Welcome to Blogger class of 2007

I just saw that my lil' blog has been featured on the MBA league of bloggers (in the same vein as the LEG.. League of extra-ordinary gentlemen, well maybe not so exclusive and definitely not so sexist).

I do hope that all my readers will leave comments. I would especially like to hear from my fellow 2005 applicants: Britchick, MBA2005, Hexley, etc. We can all keep in touch and discuss our application hurdles.

I would like to keep this blog as impersonal as possible (which, btw is not possible at all times). Like many other applicants, I have not made my plans for B-school public. My wife and some close friends are the only ones who know about this. The reason is simple!!... as many people get to know about this..the more pressurized the whole process seems, and then you also have a multitude of opinions. This variety of opinion would effectively weight my own decisions- something I am not prepared for as of now. However, I do intend to take advise from current students or alumni of B-schools.

Hearst Castle


View from Hearst Castle 


Entrance to main Castle... 


Here are a couple of nice pictures from our Hearst Castle trip to San Luis Obispo a few months back. I was really impressed that someone can have so much passion and vision for building his home. Absolutely amazing.

MIT 50k COMPETITION


MIT is where the action is... 

"The MIT $50K's value is in the learning process. Participants learn how to take an idea, build a team around it, formulate a strategic vision, and develop and articulate it in the form of a business plan".The $50K competition brings together MIT students with complementary strengths in management, engineering and science.

This is one of the coolest things about MIT. The 50K competition. This is where it all comes together... Hard Sciences, Engineering and Management principles combine to create the coolest start-up plans and a possible stint at real-time entrepreneurship.

I remember when I first visited Sloan in 2002. The dull building contrasted sharply with its competitor on the other side of the river. The flashy Har-vurd!! But dear blog readers, I am not interested in the flashy side of business. I do not care so much for the Fastows or the Quattrones of this world. I aspire to be like Vinod Khosla, Michael Dell or Jack Welch. Harvard may be a great school, but I do not think that it can touch MIT Sloan when it comes to Entrepreneurship (Engineering related) and Systems thinking.

MBA Strategy.. or why MBA?

This is the first in a series of posts, which I hope to write in order to start strategising about my MBA positioning efforts. This is also going to be helpful to me in the long run.

I am an Engineer by training (and by mindset). I believe in the use of quantitative models to justify decision-making. I believe that a leader needs to have a wide variety of skills using which he/she can influence the team positively. I believe that technology can make life better for the world, however we need to balance the karma by living in harmony with nature. I believe that multi-disciplinary approach to problem-solving produces the most optimal results.

I have worked in a wide variety of settings: Research, Engineering Consulting, Risk Management. However, my true passion is to be involved in Product Development. I do not want to wake up in the morning thinking "Oh, here is another day where I get to mooch-off my clients.." or "Oh No, today I have to make deals with those sons-of-b$$$es to get a percent of the deal!".

I wish to work in a medium to large sized F500 company overseeing the product development of an exciting line of product. Apple, 3M, Boeing, Sony, IBM, Intel.. These are my kind of companies, radical and daring. I do not wish to work for companies making soaps or cereals, sorry!! I wish to be closely involved in the marketing strategy, financial strategy and R&D of a upcoming line of products. My long term goal is to get involved in a small to medium sized company where I will be able to bring my big-company experience to the table.

MBA 2005 ..Move on

I have been out of blogging for a while now. I promise myself to be more regular now. I have two priorities right now which should end by August (One is work related and the other is personal). I will kickstart MBA apps in August (I have my GMAT out of the way). The way I look at it, I need to get couple of things squared away:

1. Talk to manager and a colleague for recommendations. I am still in a dilemma whether I should tell my Manager about my B-school plans. One side of me says that he may support me for good (plus he is a Stanford alumni which is a good deal), a second side says that it may hurt me in case my B-school plans don't go through. The second recommender is from Columbia and a peer, so shouldn't be a problem. I have a couple of back-up recommenders. One was a prior B-school professor who now works in our company...he may be a great person to ask recommendation from (plus he seems to be really friendly guy). The second is a Stanford-Berkeley alum, who may or may not have the time for a recommendation.

2. Get my priorities squared away. I have been thinking of different career choices post MBA, and now I think I am finally developing a vision. I need to be in a school which provides me with (a) Brand value (b) access to entrepreneurship cells and like-minded people, and (c) Strong ties to Engineering and science departments. This basically means that my big 5 would be: MIT, Stanford, Kellogg, Wharton, and No.5. I am tempted to add Harvard as No.5, because one my post-MBA goals is to be VC, and Harvard is the top-name for a VC firm. The other choice for No.5 is either Tuck, Berkeley or Chicago.

3. Application priorities: Round 1: Kellogg, Stanford, Wharton
Round 2: MIT, No. 5

4. Honestly, i have been a little concerned that I may be concentrating only on the top schools. But really, I have a great job right now (maybe not as high paying but very interesting and exciting). I am a little concerned that I may be throwing away everything I have as of now to be thrown into a rat-race (once) again. It has to be, in the end, worth the sacrifice. Five years ago, I would have applied to Schools like CMU, Texas, Indiana and UCLA (great schools btw), but now, at this point, its Top 5. My back up plans still remain in case I dont make it in these schools next year : which is to get a one year MBA.. from IMD or INSEAD.


5. Fine-tune my Extra-curriculars. I am going to be organising a major seminar as part of the Professional organisation, which I am a part of. I am very excited to be a part of this.

6. People to proof-read my essays. I already have one lined up: My brother in law who has an MBA as well as an English degree. He will have to patiently read through my essays. I also need a native speaker to take a look at my essays. I am not sure at this point who that may be.