer of admission at this moment. However, we are pleased to inform you that you have been placed on our waiting list for the programme starting April 15, 2005......

Ha ha ha! Is somebody playing a joke on me here?
I do not know what to say.This isn't a NO, nor is it a YES.It was a fear.And it has come true.

Damn! Damn ! Damn !
Looks like, the struggle continues for me...!!

I have been waitlisted and the admissions office will be "re-evaluating everything by March 2005."

What does this mean?
Dumb me....it sayz retake your GMAT if you wanna be with the best brains in India...Yes,thatz what it indirectly says.

C'mon pal! Iam sick and tired of this GMAT game.
But wait,if it helps,I'll retake it.

How can I concentrate on my work now? Iam an overseas candidate and even if I get an admit,a mere month to set everything right,and move back to India will be tough....so in a way, this might just be over for me.

My heartiest congratulations to all those who made it to the school and good luck to all those who couldn't.Remember,life does not end here.But for me,life waits here.

All I can say is that I have to still continue running in the race.But this time with R2 folks.

Iam yet to see any more "waitlisted" emails.(OK..Saw one from Gagan,Kaushik now!)
If there is anyone else who got waitlisted like me,send me an offline email....We'll work on a strategy.

You know how stupid it feels to be in this position. It is like standing outside the party and not sure whether I'll get a chance to shake my leg !!

Damn ! Strange situation to be in !
Hey Bhagwaan..I hope ki aapke ghar mein der hain, andher nahin ! :)

Somebody,give me a energy drink. Iam tired. I'll have to fight the battle once again.

Band of Brothers

We did not know one another till we applied to ISB Round 1. A few email exchanges , a couple of telephonic conversations, and we felt that we knew one another since ages. Just read the "Huddle-Up R1 Folks!!" post of Dip on the Yahoo groups and realized that in the last few weeks , the overseas R1 applicants have shared a special relationship among them. We have been become a band of brothers... helping, motivating and encouraging one another.

MBA dreamer helped me by conducting a mock interview for me. He even recorded my conversation and sent the mp3 to me. He reviewed my essays and gave a honest feedback (“They are raw! “ ).Thanks B. I owe you one for this.

I discovered that Kaushik is my cousin's pal. On the day of my interview, he explained me the different telecom terminologies.I felt good every time I spoke to him in Oriya. Made me feel at home.

Rohit and I had our interviews on the same day and talking to him made me feel better.We shared our concerns and nervousness before the interview day. He took the pains to explain me about the case study problems –pencils, tie, mobile users etc.

And Dip, the man was always there. I remember that we both had not received our interview invites and were scared as rat. Once he got the invite, he immediately called me up and told me about it and asked me to find out.He sounds to be as a very affectionate guyz. When he told me in his Bengali-Hindi accent that an hour before his interview, he was playing with his little daughter,it brought in a smile on my face.

And Metal…Yup, the guy from the same organization as mine…The R2 applicant wishing me a day before the interview.All the best dude !

As I continue blogging..I wonder who these guyz are .Do I know them.
To be honest, I have often asked myself the same question in the past few days….
The answer to my questions is that I know them and I don’t know them at all.

I don’t know them because I have not met them. I just have a mental picture of them in my mind. And I know them coz in spite of not meeting them, they have had an impact on my life.

The results will be out on Jan15th. Yes, I called up the admissions office and got it confirmed. It will officially be over in a few hrs from now.

A few of us might make it and a few will have to accept the result as our destiny and return to live our normal life.If the decisions were in my hands, I would want each of us to make it to ISB. But lets face the reality…A few of us will meet each other at ISB and for a few of us these friendly names will just be imaginary characters that will slowly get erased from our memory.

How do I feel when I write all this...Nervous..
You bet..am nervous..I wish I was back home at India now.

I know I have a plan B and joining CMU won’t be a bad option. But, what I want is to return to Hyderabad and study at the Gachibowli campus.

If I sit back and think practically, I feel my chances are low .A competitive IT pool, a low GMAT score- does not put me anywhere…But then if you listen to the emotional me ,I still see some hope.

I know I have worked hard. I have given my best.With whatever skill, resources and time I had, that is the best I could manage.
My friends, relatives have made sacrifices for me. I have gone through different moods..have been rude to them…have neglected them…and they have tolerated and supported me.They pray for my success and If there is anything I could do for them, it would be to make them proud by getting an admit to ISB.

Whatever be the result, am sure that up there God will take the best decision for us. If I don’t make it, yes, I’ll be disappointed. But then I’ll carry on with my life. The world does not end here. In a few days, I’ll forget it and I will go for my plan B.

My blog has had many hits over the last one month. There have been people who have been book-marking my blog and following it every day and a few who found this blog through a google search.

I never wrote keeping an audience in mind. And this post is my also my heart speaking. Am sure a lot of this blog readers will be wondering what would be the fate of this blog.

To be honest, I myself don’t know..If I make it, this blog would continue. It’ll share my happiness and joy. It’ll talk about my story at ISB. It will tell what I did to make it to ISB.

If I don’t make it, I would feel like deleting this blog…I would feel awful…But on second thoughts, no I won’t delete the blog. I’ll leave the blog the way it is. It is a good repository of information and some ISB aspirant might find it useful. It might even end up inspiring a few more ISB wannabe bloggers.I have my own personal blog elsewhere and I would continue to share my feelings there.

So guyz as the clock ticks, let me once again wish you all the best. Let’s huddle up, cross our fingers and hope that destiny and our wish come to a common agreement.

Lets pray for our success and I sincerely hope that the best ones make it to ISB.
And I hope everyone of us here is the BEST.

Good Luck !

I think I made a discovery here.I found an ISB blog maintained by a female blogger.
I was browsing thru some live journal blogs when I noticed this journal...Yes,she is a current ISBian and I don't even know what her real name is ( or I think I know what's her name)

The name under which she blogs -'Kamal'.
And at first glance,you'll think that itz a guy. But then, she is a female blogger. am 100% pucca about it.

It is a personal blog, so I will not provide a permanent link on my blog. But just in case you are curious, do have a look.!

You suckers!

If there are ppl in this country who are good and nice, there are some set of ppl who are bloody suckers and are racists!I have worked on projects where we replaced American employees here and believe me ,the work enviornment is always hostile.Why do they think that we are snatching their jobs.Why do they have to behave with us like this.If things continue this way,someday the worst(beast) in us will emerge and we'll tell them what we are. C'mon, we are just doing a job.


I cannot imagine the plight of the girl who received the call.Damn ! Having fun at other's expense? Check out this article where an abusive call made by two prominent radio jockeys to a call centre in India has outraged listeners and prompted demands for the duo's resignation.

Although the station pulled the segment from their website, one blogger posted the audio file on his own website:

The live call, made during the Philadelphia-based morning show of RJs Star and Bucwild, ended with one of the RJ's repeatedly calling the female call centre employee a 'bitch' and a rat eater' and threatening to choke her.

Star: This call has been outsourced to India?

Steena: That's right.

Star: Well, ma'am, what the eff would you know about an American white girl's - uh, uh - hair, and quick beads?

Steena: Just to inform you, ma'am, we're a national chain services company. And we're just taking calls on the opposite.

Star: Listen, bitch! Don't get slick with the mouth! Don't you get slick with me, bitch!

Steena: Now if you continue to speak this language, I will disconnect the call.

Star: Listen to me, you dirty rat eater. I'll come out there and choke the eff out of you (laughter).

Star: You're a filthy rat eater. I'm calling about my American six-year-old white girl. How dare ou outsource my call? Get off the line, bitch (laughter, applause, end of call).



Another blogger posted the full transcript: http://www.edrants.com/reluctant/001697.html

If no action is taken against these RJs, I will be disappointed.!

Subject of the Email

Rohit told me about this. And when I was browsing through PagalGuy.com, I found the link which talked about this..

So, here is how one would know the result of his interview from the subject line of the email iteslf:(Might not be true for this year)

If the subject of the email from adcom says 'Admission offer', itz time to party.They've offered one an admission. A turning point in ur life.

But if the subject of the email says 'Decision on your application',they aren't offering one an admission. One needs to realize that itz all over and get back to life.

So, hold ur breath and wait for the email.
And just pray that it is the former one.

This suspense has been going on for so much time now that Iam almost exhausted.Am just reminding myself that its just one more week before I'll know where I stand.

All the best folks.

Just read a post on the comments section and wondered how would things be different had I answered a few questions differently.

Have you seen the movie "Butterfly Effect" ? If not, go and watch it.
The film explores the life of a boy, who when he reaches college realizes he can use his journals to go back in the past to specific events and by changing one little detail, can completely change his "present".

A must see for anyone who feels that he messed up his interview! :)

Life is strange.
24 Hrs earlier, I was thinking what I have to say at the interview.
Now, Iam thinking what I could have told at the interview !

The more I think about it, the more stupid I feel.I guess, I shouldn't think about it much.Itz over.

Will just wait for the result.
Good luck friends.

The interview is over.



Just a few days left before I get to know whether I can live up to my name or not.

Here are the minutes of the meeting:

Panel: Mr Menon (The Big Boss,Director -Admission)
Nithya (I think that was the nane...from the admissions office)
Kamal (alum)

Duration: 25 minutes

Called up on time .Asked them if I was clear.Mr Menon said that if at any time he felt I was unclear,he would let me know. :)

Interview Questions:

Mr Menon:
-Tell me something about ur family and tell me something which you want to discuss in the interview
-What rank did you get in the school (12th grade)
-Your grades in school and engineering are both around 75%. Why so less.?
( I explained them that my first year engg score was 60% and final year engg score was 87%...so the score 75% perhaps does not show the picture properly)
-OK..But ur GMAT scores contradict everything you just now said !..ISB average is 690. Why such a low GMAT score.
-Why didn't you retake it again.
(Told them that this was the second time. Had a tough time convincing him ! )

Kamal
-Walk me through your resume.
-What are the challenges you faced at work working at each project.
-How is it different working for an Indian client and an American client
-Tell me a situation where you took a tough decision (I think the example I gave was a bad one!)
-You say that you have handle teams where the members varies in terms of experience and age.How do you handle them.
- If I were to start a telecom company in US and am a low risk taker with limited expertise, what would be the strategy for me. ( Not a good answer from me !)
(Cell phone rang..and Kamal passed it on to the next interviewer)

Nithya
-There is a match between World XI and Asian XI to raise funds for Tsunami. You have mentioned that you have a great interest in quizzing. So, if you were to organize a quiz competetion to raise funds for Tsunami, what would be ur strategy.
- You seem to have a great interest in Mechanical Engg. Your final year engg project is a reflection of that...It is good....Then why did you jump into IT and not go for the manufacturing industry .( I think I messed this one! )

Any questions for us:
-Harvard is known for General Mgmt,Kellog for Marketing,CMU for tech, what would ISB like to be known in the future for?
(Gen Mgmt..ISB brings in the best prof from a lot of schools...etc)
-A question on Exchange program..What is the basis for selection..
-Most of the visiting faculty are of Indian origin (Ravi Aron,Jag Raju).Do I see that ISB intends to make them permanent faculty some day.
-ISB produces the leaders for tommorow. It has one of the best sets of brain in the country. Why doesn't ISB do something for Tsunami-like a disaster recovery program etc..

The interview was over....!

As soon as the interview got over, I did not know what had happened. There were absoultely no questions on post MBA plans..no questions on why ISB ..why MBA..No questions on pencil,tie etc...I was thinking that they would ask me more questions. I was a bit unhappy.

Also, I speak quite fast! So, I felt I could have done better.

I made sure that I talked about my acievements.

But It was quite evident that they (especially Mr Menon) were not happy with my low GMAT score. So,will just wait and watch what the final outcome is.

Bharani,Kaushik,Dip, Rohit,Vivek and others who have helped for the interview -A big thank you .And of course Raja and Vineet, all the best for the palcement season.

All the best to others and the R2 applicants.

Damn it...Interview tonite..Iam struggling with cold and tonsillitis!

Close call

When the Tsunami waves hit Thailand, Dipak Jain -the Kellog dean was in Phuket.
Here is an interview of him about how he felt when he was caught in Phuket .He also shares his views on how the developed countries in the West can help .

BBC had a piece on how bloggers have helped expedite the relief process for Tsunami.The bloggers have shared a lot of information on the internet on how one can help.
You can listen to the audio transcript here: http://www.theworld.org/content/12293.wma

Folks in US can contribute here.Ram started an online payment for his friends etc and the blogging world found out.And since then,funds have started pouring in.The power of blogging is amazing! It connects so many ppl in such a less time.Itz a ripple effect.


BTW,the ISB interviews also seem to be asking questions on Tsunami.
Like
-What would you do for the Tsunami relief if you were the prime minister of India.
-What have you done for the relief etc.

The overseas interview feedback has started pouring in.
MBA Dreamer had his interview today. Spoke to him in the afternoon.I think he has done pretty well.He is a mature and composed fella.So,am pretty confident that he'll make it.

K has his interview first thing in the morning tomm. All the best.

Spoke to D also today evening.Talked to him about my answers. He is my engg mate and has been extremely helpful in the whole process.

BTW,the questions seem to be getting different now... regular ones why ISB, why MBA are not being asked.The adcom is testing how well can u keep ur cool. They are asking questions like how many pencils,how mnay ties, no of watches etc.

BTW, the strangest part yday was when they asked someone to crack a joke.!
Phew.! A tought thing especially when u are in no mood for it.!

All the best folks.

08th Jan 2005, 10:30 am IST.
The fight to my flight will begin.

All I wanted was a chance.
They can take the same decision ..but they atleast got to listen(interview) to me.

I think the New Year wishes, the help of 'angel' Raja, the best wishes from other ISB aspiratnts did the trick!
Yes, folks ...Yes !!

I had sent an email to adcom to be 100% sure about if I was dinged. The adcom sent me an email today...They agreed to give me a chance.

Perhaps, there might be a chance that I am Made for ISB!
Thanks folks for ur wishes.


Dear Mr. xxx,

You have been short-listed for an interview and you will be receiving an email some time today on the exact schedule.


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