Happy New Year

Hello all,

Herez wishing you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.May the New Year bring lots of joy and happiness to you and your loved ones.



A common exercise that I do every year as a Blogger is to reflect on the last year and see how things had shaped up.And then state how the year 2005 was for me.


-‘High’ moment of the year.
-Getting admitted to Queen's MBAst program
-Meeting Narayan Murthy face to face
-Meeting my nephew for the first time.





-Your ‘low’ moment of the year
-Something Personal ;)


-Faux pas/greatest regret
-Could not attend K's marriage,in spite of being in India


-Something that got you 'almost famous' and nearly catapulted you into the Hall of Fame.
-Winning the Tata Crucible Regional Final
-My blog getting noticed by members of Queen's university and by a few newspapers who wrote an article on bloggers
-An article that I wrote for rediff.com that got mixed response




-The 3 things you wanted to do the most this year, and did!
-Read more books,magazine
-Get closer to home
-Organize a school reunion.( a start to end project)
-Start a Toastmaster club ( actually helped start two !)


-The 3 things you wanted to do the most this year, and couldn’t/didn’t!
-Loose weight
-Learn french ( stopped the course mid way after falling sick)
-Do Yoga ( Had a accident and had to stop it)


-Number of resolutions you made for 2004. And how many you actually stuck to.
7..I think I stuck to 50% of them..atleast made a honest attempt at everything.


-The list of cities/ places/ countries you visited in 2004.

USA
Denver
Philadephia
Pittsburgh

India
Bangalore
Mumbai
Ahmedabad
Hyderabad
Bhubneshwar


-Your movie of the year award goes to...
-Swades ( Released in 04 but I would have watched it atleast 15 times in 2005 !)
-Batman ( Nice dialogues)
-Iqbal ( Inspiring)

- Books that I liked
World is Flat,The Monk who sold his Ferrari


A friend found
Lots over the internet. :).


A friend made
Bharani,Vijay,Srilakshmi,Anita,Yatish,Vishy,Dola,Salil,Maheep


You will remember 2005 as the year...
-When I grew old yet more confident :)
-Was prone to injuries


The 3 things you really want to do in 2006.
- Do well at Queen's.
- Loose weight
- Do something worthwile that creates an impact.


-A set of words that will be your keywords for 2006 Determined,Motivated, trustworthy,energetic

Year 2005

Time Magazine Person of the Year: Bill,Melinda and Bono



Economic Times Person of the Year: Abhishek Bachan


Indian IT person of the year: Kiran Karnik

Most popular song in India : Aashiq Banaya Aapne ( Perhaps the most downloaded ringone!)

Words of the Year by New Oxford American Dictionary
'Podcast' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4504256.stm)
The term was coined by journalist Ben Hammersley and although originally derived from combining "broadcasting" and "iPod", this definition has become something of a misnomer as podcasts can be listened to on any digital music player.

Other popular words:
Lifehack, which refers to a more efficient way of completing an everyday task.

Rootkit, defined as software installed on a computer by someone other than the owner, intended to conceal other programs or processes, files or system data. The term hit the headlines when Sony was found to have included a rootkit as part of the copy protection system on some of its music CDs.

Other words that gained popularity in 2005 are bid flu, sudoku and trans fat.

Google News - Top Searches in 2005
1. Janet Jackson
2. Hurricane Katrina
3. tsunami
4. xbox 360
5. Brad Pitt
6. Michael Jackson
7. American Idol
8. Britney Spears
9. Angelina Jolie
10. Harry Potter


Google.com - Top Gainers of 2005
1. Myspace
2. Ares
3. Baidu
4. wikipedia
5. orkut
6. iTunes
7. Sky News
8. World of Warcraft
9. Green Day
10. Leonardo da Vinci

Top Brand in 2005 :
Apple's iPod is the leading US brand along with Google, eBay, Amazon.com and Yahoo


Year 2005 In Pictures
Yahoo-Year 2005 in Review -
NBC-Year 2005 in review
CTV-2005 in review

Sports 2005
2005- Sports in review

Technology
Technology - 2005 in review
Top 10 Tech Events

Google
Google Top Searches in 2005
Google in 2005- Sets the Pace

Books
Books in 2005


India -Biz
Biz 2005 in review

2005 - The Year that was for Business India


1. 2005 saw a continuation of the roaring bull market which began around March 2003.

2. 2005 also marked the coming of age of corporate India in terms of gaining confidence and moving overseas. The number, breadth and size of overseas acquisitions were unprecedented. The Tata group alone did deals (overseas acquisitions) of over a billion dollars in 2005.

3. 2005 also saw the beginning of big-ticket FDI flows into the country. The $1.5 billion purchase of a 10 per cent stake in Bharati by Vodafone comes to mind straightaway as does Merrill buying a 50 per cent stake in DSP for $500 million. Indian assets have never been more valuable or in demand. The year also saw the announcement by POSCO of a $13 billion commitment on building a steel plant in Orissa (India's largest FDI commitment till date)

4. 2005 saw corporate India having unprecedented access to capital. Any decent company had a choice of private equity, FCCBs, domestic IPOs, or could go for an ADR/GDR.

5. Private equity came of age in 2005, with the best names in the business either setting up operation (Blackstone, Carlyle) or snooping around for deals from overseas (KKR, Apax, etc). While no major deals were completed in 2005, highlighting the competition to put money to work, the days of buyouts are not far away.

6. Reforms in 2005 hit a roadblock as far as movement in critical areas of power, PSU divestment, and labour laws was concerned, but the markets did not really seem to care. Such was the love story with India that most investors refused to even contemplate what could puncture their long-term growth expectations.

7. 2005 marked the third year in a row of GDP growth over 7 per cent, and even the most die-hard cynics began to wonder whether India had hit an inflection point. Could 7 per cent GDP growth be the new base

8. For the first time in 2005 we actually had significant movements of the rupee in both directions, with many a corporate caught out as the initial expectations of a strengthening rupee reversed towards the year end. Companies can no longer take the rupee for granted in terms of pace and direction of movement.

Complete article can be read here:

India's Tech Rise
By Michael Kanellos

http://news.com.com/Indias+renaissance+An+oral+history/2009-1041_3-5757756.html?tag=nl

1946-1950: The Indian Institute of Technology founded. With seven campuses, which admit 3,500 out of 150,000 applicants each year, it has become the intellectual core of the country's industry. Its professors sit on advisory boards, while alumni are behind successes such as Infosys. The five-year program is "grueling," said Ravi Pradhan, Via Technologies' manager for India.

1968: The Tata industrial conglomerate forms software services unit Tata Consultancy Services. "We had six employees," said Nagaraj Ijari, the delivery center head at TCS' Bangalore offices. "Now we have 40,000."

Mid-1970s: IBM exits India. Import duties of 150 percent or more mean that VCRs cost $3,000 and TVs cost $6,000. Wipro starts to create India's first homegrown PC.

1985: Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi makes speech imploring the country to move into tech. A transcript of the speech is passed out on paper to the audience, thanks to speech-to-text computing.

1986: General Electric expands engineering presence and its Six Sigma methodologies here. Ex-GE employees become key leaders in several companies. "They became like Fairchild" asserts Vinod Dham, co-founder of NewPath Ventures.

1991: National financial crisis causes government to introduce major reforms. Finance Minister Manmohan Singh (now prime minister) emerges as hero.

1993: A group of IT leaders determines plan for IT industry. Professor Deepak Phatak predicts India's IT output will hit $100 billion by 2010. "Everyone thought that sounded crazy, so we changed it to $50 billion by 2008," he said. The latter figure is on track.

1995: TCS determines that its CasePac tool developed for IBM can be used to scan software for Y2K problems. An industry is born.

1999: Y2K contracts pile into India. "The biggest boost of all was Y2K. In some ways, the U.S. created this monster," said Ash Lilani, head of sales and marketing at Silicon Valley Bank.

2002: Indian companies expand hiring to handle incoming work resulting from massive layoffs after the dot-com bubble burst and the U.S. tech industry fell into a recession. "We had a little bit of breathing space," said Sanjay Nayak, CEO of Tejas Networks.

2003: Led by service conglomerates such as Wipro and Infosys, India becomes a primary destination for offshore outsourcing as foreign companies seek to lower

2004: Singh becomes Prime Minister. High tech is fairly ingrained in daily life for many in cities.

ATMs become more widely used, for example.
"Ten years ago, you had to stand in line for money at the bank," said Srinath Batni, a board member at Infosys. "It was what people did on the weekend."

2005: Entrepreneur Rajesh Jain begins to promote thin clients costing $100 to $150 as computers for the mass population. "It's not that we need just cheaper solutions. We need the newest technology, but at fundamentally lower price points," Jain has said.

The Top 10 IT New Stories of 2005
http://www.cio.com/blog_view.html?CID=16191
DEC 29, 2005 10:19:06 AM


Midway through the decade, new pricing and business models championed by relative upstarts such as Google and Salesforce.com are forcing established players to reinvent themselves. Meanwhile, old-line companies that have failed to meet the challenges of the new millennium are cleaning house, sometimes starting with the chief executive. Here, not necessarily in order of importance, are the IDG News Service’s pick of the top stories of the year, significant in themselves but often indicating larger IT trends.

Oracle buys Siebel: M&A market stays hot
It’s official: The high-end, enterprise business applications market is now a two-horse race between Oracle and SAP AG. After Oracle closed its bitterly contested US$10.3 billion acquisition of PeopleSoft in January, it turned its sights on Siebel Systems, announcing in September that it would scoop up the embattled CRM (customer resource management) maker for $5.85 billion. Like PeopleSoft, Siebel had been on the vanguard of corporate uptake of ERP (enterprise resource planning) and CRM, but suffered as rivals entered the market. The Oracle acquisitions were part of a trend as mergers and acquisitions stayed hot throughout the year in other areas of IT and communications. Witness the SBC Communications Inc. purchase of AT&T; the Cisco Systems acquisition of set-top box maker Scientific-Atlanta; and eBay’s move to buy Internet phone service provider Skype Technologies SA. The continued, relatively low cost of borrowing money has helped fuel M&A in industry sectors that are maturing, as well as hotly contested new areas such as Internet communications.

The bet that failed: HP fires Fiorina
The Hewlett-Packard (HP) board’s ousting of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Carly Fiorina in February was a stunning acknowledgment that the company’s approach over the last few years, marked by the Compaq merger, did not work. Fiorina pushed through the acquisition of Compaq over objections to sinking money into a low-margin business like PCs. Fiorina’s bet was that HP could boost its flagging sales of higher-margin servers and services by selling complete packages of hardware to business customers. But three years after the Compaq purchase, HP’s financials are still faltering. Fiorina’s replacement, the low-key former NCR President and CEO Mark Hurd, has not overhauled HP yet, but has cut 15,000 jobs.

Sony dumps Idei, elevates Stringer
In a defining moment for the company, Sony in March dumped Nobuyuki Idei and named Howard Stringer as chairman and group CEO. The appointment will mark the first time that a foreigner has taken the helm at Sony, which last year saw 70 percent of its sales come from outside of Japan. The move is an acknowledgment that the company has bungled the transition from analog to digital devices. In an age where most companies rely on the same components to build products, Sony has had a tough time justifying to consumers the price premium that its products typically carry. Stringer, who was chairman and CEO of Sony of America, is expected to bring a new agility to the electronics giant.

Google, supernova
Google, whose IPO (initial public offering) was a big story in 2004, made history this year when its share price in June ascended to the point where the company became the most highly valued media company in the world, beating Time Warner Inc. In the months that followed the company’s valuation turned incandescent as its secondary offering of common stock netted more than $4 billion, and its share price rose past the $400 mark, more than $350 more than rivals such as Yahoo and Microsoft. The share price premium is a reward for having the most popular search technology on the market and figuring out how to monetize that through ads. The company made some missteps, including security flaws in new services and a lack of preparation for demand that temporarily shut down new services. But as rivals bolster online services, the main question is whether Google will succeed in other forms of online advertising or in different businesses, such as enterprise search, where it is a relatively new player.

Web 2.0: Software as a service is real
As the dot-com bust recedes into history, the Internet has emerged as a real platform for delivery of software and services, accompanied by new pricing and business models. This is the Web 2.0 world. Google is at the forefront of the new Internet business model: free services to users, paid for by advertisers. On the enterprise side, the concept of pay-as-you-go pricing, per user, for software delivered over the Web has taken root. Salesforce.com Inc. was an early example, but IT heavyweights such as IBM and Sun Microsystems are now touting on-demand, dynamic services ranging from business software to "utility" computing cycles from grid-based computers. Microsoft latched on to the concept with its "Live" launch in November, trumpeting upcoming Web-based versions of Windows and Office. Industry insiders cracked that Web 2.0 is a real trend now that "vapor services" are being announced.

The play for the digital home: Microsoft launches Xbox 360
An industry milestone was reached in November, when the most closely watched product launch of the year from the biggest software maker in the world was not an office productivity application, or even another "vapor announcement," but something much more tangible: the Xbox 360 game console. There’s no doubt among players that the Xbox 360 is a quantum leap over the graphics capability of both the older console and also Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.’s PlayStation 2. So be prepared for the next level of competition, when Sony launches PlayStation 3 in 2006. It’s not just about gaming though: Xbox 360 is also seen to be Microsoft’s foothold into the digital home -- a sort of digital entertainment hub for music, online entertainment and video. For example, users can download all kinds of nongame content from Xbox Live Marketplace.

The giant challenged: AMD sues Intel
Advanced Micro Devices’ (AMD’s) June filing of an antitrust lawsuit against Intel, alleging that Intel has abused its dominant position by tying rebates on processor purchases to quotas on AMD chips, is just one aspect of its increasingly successful challenge of the chip leader. The suit has been accompanied by a feisty public relations campaign against Intel. But more importantly, AMD appears to have won the first round of the dual-core chips battle, since its processors appear to offer the best performance. AMD seems to be gaining ground in the retail market as well, pulling alongside Intel in U.S. sales.

The hits just keep on coming: iPod keeps Apple in business
After ushering in the personal computer era in the 1970s with the Apple II, and reinventing the PC in the 1980s with the Macintosh, Apple’s strategy of offering completely proprietary, premium-priced systems seemed to be forcing the company into a dead end. But incredibly, the 2001 launch of the iPod -- in effect part of a turnkey music system complete with online store and proprietary copy controls -- is still lifting company fortunes. Stoking user interest with the launch of the iPod nano in September, Apple’s fiscal 2005 fourth-quarter profit was the best operating quarter in company history. The iPod’s "halo effect" has also helped the Mac from becoming history: on the Mac side, Apple shipped 1.23 million units in its fourth quarter, the second highest quarterly shipment total in the company’s history.

PR nightmare of the year: Sony’s rootkit fiasco
In the beginning of November, Sony BMG Music Entertainment CDs started getting hit with reports that its CD copy protection software used "rootkit" code techniques normally used only by spyware and computer viruses. The company then lurched from one miscue to another, as it tried to mollify enraged users and answer criticism. In one misstep, a patch issued to make the XCP software visible to system tools and antivirus products was discovered to have the potential to crash Windows systems. Beyond giving Sony a black eye, the issue called into question, once again, the role of copy protection in a world where digital products are distributed, and openly but often illegally traded, over the public Internet.

AOL in play: a sign for Time Warner, and the times
After reports that Time Warner had been in intense negotiations for most of the year over the future of its America Online (AOL) unit, an official announcement came down during the week before Christmas: Google will take a $1 billion, 5 percent stake in AOL. The deal serves as a coda for the dot-com era and a bridge into 2006. Initially, talks reportedly included the possibility of an outright sale of AOL, which completed its merger with Time Warner in 2001. Since then, AOL has been viewed as an albatross around financially beleaguered Time Warner’s neck, as Google, MSN and Yahoo have beefed up online search and services. Time Warner reportedly also considered deals with Microsoft and Yahoo. Ultimately, the company decided to expand a years-long technology and advertising partnership with Google. The wheeling and dealing have served to clarify one thing: midway through the decade, the online sector is divided into two camps -- those that are successfully monetizing search and services delivered over the Internet, and those that are not.


--Marc Ferranti, IDG News Service

The MBAst Portal for the Class of 2007


Yippee!! I got my email and login details for the Queen's MBAst Web-Portal.
I even sent an email from my Queen’s id to my personal id to test if things were working fine. :)

Over the past few days, I received a lot of Christmas wishes, New Year greetings emails. Amid all those emails, there was one from the Queen’s Helpdesk.For the past couple of days,I have been exploring the website and looking at the features the portal provides. And I am very happy with the stuff that has been offered.

A few things I can do even before starting the program are log-in, check email and look for housing using the portal. An interesting feature is that the MBAst portal has been customized for the Class of 2007, and will serve as a virtual home for the duration of the MBA program.

So, whatz in store there.? Here is the list
-Administrative Announcements
-Quick Links ( Campus Book store,Registrar's office) etc
-An interesting Student Roster where one can introduce self to other classmates
-A "Water Cooler" - A class discussion board!
-Clubs, events, class council..all Extracurrricular activites
-Options to personalize your page ( RSS Feeds from CNN,CBS etc)
-Weather at Kingston…

The most interesting part is the Career section.
There is the Business Care center (BCC)that keeps one updated about the job postings and info on campus recruitment. Then, there is a 'Networking' section that talks about foreign jobs, MBA direct etc. The third section comprises of resources with Interview FAQs, Guides to recruitments, Professional designations and the BCC career Presentations. The website also provides access to Knightsbridge,VAULT , Business week and Wall Street Journal

Phew !!
With so much stuff available to me, I already get a feeling of how busy my new life would be after a few months.I guess, it would be a transition from 'Fight to my flight' to 'Life in the Fast Lane'!

Queen's University Pictures

Ashok, admitted to the class of 2007 had been to Kingston on December 19,2005.Here are a few pics of the Queen's university that he captured.

The temperature at Kingston today is around 2 Degree celcius...I am already feeling cold.:)




Lobby


Lecture Hall


Queen's University


Library


Goodes Hall


Information Center


Kingston Via Rail


John Duetsch Univ Center

Pratibimb - Mission Accomplished !



Pratibimb 2005-The school reunion finally happened ! Our first Reunion was a huge success.There were hugs, there was laughter... and tears too.



Fun and gaiety marked Pratibimb 2005, the first Reunion of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Picket (Secunderabad) Alumni Association held on 24th December 2005 at the school premises. The event was made memorable by the fact it was the first reunion organised since the inception of the school 41 years ago.

Nostalgia was the overarching emotion of the day and bear hugs and laughter was the most common sight. The event was well attended with the presence of more than 150 former students right from the 1968 batch to the recent pass-outs from the 2005 batch. The presence of former principals like Mr.K.P.Mehta, Mr.B.M.Dutta and Mr.Satyanarayana and other senior teachers made the event worthwhile for all those who participated.

Release of pigeons and 42 balloons signalled the inauguration of the event. The introductory remarks were given by Mr.V.Bhaskar, IAS, President of the KV Picket Alumni Association. He mentioned a previous attempt made by the Picket alumni to establish an alumni association in 1980 and wished this second venture success. The highlight of the Reunion was former principals, teachers and alumni recounting anecdotes from their days spent at KV Picket. Senior teachers, some of them with choked voices, recalled their association with the school and the successive batches they taught.

Quite interestingly it was the 1976 batch, which had maximum representation at the meet. There was a dinner at the Gun Rock Gardens where we saw the Alums of all shapes,sizes and age dancing to the foot tapping music of the DJ.

As I write this blog...I just can't forget that evening. The more I think about it ..the more I reflect on the past, the evening of 24th December looks even more memorable.!

There were some moments of Pratibimb 2005 that I'll cherish for life. I'd like to call them the 'Magic moments' . So, here goes my list of the 15 best MAGIC Moments of PRATIBIMB 2005.


15. Ex Picketians, lining up like little kids for the group photograph as per Biswajit’s instructions !
(Boy, I looked like a person who was in total control ;) )


14. The balloons and pigeon release by the alums and teachers!



13. The batch of 1996 -that made sure they wore the Picket T-Shirts as soon as they received it at the registration desk.

12.The sixteen year old son of Mr Kumar Krishanmoorthy (1968 batch),who came all the way from Canada , just to find out where his father did his schooling.

11.Harini's rendition of Nigahen Milane Ko Jee Chahta Ha.
( Am sure you folks must have noticed the eyebrow movements!)


10. Salil Bhai (the School Captain -1993), drinking spirit along with the juniors and that too without the team PRATIBIMB!...Now, where was the team spirit?

9. The relaxed Maheep, after the day event, shaking his leg at the dance floor.
(The Urban Planner is definitely a better dancer than Sunny Deol !)

8. A Picketian (Ajay?), dressed as Santa Claus, distributing chocolates to the little kids.

7. The Loud (or drunk ?) Amaranth (XII-96) speaking, shouting on the stage…and thus ensuring that everyone was on the dance floor!

6. The bubbly yet mature Neha Saxena (XII-01)making the same statement she made 5 years ago at the stage 'Madame Baljeet Kaur is my idol'.

5.The ladies from the 1976 batch (Kulwant,Suchitra etc) dancing with the batch of 2000s to the tunes of 'Dus Bahane' !!

4.Mr. Mahesh Murthy talking about the 3 lessons that he learnt at Picket.

3.The youthfulness of the batch of 1976
(The whistles and noise made by the batch of 1976 was a sight that brought a smile to everybody’s face .As someone from the 1976 batch said “If the 60s were the batch of intellectuals, the 70s were the batch that had the most notorious folks"

2.Mr R.A Krishna (1968 batch) and Deepa (2001) sitting at the registration counter and ensuring that the Picketians spot registrations are done smoothly.



1.Tears of joy rolling out of Ms Baljeet Kaur’s cheeks when she addressed the alumni association gathering.!

Great mood. Great feeling. Great day.KV Picket, we are proud to be a part of you.!
As Rumana(XII-1993) said "You can take a Picketian out of Picket, but never take Picket out of a Picketian""

I got a chance to interview Mr Narayan Murthy a couple of days back. Details later as I am travelling for my high school union (www.kvpalumni.net)

World's most admired CEOs

A global study, conducted by Burson-Marsteller with the Economist Intelligence Unit, on Wednesday has named the World's most admired CEOs.

The online study, conducted in 65 countries between May and July 2005, was completed by 685 business influentials -- CEOs, senior executives, financial analysts, business media and government officials.

Read the article here



Infosys chairman and chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy and Mittal Steel chairman Lakshmi Mittal are present in the list.

Sachin Tendulkar- The GOD !




My dear Sachin,

Congratulations!! I join the entire nation in congratulating you, the GOD of Indian cricket, for your 35th Test Century .You surpassed our very own Sunil Gavaskar’s record to register the most number of centuries in Test cricket and we are proud that it is an Indian and especially you. who broke the record.

I am very happy and excited today.As I celebrate your success, I am reminded of the year 1989.I was 10 yrs old then and had been to a birthday party. An Indo-Pak match was going on. The bade bhaiyas (elder brothers), the uncles were watching a match with great interest .I too joined them. They were talking about the increasing run rate. And just then, I saw you, a young boy who was a few years elder to me take charge. The treatment you gave that day to the leg spinner Abdul Qadir, who was hit for four sixes in an over that went for 27 runs was simply magical.
Today, when I think about it, I don't remember the details of the birthday party. But I very much remember the way you played .‘The Sachin Tendulkar phenomenon’ had just started gripping the nation then.

Sachin, you have always fascinated the nation. From the maid at home to the autowallahs who dropped me to school, from my little younger sister to my grand mother you just seem to be in everyone’s mind.

People seem to love you for a variety of reason. Budding cricketers worship you for your batting technique; the celebrities admire you for your modesty. The corporate world notices your honesty and the others just love you for what you are.

There was Azharuddin, the wristy player. There is Dravid, the wall. There is Saurav, the determined champ and then there is Veeru, the master blaster. But you still remain the favorite. When you scored a century today, you once again proved what we have always believed in – If Cricket is a religion in India, Sachin is the GOD.

Sachin, your poor scores in a game or two don’t affect us much. Most of us admire you now for Sachin, the person. The kind of status you enjoy in India, you can do anything. A buddy of yours also enjoyed the same status but then he fell into the ‘maya jaal’ and ruined his career. Taking control of one's life is a tough thing and you always seem to handle everything with great ease.

The whole of India applauded your effort when during the 1999 world cup, in spite of losing your father, you scored a century and paid a fitting tribute to your father.

The media is known for making a man hero overnight and ridiculing him the next day. They talked about your BMW car issue. They talked about your injuries. They questioned your cricketing future. You never spoke a word. You have always let your performance do the talking.

Sachin, we believe you have at least 4-5 yrs of cricketing career left in you. I am sure with this performance; the expectations have gone up again. After scoring a century today, you told your team mates that you want India to win the World Cup this time. We pray that this happens.

A hope for millions of us, Sachin, you are a symbol of trust, faith, discipline and determination. You are a God and we worship you.

On this historic day, we congratulate you!!
You are not just the best…..You are the bestest!!

Queen's interview

N has already been admitted to the Manchester Business School.She has her ISB interview this monday.And this wednesday morning, she gave her Queen's MBA interview.
As expected, she did well.!

The interview was with Mr.Ben Whitney,Assistant Director and went for 40 minutes.
For the benefit of Queen's aspirants, she has allowed me to publish the questions of her interview.

Thanks N.May you get admitted to all the schools that you have applied to and then take the best decision! :)

Interview Date: Dec 7th,2005
Interviewer : Mr.Ben Whitney,Assistant Director

a. What did I learn in my transition from a team member to a team lead.
b. Am I leading a team and if so, how many people.
c. Do I have any people in my team where I lead who was previously my Co-worker.
(We deviated a bit here and he talked abt how its difficult if there was a case like that)
d. What did I learn in my 3 years of US experience with my client.
e. Do I have good exposure to cross-cultural skills.
f. How did I get a appreciation from my CIO.
( I had obtained a hand written appreciation letter from my client CIO)
g. He mentioned that almost all my recommenders had said that I am the best team player in my team and he was happy about that and appreciated that.But he wanted to know if my recommenders unanimous feedback to improve my Planning and priortisation skills was a fair assessment.
h. Why did I chose Queens MBA to apply.
i. What are the other schools that I am applying for.
(He was very happy to know about ISB and said that their dean was there in Hyd for some ISB-related work.)
j. He asked my interests in Movies and what kind of movies...
k. Appreciated my physical activities and talked abt their new initiative - Fitness to lead.

This portion lasted about 20 to 25 minutes...

And then my session started...
a. I asked abt Women's initiatives...
(He was glad that I asked that as he himself was abt to talk to me abt that. And
he explained abt some initiatives.)
b. How does the transition from IT to finance happes...
c. I asked about Supply Chain Management(SCM) initiatives and he was okay with students starting clubs to get guest speakers and stuff like that.
d. Research in Queens post MBA and he was willing to put me in touch with some ph.d students.
e. How are the placements scenario for a highly ranked school.
f. How it is for Global students when it comes to working in Canada.
g. Schalorships details...and what happens next

The results would be out soon and we wish her all the best. !

3 tips more important than MBA

Read this piece at rediff.com. Good one !



Avnish Bajaj is Chairman, eBay India. He graduated from Harvard Business School in 1998.


December 06, 2005

I loved my MBA! It brought about a 180-degree shift in my business thinking. It gave me a strategic and leadership toolkit that has proved to be universally and globally applicable.

It inducted me into a potent network of influential and yet helpful alumni -- a list that literally starts to read like the Who's-Who of global business a couple of decades after graduation. And it made me think big.

Yet, as I have gone through post-MBA life, including bulge bracket investment banking and then the high-risk bet of an entrepreneurial venture in the form of Baazee, I have come to realise that there are certain lessons I have learnt through experience, which have come in more handy than the MBA courses.

I call it Life's Balanced Scorecard and would like to share some that have helped me particularly.

1. The realisation that leaders do the right things while managers do things right: The job of a leader is to set the vision, values and strategy; to identify and prioritise the main growth levers for the business; to put the right people in charge of those levers; and to set up systems and processes to measure, monitor and continuously improve against the goals.

A leader should not get too buried in day-to-day nitty-gritty and lose the forest for the trees. The ability to put the right team on the correctly prioritised goals and letting the team run with it distinguishes the more successful leaders.

2. One decision does not make or break your life, career or company: Most decisions are reversible with relatively low costs -- recognising this upfront can save agonising over every seemingly critical decisions at various junctures.

People are motivated far more by recognition, responsibility and a sense of belonging than by money. Even the most junior people can do wonders in the right environment, with the right encouragement and with some basic direction.

3. Staying hungry (metaphorically speaking) is key: It whets the appetite for doing big things in the future.

Taking the time to continue to learn about as many fields as possible, is the brain's fertiliser and helps it bloom with great new ideas and positive energy to guide a great future.

Telephonic Interview Tips

N has her Queen's telephonic interview this Wednesday.
A confident girl with a good profile, she has strong chances of making it.
All the best N.! Do well!

Here are some telephonic interview tips for folks:

-Treat the phone interview as you would a face-to-face interview.

-Select a quiet, private room with a telephone in good working condition.

-Conduct a mock telephone interview with a friend to gain feedback on your voice quality and speech.

-Before the interview, prepare talking points for the call including value you bring to the school and questions that you will ask.

-Arrange the following items: your resume, cover letter, copy of application, highlights of school information and brief talking points.

-Breathe deeply and relax. Speak slowly, clearly and with purpose.

-Smile, it changes your speech and the person on the other end can sense it.

-Write down the full names and titles of each call participant.(if possible)

-Take notes when appropriate.

-Be courteous and try not to speak over the interviewer.

-Support your statements with detailed examples of accomplishments when possible. It is easy for someone to get distracted on a phone call, so paint a vivid picture to keep the interviewer interested.

-If required take any pauses in your speech to ponder a question or take notes.

-If you think of a question or comment while the interviewer is speaking, jot a note on your talking points list, so you remember it later.

-During the interview, if the interviewer inadvertently answers a question from your prepared list, cross it off. If you forget and ask it, it will seem as if you were not listening.

-Offer to provide additional information or answer other questions.

-Use your talking points list of specific skills and accomplishments; cross them off as you work them into the conversation. At the end, if you have some uncrossed items, you might say something like, "I thought you might be interested to know I led a major conversion project, quite similar to what you are planning. I managed a $2.5 million budget and completed it 45 days early, saving over $48,000."

-Before ending the call, be sure you know the next step in the process, and offer to provide any additional information needed.

-Do not hang up until the interviewer has hung up.

Queen’s students make record donation to university



(Historic Grant Hall was built with student-raised funds)


Queen's University undergraduate students officially agreed December 1 to donate $25.5 million to their institution, believed to be the largest-ever single philanthropic donation by Canadian post-secondary students.
At a special gathering on campus this morning, Ethan Rabidoux, President of the Alma Mater Society, signed an agreement with the university to donate $25.5 million to be collected from students over a 15-year-period.
The donation is being made to the Queen's Centre, a unique $230-million facility for student life, athletics, academics and recreation, as well as a new home for the School of Physical and Health Education. It is to be built in phases over the next 10 years and is the largest construction project ever undertaken by the university.
"We're very grateful to have this level of enthusiastic support from our students," said George Hood, Vice-Principal (Advancement). "It speaks to their long-term commitment to their university, that they are thinking about the students who come after them. Everyone has heard of the famous Queen's spirit and this is that spirit in action."
"Our students are investing in the future of their institution and in their colleagues-to-be," said Janice Deakin, acting Associate Vice-Principal and Dean of Student Affairs and Director of the School of Physical Health and Education. "They should be applauded for their forward thinking commitment to a quality learning environment."
Earlier this year, students voted 71 per cent in support of an annual fee per student that would raise the $25.5 million over a 15-year period. For the first five years, each student will contribute $71 per year. That amount will rise for the remaining 10 years, with each student contributing $141 per year.
In addition to the $25.5-million student contribution, the $230 million includes about $130 million to be raised through private contributions and $62 million in debt financing.
The oldest student association in Canada, the Alma Mater Society has been the central student organization at Queen's since its founding in 1858. It is the governing body for undergraduate students.
This latest gift is in keeping with a long-standing tradition of capital projects being built on student efforts and student dollars. This includes Grant Hall, one of the campus' most historic buildings


You can read the link here

Business World Article on Queen's



A few folks have emailed me.They want the BusinessWorld article on Queen's.
"Team spirit isn't just a management term at the Queen's School of Business. It's the life force of this School"

I have uploaded the scanned version of the article here.The article on Queen's was published in Business World Mega B school guide.

If you have problems with downloading, send me an email at indianblogger@gmail.com
and I'll send you the stuff.Happy reading and all the best for Queen's.!

I have not blogged for a long time.A few things have kept me busy.

My High School is conducting its First Alumni Reunion on Dec 24th 2005. We have been maintianing a blog and have been getting some good publicity for it.As the General Secy of the Alumni association, I have been busy contacting folks from different batches.We have a few popular personalities too who are coming for the event.We launched our own Alumni Website recently.It is really cool,it has features where folks from different batches can interact among themselves.

Besides that Rediff.com carried out my article in the guest column section.There has been a mixed responses and itz interesting to get different views.:)

I have also been busy organizing some cultural events in the office. Work pressure has also increased.My elder sister undergoes a minor surgery tommorow. I wish her all the best.

This weekend, I should get some free time and resume to my normal blogging.!
BTW, some juniors from my engg college have designed a Racing Car. Here is the article. Great stuff !

PS:Here is a counter view on my Rediff article.Good stuff!