Monthly Archives: March 2015

Grades aren’t everything in a B-School

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ibs bannerI want you to recall the penultimate interview scene of the film ‘3 Idiots’? Remember how incredibly the protagonist cracks the interview with his fearless attitude & soul-stirring honesty despite his consistently declining grades. Branding it as suspension of disbelief in the name of cinematic liberty might be an obvious old-school standpoint. For others like me and hopefully you, there is a more rational alternative reasoning to it. Mull it over or read further!

Ask any old-hand MBA about the importance of grades. He’ll most likely advise that once you are out in the real world, its not so much as your GPA that counts as your white-collar disposition and business acumen. I am not trying to suggest that you should skip classes or that your degree is vain. In fact, I advise you do the exact opposite. Confused? Let me paraphrase.

A typical MBA curriculum comprises presentations, assignments, quizzes, tests etc. And all these fetch you grades. But there are other more important things like industry clubs, student associations, networking etc. They don’t directly contribute to grades but will surely enhance your people-skills, which are undoubtedly vital post-MBA.

A professor once told me that a B-School education is as much about what happens outside the classroom as inside it. You have to manage the trade-off between these inside and outside activities. Inevitably, your grades will suffer. I know intentionally sacrificing grades is not an easy habit to break. Especially for academic high achievers. But you have to look at the bigger  picture. Temporarily, neglect all old-school opinions of your well-wishers.

I reiterate that not studying is not what I mean by the above statement. On the contrary, study hard. Be thoroughly involved. Vigorously interact with you batch-mates. Bounce off questions to the professors. Challenge pre-conceived theoretical notions. Try to gain a practical understanding of the subjects to avoid the highly unproductive last-minute cramming sessions.

I’ll give you an interesting example. When I was in 10th grade, I distinctly remember a class-mate who asked a peculiar question to our science teacher. “How can anything be burned without the presence of oxygen?”, he queried. It was a recurrent statement in the science text-book. The entire class including me was flabbergasted by the astounding simplicity of the question. Even the teacher took her own sweet time to gather her senses.

I was unwittingly introduced to the concept of ‘Out of the box’ thinking. This ingenious catchphrase a.k.a Christopher Columbus’s Egg Puzzle is widely used by Management Consultants globally. Its a quiz where you have to link 9 dots using four straight lines without lifting your pen and without retracing the same line. Try it in case you haven’t. Its a dare. I’ve drawn it for you below. (Hint: Think beyond the box)

During the two years in a B-School, you’ll literally be coerced to deploy lateral thinking and think unconventionally from a fresh perspective. I am re-educating you with these worldly-wise philosophies for a damn good reason. Professional and even scholastic success is a function of several factors and your grade is just a single data-point. Unless you score exceptionally high or abysmally low, your CGPA will just be an arbitrary number post-MBA.

And even if you are a Five-Point-Someone (please disregard any correlation with Chetan Bhagat), be honest and own up to the grades during your placement interview. Never forget that your prospective employer wants to hire intellectually curious, well-rounded people who culturally fit within the organization. As a matter of fact, it’s been proved at a multi-national B-School called INSEAD that there is a negative correlation between high grades and high salaries. Need I say more?

Some MBAs argue that B-School students should take their grades seriously because of the cut-throat competition during placements. More particularly for students applying for Investment Banks and Consulting firms.The very same self-proclaimed Executive Coaches fall flat & go astray when you ask them: “Do good grades guarantee success on the job?”

I recall an unintentionally funny incident concerning one of my MBA batchmates. Unlike me, he was quite good with textbooks and grades. However he struggled a lot while getting a job. If I remember correctly, he was finally selected by some company in his (hold your breath…..) “21st interview” (I suppose they have set a threshold limit now). He got it at a substandard CTC.

b-school

My friend’s experience compelled me (and hopefully him) to juxtapose two scenarios: (a) A bookworm topper who slogs for 2 years to get good grades and (b) A well-rounded average-scoring student who gives a crack-shot at the final interview and secures a hefty package. Which one would you chose?

Bill Gates once said “I studied everything but never topped….but today the toppers of the best Universities are my employees.” It implies that a stellar student may be a mediocre employee and vice versa. So learn enough in a B-School to make you ‘savvy’. But not a ‘nerd’. Anyway, as a manager or entrepreneur you can always hire lots of nerds (with good grades) to do specific tasks for you. Just don’t fall into that trap yourself.

I am aware that its very convenient to preach while sitting at home. Genuinely following an eccentric advice is the hard part. It requires both trust and courage on the part of the reader. Just contemplate whether cramming the four P’s of Marketing or flawlessly drawing the BCG Growth-Share Matrix would necessarily benefit you in the corporate world. Unfortunately, things don’t happen in the marketplace the way they do in the textbooks.

Because the real world will often surprise you by throwing new variables at you. Be prepared to tackle the disturbances created on your pre-existing theoretical notions. In order to achieve that, first you would have to overcome the orthodox and outdated Socratic way of critical thinking/learning. Discover and adopt more modern ways of assimilating useful knowledge.

Grades are overrated, bigtime! So don’t give too much importance to them. Moreover an MBA student is graded in two phases: (a) Classroom projects, where you are judged on your assignments, presentations, quizzes & soft-skills and (b) Semester Exams where you have to score in traditionally structured written exams. Its noteworthy that Phase (b) judges you at a single point of time unlike Phase (a), where you are judged over a period of time.

Both the components have an equal weightage for the purpose of student evaluation. I strongly believe that the assessment should rely 80% on the former as the appraisal analysis is spread over some period of time. Following this approach would positively make the grading process more transparent and sensible. Unwittingly, it will also benefit MBA students who religiously follow our current grading system.

Takeaway: Grades, according to me, are synonymous with a pat on the back for your good work. That’s why you crave them. Whether they reflect your actual performance to the corporate world outside of your B-School remains a matter of concern. 5 years into your job and they’ll hardly matter to anyone. Including you. Change that traditional frame-of-mind before entering a B-School. You’ll learn to enjoy and enjoy to learn much more!

Contributed by Pranshu Awasthi ( Class of 2007, IBS GURGAON )

Top 5 Ways To Pitch Yourself To The Recruiters

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personal interviewThe metric of how well you’ve done in your MBA usually boils down to this one thing- a big fat job. And when you land one, you feel that weight has been lifted off the shoulders. You’re able to enjoy the last few weeks of your MBA that much more, knowing that your future is secure.

But what if you strike out the first few times? Desperation sets in. Morale goes down. And doubt replaces self-confidence.  Making a comeback from each interview that didn’t go your way gets harder and harder.

While you’ve prepared yourself academically over the course of your MBA, ask yourself this: Have you prepared your sales pitch? The recruiters are, after all clients, and the candidate i.e. you, the product. What good is your academic understanding when you won’t get the opportunity to get to the interview table? And the times you do, you can’t close because you couldn’t get the recruiters to ‘buy’ into you.

In cricket and in life a few sessions of net practice can make all the difference. Of course, you need to maintain your cool and not get bogged down by the occasion, but if you know what shots to play, which ball to duck, the chances of a good match performance get better.

So here are a few tips that’ll help you pitch yourself better and close a job interview:

  1. Get The Basics Right: YOUR RESUME

How many times have you read a career objective that goes like “Seeking an innovative and challenging career as a professional in the field of marketing/finance, which provides opportunities for professional development and broaden my horizon in diversified manner to be a key player in a challenging and competing industry.”

I mean what! If you have a career objective like that you don’t deserve a shot. Keep it really simple, preferably one line that is clear and precise. And write from your heart. What is it that you really want to do. How you can fill a need gap for the industry you’re applying to, if not that particular recruiter.  But whatever you pen down keep it non-ambiguous.

Follow it up with a neatly formatted work-ex in chronological order, your professional and personal achievements and your hobbies. Hobbies show the recruiters your personal side and can become an icebreaker in an otherwise pressure cooker interview situation. So give it due weightage.

Mention your contact details such as your phone no. and email id right at the top. Don’t bury it inside make the recruiter go through your resume again when all he wants to do is pick up the phone and offer you the job.

  1. Research The Organization And Fill The Void

You are a prospect because you can fill a hole in the organization. Needless to say, you have to be the perfect fit. But you’ll fall short if you haven’t done your homework.

Find as much as you can about the role you’ll be applying for and the organization’s culture. Get in touch with your alumni who might have worked there. Work some contacts and talk to a few people. Make notes as you go and pen down the job role and organization’s cultural values. Then write down how you fit the role. What is it that you bring to the table that no one else does. Tune up your strengths accordingly. More the clarity, better your confidence levels when you walk in. It’s okay if you haven’t got everything right but the least it does is, tells the recruiter how serious and enthused you are to be a part of his organization.

  1. Pay Attention To Body Language

Again one of those things we don’t give much importance to. You should come across as competent and confidence who knows what he/she is doing. Dress up nicely for the day. Looking and feeling good is half the battle won. Sit straight, maintain eye contact while talking and smile. No one likes a brooding face and a serious disposition. You are not interviewing to be a commando. People want to hire and work with other friendly people. And your body language tells them more than you think. It shows you are easy to work with and have good people skills.

body language

  1. Make A 30 Second Elevator Pitch

By this time you’ve got the hang of what you need to do in an interview room. But what if you are literally in an elevator with a top guy of a company you really want to work with. Or at a dinner party. These are perfect occasions to get someone interested in you. At the very least you make a high profile connection, which can come in handy some day.

How you strike up a conversation will depend on the situation. But a good way to start could be starting with a warm hello and telling them how impressed or inspired you were by one of their accomplishments. More recent the accomplishment, better it is. It tells them that they have a fan in you and will lower the resistance of talking to a stranger.

So what is an Elevator Pitch? It is basically a crunched down version of your resume, keeping the most impressionable bits and leaving out the rest. It’s conversational and doesn’t try too hard. It’s casual yet assertive. The only way to arrive at the perfect pitch is to write it down and practice it with family and friends. Afterwards ask them what was it that they remembered and keep tweaking it until you’re sure that you’re making the impression you had set out to.

  1. Innovate: Your Personal Business Card :

You can think of this as a written down version of the elevator pitch. It’s short and punchy and answers key questions the recruiters have such “Who are you” and “How are you different”.

But for it to work effectively, you have to position yourself well. Bring it down to one word that best describes you such as “perfectionist”, “eye-for-detail”, “team player” etc. Once you have the right adjective, illustrate it visually. Look up innovative business cards on the internet to get inspired. Get a few made and keep them in your breast pocket. Hand them out to close the elevator pitch or to leave it at the front desk of the company you’re interested in.

However, none of these will help if you don’t practice. Keep at it till the time you can recite your spiel in your sleep. Then, practice some more. It’s the edge you have over your competition and something you can master easily. Start now and should be ready by the time you hit the placement season.

Contributed by Himanshu Saxena ( Class of 2009, IBS GURGAON )

When Banks refused me Education Loan for MBA Program

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IBS mba graduatesI was walking hastily towards my office building in Hyderabad when i received a call from my father. He informed me that all the banks he had approached have refused education loan for the MBA program. I was flabbergasted. How could that be possible? Something must have gone terribly wrong.

First, The Good News

A week back, I was selected for the MBA program at IBS Hyderabad. I was glad that my career was traversing the path as planned byme. Only fact that slightly dampened my spirits then was that I had to quit my corporate job. It meant no salary crediting in my account at the end of every month. I was soon to lead a frugal life of a student, living mostly on my meager savings. Despite this, the decision to pursue MBA was well-thought of, considering my long-term goals.

On the day of the personal interview in IBS, Hyderabad, I had visited the kiosks of various banks set up in the college premise, offering education loan. Every bank had then agreed for an education loan. Since I had toquit my job and be dependent on my parents, as per guidelines, the education loan was to be applied in my hometown with my father as its guarantor. This must be a cakewalk, I exuded confidence, and considering that the b-school was such a prestigious one.

Next Comes the Shock

After receiving confirmation onmy selection, I asked my father to apply for the education loan in my home town of Bhagalpur (Bihar), a state then infamous for loan defaults and high rate of NPAs (non-performing assets). The ‘cakewalk’ was proving to be a nightmare as my application for education loan was rejected by all the banks in my hometown. However we tried explaining and negotiating with them, they remained adamant. By all accounts, I qualified for an education loan. We met all criteria of the loan, except this ‘self-professed’ one, which I fail to understand even now. Still the loan was refused to me.

Reasoning Proved Futile

During my employment, in the name of credit or loan, I had only possessed a credit card from a reputed bank. And used it very judiciously too, never defaulted on the payments. For many of you, without any prior work experience, you will have no bad credit history. This means you will be in a much better position while applying for an education loan with your parents as the guarantor. But so was I, with excellent credit history. Nor my parents had ever applied for any bank loan or possessed a credit card. So, the credit history was definitely not the reason for their denial of education loan.

My father had not retired and was still few years in his job. He was supposed to act as the loan guarantor. Hence, even this factor was good enough to qualify for the loan.

Loan repayment too was never going to be a concern. After having studied from a reputed b-school like IBS, and worked three years in one of India’s most admired and biggest organizations, a well-paid job post-MBA was almost guaranteed. Hence, this factor alone should be ample a reason to offer the education loan.

Few days back to this incident, I had read in the newspaper about the directives of the finance minister. He had advised the banks to simplify the process of education loan and to make it available for all the students of this country, especially to them who cannot afford higher education. An MBA program is by no means an inexpensive affair. Coming from a middle class background, I too had to take this route to fund my education.

mba graduates

A New Criterion for Education Loan?

More than the shock quotient, I had a wry smile on my face when I got to know the reason for loan refusal. Every bank in my home town -private and public sector banks – had replied tersely that since we do not possess a home of our own, banks cannot process the loan application. Your own home for education loan? Why the Home?

It was so frivolous. I had never known that to apply for the education loan, one needed to have own home. We had always lived in a rented house and hence, never constructed our own house though we possessed land for that purpose. We were even ready to mortgage our land for the loan security but the banks insisted on the house only. In this competitive world, where each bank is fighting for its share and using all kinds of strategies to offer loans and credit to eligible working professionals, this reason seemed quite bizarre to me.

Sitting in Hyderabad, I could have hardly done anything. Except, scanning the web pages of banks and reading their and policy on education loan. But the clause of own house figured nowhere.

Last-ditch Effort

Finally, I decided to escalate the whole matter to the head offices of these banks. I spent half a day, searching for the email-ids of senior management of these banks, including local branches, regional offices and head offices. I collected details of 8 such banks which we had approached for loan. I also noted the contact details of Reserve Bank of India, banks’ ombudsmen and finance ministry, which were to form the Topart of the mail. Rest all was inCC.

Having empowered by technology, I wrote an email to these banks, their ombudsmen, Reserve Bank of India and Finance Ministry. Clearly stating my problem in the email, Isought to know if a working professional, working in one of the best and most admired organizations of this country, and aspiring for an MBA course, is refused a loan, then who else would qualify for such a loan. Does it mean that students, aspiring for higher studies but not having their own home, will be denied an opportunity?

It took me few hours to draft a professional email communication and finally, sent it. I was hopeful that someone in the echelons of an organization will pay attention to my problem and provide me with a pragmatic solution.

And It Worked

Hours after shooting this mail, I received email responses and phone calls from the head offices of these banks, trying to pacify me. Almost all of them tried to trivialize the matter and explained how local banks must have misunderstood my requirement and thus, committed this faux pas. They assured me that my application will, in all certainty, be approved. A couple of them even sent a written confirmation to me, directing their local branches to approve the loan.

Now I had all these banks offering me the loan, and that too within a day of the escalation. I had choices now, and hence, chose a bank with lowest interest rate. Within a week, I traveled to my hometown, and the loan processing was done in a day – all in a jiffy. On 1st May, 2008, I was attending the MBA course at IBS Hyderabad.

Had social mediabeen even half powerful then in 2008 as they are now in the areas of customer grievance and redressal, my choice of medium would have been different. In my case however, the good old email proved very effective. Things have evolved today. We know ‘140 characters’ rule our lives.

The Management Lesson:

It was about reaching the right person through the right means of communication.  And when it comes to escalation, it is an essential characteristic. That was not all. Very soon, I learnt in my MBA course that in an organization, discipline must always percolate from top to bottom. Invariably, top management of the organization lays its foundation by defining ethics and values of an organization. And discipline is an essential working principle, which is most often set as an example by the top management. Going into my MBA program – well in advance – I had already tested this management principle, successfully.

A word of caution here. My intention while doing this was not to blow the facts out of proportion and fashion hype or a publicity stunt. But it was an honest and desperate attempt, when I was faced with limited options.However, this should not be misconstrued as the only standard solution for all such problems.

I sincerely wish that such an impasse does not arise in your life. But think for a moment, if you are confronted with such circumstances, how similar or different your response will be? Let this be a case study for you, till then.

Contributed by Suyash Chopra ( Class of 2010, IBS HYDERABAD ) can be contacted at twitter: @suyashchopra1

Your first job post after your MBA, what to expect?

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first job after mbaThese months are the most trying months for MBA aspirants. If the pressure was not enough, you will also get information on placement offers made by various companies at your favorite B School campuses.

For many aspirants, the whole rigmarole of the process, the Group Discussion, endless rounds of Personal Interview and of course the busy schedule during the two rigorous years indicates a leisurely life ahead.

Well, here’s to belling the cat-both literally and figuratively. Things will become only harder, you will be more hard pressed for time than you ever were the moment you finish your MBA.

Our graduation courses hardly prepare us for a life after formal education. It is important to keep our expectations in check post completing the MBA. Most of us are expecting (and rightly so!) a cushioned, comfortable first job once we pass out. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The moment you land in your first job on the first day, reality will set in. It has to, otherwise when it does set in, it will be too late. So, here goes.

Firstly your colleagues, rather your new colleagues at work will be wide mix of people from various backgrounds, including educational qualifications and work experience. You can expect to be looked at and inspected at by the existing employees on your first day at work. And yes, you will be grilled by the others on your salary and pay package, since MBA grads invariably get a different package from other candidates.

Be very careful while divulging your salary details, primarily because it’s something which your employer regards as confidential and secondly because it is too much of a personal information to divulge.

Your first job post your MBA will also lead you to face an unlikely and least expected behavior-jealousy at workplace. You will be hounded by naysayers who will try their best to put down the company and well, you.

There will be people who will pass snide remarks against your boss, be very careful not to respond to any such malicious remarks. Remember, you will probably be one of the younger members in the organization, and you will be expected to catch up to the experience of your colleagues in very little time.

Don’t get disheartened though, workplace friendships will be the ones which last a long time and will prove to be handy even when you decide to move on. Tips, and help provided by your colleagues will help you tide over the initial work pressure and load.

Often, the new recruits are given the dreariest of jobs and often the maximum volume of jobs and targets. Invariably, the new recruits will also be loaded with extra work from colleagues and coworkers and yes initially you will be hard pressed to refuse them. But, you will have to learn to say no- and therein is your second learning-saying no politely to work which doesn’t concern you is an important skill which will stand you in good stead in your professional life.

Every organization places a premium not on the marks you got or how well you performed in the Group Discussion (or the personal interview for that matter), but instead on personal integrity. Never ever add fictional references or make up past work experience just to bulk up the resume’.

Organizations, especially the ones in financial sector do a thorough background check of the candidate and the details given in the resume’.

Continuing on the topic, there will be times when you will be faced with a dilemma involving ethics-whether to lie to a customer, whether to misreport figures, just to save the day. You might see some colleagues resorting to such means, but you should probably make the choice in your first job itself-the choice to never ever use such means to escape problems in short run. Believe me, the ability to sleep soundly without the fear of any future recriminations is worth the little hard work and extra effort.

Always remember, people will be asked to leave from companies not because sales targets or targets any other were not achieved. But they will certainly be asked to leave once it’s a question of integrity-there is no compromise on such matters.

Your first job, while giving you experience in dealing with people, customers and peers will also teach you a thing or two about personal finance. Remember, the money you save in your initial years is the one which will stand you in good stead throughout your life.

Ultimately your personality and your outlook will be a sum of all your experiences, interactions with colleagues and peers.

Make sure your first job has all the essential elements with right amounts of hard tackles and fouls thrown in. Because, life as they say, is not fair, and even more so, in your job, you can expect a fair share of disappointments at having been passed over for promotions,

Your first job will make you constantly unlearn your formal education tenets, challenge widely held myths, help you form new bonds and friendships. Aside from teaching how to handle impossible deadlines and targets, valuable tools like time management, people management will be of much use to you.

Just as the famous food critic in Ratatouille -Antoine Ego calls for “Perspective” when asked what is to be served, your first job will provide you with a fresh perspective on the skills you currently have, the skills you would like to equip yourself with, and hot manage multiple responsibilities and roles.

Possibly the best learning will come from interacting and managing the most difficult resource of all-People. You will realize its not technology or the marketing budget, but the people whom you work with, colleagues, juniors and superiors who make or break a successful venture.

Ultimately, your quest for learning will be a continuous one, and every new job will teach you something new and give you something to cherish. While you should take something of value from every job, do not carry any excess baggage, learn to shed unpleasant experiences and instances while moving on!

Contributed by Sunil Iyer ( Class of 2008, IBS GURGAON )

MBA is an indispensable part of Digital World

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mba in digital worldWe are breathing in a digital age today; we are connected to each other virtually. This digital connectivity reaches the far corners of the globe.  With advent of smart phones, people are becoming smarter with each passing day. They carry google in their hands. Now digital is shaping the world. Many businesses are run on the grounds of their digital presence. To live in this digital era companies are embracing techniques to digitalize themselves. Consumers have the tools to assess what we call the absolute value of things. Now consumers can behave rationally they can search and look for things they need. Customers are smart and need a customized solution every time.  In your career graph add MBA as a booster for your career growth. In this Digital era ideas can shape and come out in concrete as you can share and get ideas appreciated through digital channels. We have examples of E commerce market which started from an idea of selling online and now we all shop online.MBA gives you an edge in Digital age

The Digi-Connection:

How MBA and digital age is connected to each other. The answer is quite simple. With advent of new techniques and customer centric markets these days companies are looking for MBA‘s to churn out good business for them. Master’s in Business Administration will chisel you to make you a right fit for this industry. Every individual has a great potential,now any individual can think of starting their own startup business.MBA not only add skills, this coveted degree will give you marketing insights, consumer know how, mind set and much more understanding on how to market your business. If you see yourself as a digital marketer then as a duty you have to learn new communication technologies continuously and develop skills to anticipate and adapt quickly. Learning through case studies, interviews from renowned university will prove beneficial for your growth.

Learning with new experiences each day:

MBA gives you holistic learning of industry and industry verticals. Once you gain knowledge of this industry then you can look for opportunities in particular sector. Many entrepreneurs are also looking inclined towards MBA. It is a highly relevant innovative degree that prepares candidates for success in an ever changing professional field. It provides a powerful skill set in new marketing ethics in the emerging digital field and it will raise your value with potential employers..MBA contents and curriculum is so formulated that keeps you updated with ongoing activities around you. We may have a lot of knowledge about brands but how brands are building themselves is the learning in MBA.

If you are willing to stand firm in competitive world then new hires should have a flare towards technology and new age marketing. For such requirement of skill set one must undergo MBA as it is need for hour.  The classroom discussions and presentation will make you more of people person. When you are among different mindsets then convincing them will be a new learning.

The MBA journey is in itself a learning experience, every day with each session you will increase your knowledge reservoir with new concepts that are applied in marketing and branding of business. You will be enriched and learned with interaction and intellectual debates with your professors and peers at a B-school. Next, the pedagogical methods employed in B schools are very innovative and effective – these include case studies, presentations, projects, research papers etc.

MBA fueling your Career Growth:

MBA degree has a lot of earning potential in it.  Market always offers challenging and rewarding jobs for MBA grads. We’ve found that MBAs have the skill-sets to approach a wide array of projects from a multiple functional standpoint, as opposed to just being skewed to finance or accounting specific approach”. they tend to be better communicators; not only understanding or analyzing a problem and coming up with a solution, but being able to pitch it, sell it, and build interest. Quantifiable salary increases. MBA Programs not only help business leaders grow, they help them make significant career transitions, find a new job or garner a promotion, or launch a new business.

MBA in digital world

MBA for Entrepreneurs (OTB thinkers):

MBA has a strong connection with this digital era as you need to unbolt the bolts of thinking pattern for business.Today entrepreneurship and innovation has a lot of value when we talk about such OTB – out of the box thinking people like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, and Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak come to mind. Such prominent people have not just given the new ways of developing ideas into business. This era will make figure out the new and the awesome ways of engaging people and ideating & strategizing for good business growth.  When an idea come in a concrete form and gets applied then you need a business mind to set up it from the scratch. Being an MBA always give a firm support as you will know A to Z of your business. Moreover every business faces major challenges like technological changes, competitors entering the market, shifting economic trends. Entrepreneurs who have prior knowledge of such factors affecting their business would be able to safeguard business. MBA degree will make you a ready resource for your company or business. The extra plus which is required to stand out in the crowd will be earned through such programs. Entrepreneurs or budding entrepreneurs will be able to understand value of customer and branding activities. The edge will be in application of theories which you have studied and how to imply it for good return on investment. MBA creates your own brand image as your career will step up the career ladder, you will eye on different gaps that other companies are not covering up. You attain right exposure and fall in right network so it helps in your own personality development. Business only flourishes when you have a network of people.

In IBS you will learn best of practices to enrich your Knowledge and IBS will make you right fit for industry. In digital world even sky is not the limit so take off and soar high with an MBA program.

Contributed by Sonali Jain ( Class of 2014, IBS GURGAON )

How Regular Full Time MBA is Better Than Correspondence

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regular vs correspondance mba degreeKnowledge is wisdom bestowing power onto you. MBA degree provides a broad thought over rational thinking. Making a choice of obtaining a degree in MBA could throw out lot of arenas in various forms. Different formats are provided by various institutions for students to choose from. Full time or regular MBA and MBA through correspondence are popular formats available. A regular full time MBA is pursued by being present in a vast university equipped with technologies that makes learning practical and ecstatic. A person who has time and money should take up this format to have a detailed study.

Distant or correspondence MBA provides a degree through various channels like online, interactive sessions, webinars, conferences etc. A person who is not in a position to give full time due to work commitment could choose up this format of study. Various universities across the world offer the course, so that being in any part of the world one can obtain a MBA degree from a reputed college without the need of being there.

Every opportunity strikes two ways just like each coin has two sides. Based on the factors like time and money, a choice could be made on which type of format one chooses for obtaining a MBA degree. Let us have a look on the pros and cons of each format.

Pros and Cons of Full time MBA:

The pros of obtaining a full time MBA degree are that a person gets to engage into the course in total. The focus is solely based on the course and sessions surrounded by them. There are live discussions, like-minded people to interact with, best faculty to impart knowledge and facilities that urge one to acquire it the best way. Seminars and training with industry experts help in getting a feel of how corporate culture and system work. Alumni meets are organized so that present batch of students could engage with them and are likely to understand it in a better way being within the same generation.

The cons of obtaining a full time degree are that an individual is required to invest substantial resources in terms of time and money. Relocating to another city or country is another major decision to be taken up requiring lot of arrangements to be made prior.

Pros and Cons of Distant/Correspondence MBA:

The pros of distant or correspondence MBA gives an opportunity to obtain a MBA degree with proper study along without interrupting the normal course of life. It leads to studying at one’s comfort convenience than doing it at the campus. It provides an edge at the workplace with added knowledge from the MBA course. Newer technologies are introduced like Webinars and virtual learning that make the learning sessions more interactive and real. It helps an individual to keep working and still learn online for the MBA degree. It provides more insights into the situations that are dealt in corporate life and also improves strategically.

The cons of such learning are that there is not much face to face interaction with the faculties of the university. The doubts and clarifications could not be solved as easily as a full time college. The reputation of a college plays an important role so that the course is validated and appropriately used to enhance one’s employment. A good reputed college would provide this degree with due validation and also provide better employment opportunities. Distractions at home could interrupt with the virtual learning pattern and juggling between this can create a negative impact on the study. Lastly if there is no proper availability of internet and bandwidth available it could hamper the pattern of study and sessions taken.

regular vs correspondance mbadegree

Being a part of a university that imparts knowledge with real life experiences and use of best technologies is the one that stands true to the values of providing education. I was a part IBS for pursuing regular MBA, and as a personal experience it was the best way I could have pursued this degree. Integrating skills, knowledge, interacting with fellow students and faculty, having live discussions over case studies, making presentations using the best technologies were some of the modes through which management and business skills were shared. Time and money along with a passion to understand the key factors lead me to choose this format.

The faculty present themselves as role models with their career experience and sharing of real life experiences they faced. The modules are divided in a manner that a student would effectively grasp the terms of management and strategy. By the end of the course one would become expert with a talent of people management and imparting strategies to resolve issues in a business scenario.

On the other hand a person, who is actively involved in business, either his or under employment, would still be interested into a MBA course to get a detailed understanding of how management actually works. Under this situation, an executive MBA or correspondence course could be pursued. Balancing the family and business situation along with correspondence course needs persuasion and dedication to get the real outcome. There are various reputed institutions that provide degrees in both formats with best material and resources. ICFAI University is one such reputed institution that provides both formats and course is designed appropriately.

 A student choosing either format needs to carry a detailed analysis on what is the future course of action that he/she plans. For example a person fresh out of graduation could choose a regular full time MBA so that he can plan his work for the future to become employable in a company or become an entrepreneur. On the other hand, a person who is actively involved in business and his family responsibilities, but wants to enhance his skills in management could take up executive MBA.

The formats have been designed that could suit any individual undertaking this study. Therefore a choice needs to be made based on how an individual draws his/her career path.  Various companies tying up with various premier business schools who enroll their employees to these programs so that they can enhance their skills and also helps in retaining them through bonds.

Opportunities strike when decisions are made with logic and passion

Regular or correspondence, MBA will endorse one in every situation

 Contributed by Anju Bafna ( Class of 2010, IBS BANGLORE )

Role of MBAs as ERP Software Consultants

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erp consultantsThe job of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software Consultant is one of the most sought after jobs in the Information Technology Industry. Every year, top ERP Consulting and Product Development companies lookout for MBA prospects in the placement seasons. In this blog we will try to understand why companies lookout for MBA students for the role of ERP consultants.

Companies deploy ERP softwares to manage and integrate the major business functions like manufacturing, purchasing, inventory, sales, customer resource management, human resources etc. Deployment of ERP software requires understanding of the technical requirements (i.e. understanding the current software footprint of the company, custom coding/programming requirements etc.) and the functional requirements (i.e. business requirements from different departments). Accordingly, ERP consultants can be broadly classified as Technical or Functional Consultants. Typically, consulting IT companies lookout for MBA students to play the role of the Functional Consultants. In the below points we will try to see the kind of the work that is expected from the functional consultants and we will try to analyzes to how being a MBA helps in fitting into the job role.

  1. Understanding of Business:

Any experienced ERP consultant will always maintain that to be a good consultant you need to understand the business first. It enables the consultant to get the complete picture of the how the business runs and how different processes are interlinked. If a new solution has to be provided to the client then the entire business landscape has to be studied properly.

All MBA students have exposure to some kind of industry and business. At the same time specialized knowledge in subjects like Sales, Marketing, Purchasing, Operations, Finance etc. gives these students good insight into the departmental activities of the businesses. Companies expect the students to leverage their subject knowledge and prior work experience (if any) to quickly understand the businesses in which ERP needs to be deployed. Based on the initial study by the functional consultant, the different gaps in the existing system are determined and then the new solution is proposed.

  1. Understand the Functionalities of the ERP Software:

This is the second most important thing that is expected from the consultants. In order to give an optimal solution to the client, one must know the features and the functionalities of the products. ERP functionalities are not very difficult to understand and learn. As mentioned earlier, if one understands the business processes properly, then understanding of the product is not difficult. This is because ERP softwares are designed to support the business functions. For instance, a MBA Marketing Student is expected to know the normal Sales Order Cycle i.e. from Lead generation till closing the order. If one knows these business cycles then understanding the product becomes very easy.

Here, it is worth mentioning that functional consultants have the option of aligning their expertise in the product along with the subject of their specialization. ERP consultants specialize in specific areas like Distributions, Finance, Operations, Supply Chain and Planning, Human Resources etc. If there is a candidate who has specialized in Supply Chain Management (SCM) or Human Resources (HR), then he has the option of becoming an ERP SCM or HR consultant.

erp software consultants

  1. Expert Communications:

This is one of the most important roles of the consultant. Consultants act as the interface between the technical team and the client. They are expected to clearly understand the requirements from the clients and then communicate the same to the technical team. Any gap in the understanding can be potentially disastrous for the project outcome.So it is very important to be constantly in touch with the clients. Consultants are expected to be assertive in their approach. Catering to all the demands from the client may not be possible at times in order to stick to project timelines. Hence, consultants are often required to withstand the pressure from the client side and ‘push back’ new requirements. Managing the client expectation is not easy and often it takes years to master the art.

Companies leverage the soft skills of the MBA students and put them in roles that require client interfacing. Also the presentation, listening, speaking and writing skills are the most sought after skills in the world of consulting.

  1. Project Management:

ERP consulting projects by nature are very huge and require continuous project planning and execution. Project timelines, billing hours, resources, milestones etc. needs to be tracked on an ongoing basis. Senior Consultants/Managers normally play the role of ‘Project Managers’ and lead the project execution activities of the team. Knowledge in project management is of great help while playing such roles. Often consultants are required to assist the project manager in the preparation of the plans and timelines. MBA students with expertise in project management can help the managers in design and implementation of such plans.

  1. Networking:

ERP consultants should possess good networking skills. Networking with colleagues and within and outside the organization can be very helpful tool at times. Some of the benefits of networking for the job as below:

  • For ERP consultants it is of utmost important to stay abreast about the latest developments in the industry. Though ones network information is readily available.
  • A good network within the organization ensures that you get to work on good projects.
  • Networking with clients ensures repeat business and new opportunities.
  • Getting feedback from the client helps you to understand the client satisfaction levels.
  • Networking with people from the Business or the Industry helps you understand the processes better than your peers.
  • It helps you reach out to people when you are stuck with a problem or need expert advice on a solution.

Consulting is a relationship-based business with the clients. Hence, maintaining the proper network ensures more business. Management schools provide a wonderful ground for students to learn the networking skills. Alumni cells, student-corporate engagements, cultural affairs, inter-college events etc. provide networking opportunities for students. Corporates expect MBA students to be good at this skill so that they can leverage it in their corporate lives after school.

Contributed by Sanjit Das ( Class of 2005, IBS HYDERABAD )

Interesting Statistics about MBA Degree Programs

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mba degreeIt’s great!!  You’ve finally decided to go for the MBA degree program of your choice and you’re raring to go, that’s a really game changer step for your life!!

Today, we will put you across some of the unknown and very interesting facts about MBA Program!

So let’s get started:

Around 2 year back in Jan 2013…an article appeared on Quartz.com, written by Jay Bhatti, an MBA graduate from Wharton, stating that if a candidate cannot get into a “top five” school, then an MBA is not worth having.

It seems to have caused a bit of a stir

So it is worth taking a closer look to see if claims stack up.

There is a definite doubt, as mentioned in The Economist, that the value proposition of an MBA has changed markedly over the past decade or so. Tuition fees have, in many cases, more than doubled over that time, while the salaries of graduates are virtually unchanged (meaning that, if one bears in mind the rising cost of living, they have actually fallen in real terms). But that is something very different to saying that there is no return on investment.

But do the numbers stack up? The average salary increase an MBA graduate can expect from the “top five” schools—comparing their basic salaries immediately before matriculation and after graduation—is exactly 50%.

In the world of MBAs this is nothing remarkable. The average increase among all of the 120 schools surveyed by The Economist in 2012 is 74%. The basic salary a grad from a “top five” school can expect ranges from $112,000 at Kellogg to $127,000 at Stanford. Impressive, certainly!

But these are not the highest to be found. At IMD in Switzerland, for example, the average basic salary of an MBA who graduated last year is $145,000. At some schools in Australia, a country which has plenty of money sloshing about thanks to its booming mining and energy sectors, salaries can be even higher.

Let’s have some more facts:

One is that the percentage of students from the elite schools with a job lined up when they graduate is low and has been falling for years. Mr Bhatti extrapolates that the situation must be worse at less prestigious institutions. He writes, for example, that 75% of Stanford MBAs graduated with a job last year. This, he says is 19 percentage points down on four years ago.

The Economist found that 95% of Stanford MBAs had a job within three months of graduation. The discrepancy may lie in whether those students who are not actively seeking work are included. Stanford’s 95% figure is down by two points compared with 2008; hardly a collapse.

What Salary Can An MBA Graduate Expect?

In a recent survey, 60% of the students who were questioned about their MBA degree experience reported it as outstanding or excellent. Those who attended a full-time MBA degree program expected their salary to increase by 54%, while those attending a part-time MBA degree program expected a 43% salary increase.

Those who attended an executive MBA degree program reported an expected 33% increase after graduation. Many students, before applying for an MBA degree, spend some time attempting to figure out their return on investment for the time and cost involved.

They almost always find that the benefits, computed over a lifetime of earnings, far outweigh the cost and effort involved and therefore gladly enroll in the program of their choice.

The Economist said that although the average salary for the average MBA degree graduate did decrease during the recent recession, their salaries were still high.

The average 2010 graduate from the top MBA degree programs still pulled in more than $100,000 a year. Though these are figures from the top schools, you can expect to receive a relatively high salary once you have done your MBA degree program pretty much from any school.

And, when this salary difference is calculated over the entirety of your professional life, you will realize millions more dollars.

For many, making more cash is the only motivation they need to do an MBA degree.

Expectations about MBA Degree Programs:

People go to business school with expectations, high expectations. They enroll in MBA degree programs because they want to build fine lives full of gold-leafed happiness.

Much of this is tied to how much students think they will earn once they have done their MBA degrees.

The Graduate Management Admissions Council’s (GMAC) “Global MBA Survey 2002” talked to MBA degree students and learned that on average an MBA degree student expected to earn 56% more after they have earned their MBA degree than they did before.

To most of us, 56% of our salary is a good chunk of change that is definitely worth a few years’ worth of MBA degree studies.

Other expectations that students have are increased prestige and respect; the ability to work overseas and, perhaps the most important, the ability to give their family a better life.

Gender Equality Is Becoming A Reality:

The demographics of MBA degree programs are changing for the better. The Graduate Management Admissions Council reports that 105,900 females took the GMAT (the Graduate Management Admissions Test, the generally accepted standard for MBA degree prospects) last year.

That’s the highest number ever. Of these, the United States had the largest number of exams taken by female citizens, with US women representing nearly 33% of global MBA degree candidates.

Interestingly, the largest representative percentages of female citizens taking the GMAT were from East Asia (54.6%). This suggests that East Asia’s growing corporate gender equality is fast making them a model for the rest of the global community to follow.

MBA Degree Graduate Job Prospects:

According to the Graduate Management Admissions Council, more than 86% of last year’s MBA degree graduates had a job at the time they completed their program. Further, nearly 91% of those in part time MBA degree programs had a job at graduation. Most promising, 96% of executive MBA  graduates had jobs at graduation (most of whom already had these jobs during school). These promising statistics are undoubtedly the reason behind the annual increase in MBA degree program enrollments.

Remember one point throughout your life, whether you are a graduate from top-5, top10 or top-50 College…What make the college and program different, are students…i.e. “You”

You have to be completely involved in Cultural diversity, experience levels, industry verticals and global experience…These traits make the program ‘richer’ in experiencing the MBA education.

Hence, MBAs have to be pursued with a goal to make yourself an all rounder at the global platform thru the local way…it’s not necessary that you will go thru the world’s top-5 B-Schools, but you have to choose a B-schools which can be a gate way to the global stage, and all your experience, during the B-school study can help you walk thru the stage proudly…And at IBS, you are already one level above than the rest…

Go, conquer the World!!

Contributed by Himanshu Chaudhary ( Class of 2005, IBS HYDERABAD )

Moving up the corporate ladder!

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moving up the corporate ladderFriends I’ve witnessed an unprecedented corporate success story which I cherish and I am honored to be mentored under a prodigy. His idea was, “when you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat”. His success story has inspired and ignited many; he created massive opportunities and has believed in the mantra of “retort to revenge is massive success”

He got extraordinary ten promotions in seven years; I can’t even speculate on how many times he was awarded the star performer or the jewel of the organization. I’ve worked, fought and learned under him. I’ve deeply analyzed his strategy to move up the corporate chain and thought would be a good example for all to study.

Folks, great minds think differently and make others to act differently. I’d like to put out five major aspects of his approach, through which he achieved massive success and still continues to do it.

  1. Great leader ignite others, inspire imagination and instill a love for learning – I joined straight out of college, fairly new to corporate structure, the market was not doing well and the challenges were immense. He called us and took us straight to our senior VP for a quick introduction. I notice when we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage. I observed this guy actually tried to push us through the line by judging our willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait; you have to take the bull by the horn. Later I came to know the VP was amongst the founding member of the organization and first good impression on him will help us climb the ladder quickly. He might have not fairly taken us to him but unlike others, he did; highly developed leaders don’t encounter resistance from mediocre minds. They think big and allow others to think big. As a result I was never afraid to walk to any one’s cabin to push my idea through. He ignited my mind to dream big.
  2. Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving and take initiatives. In his opinion the best way to prove your credibility in a closed loop environment is to take initiative, create an opportunity and pave your way to success. He joined as a management trainee and from day one itself he took initiatives which transformed and benefitted the organization. Amazingly what inspired me was the way he uses to hop around vertical to find an opportunity. He never felt shy in asking stupid questions as he uses to tell us, a question is never stupid but an answer is. From automating the transport roster to implementing the lean principle; from helping the HR team to transform the hiring process to assisting the business in acquiring clients; from preparing decks on behalf of leadership to understanding the grey areas of the clients; from delivering speeches to sleeping on the floor to prove his point; he has done it all. No matter how stupid my idea was, he compelled me to analyze and implement it. His principle was “Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity”.
  3. No is a complete sentence and often we forgot to say it. In my leap of taking initiatives I ended up with a lot of crappy work. I was finding it difficult to manage work and simultaneously the expectations from the management to come up with something exciting grew immensely. I got de-motivated, wondering how to get rid of unnecessary activities, the dice were loaded against me. Seeing me falling flat, he helped me, he taught the idea of saying “No”. He said Learn to say ‘no’ to the good so you can say ‘yes’ to the best. I started to pick my battle wisely, as not all battles are worth fighting. I worked on initiatives which created phenomenal result, and said NO to work which I was not supposed to do. From disaster written all over; I became a shining star.
  4. Habitual procrastinators will readily testify to all the lost opportunities; so never postpone. Until hell freezes over we normally don’t start to work. This is actually the case of most of us and to move up we should minimize procrastination. Perhaps, I never had more yelling from him, on me sitting idle and taking no action. The irony with us is we build the plane as it fly and on contrary his ideology was to always believe in getting the better of you. For him, No news is a bad news and good work bring more work. Due to this I was constantly on my toes, I never relaxed, my mind was trained to think, to create opportunities, and find strategic work. It was quite visible on his face, by seeing lazy people he uses to become edgy. He said think up the many things you gave trying because you procrastinated, be it cycling, exercise, studying etc. Takeaway is, “improving yourself should always top any priority” and “procrastination is thief of time”.
  5. Be a leader and communicate effectively. I quote the ultimate measure of man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. I remember an example- we won a contract in negative but management wanted us to execute and deliver the deliverables, just to sustain the relationship with the client. I was assigned a major portion of the contract to execute and from day one there were heavy escalations from the business as well from the client. In few days, I was in to a mess and in a black mood. I wasn’t precise in my communication to stakeholders and every step I took dragged me down. He took charge and told “if you have nothing to say, say nothing”. You have brilliant ideas but if you don’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere. Communicating effectively to the right person more importantly at the right time will take you places. By implementing few of his tips we actually ended the project on a positive note. The bottom line was increased and I got an award for a stellar performance.

Sometime life knocks you out, but the only thing a person can really do is to keep moving forward. I’ll like to end up with a quote from Gita “past is past you can’t do anything to change it what should concern you is your present because present will make your future”.

Contributed by Vaibhav Chandra ( Class of 2009, IBS HYDERABAD )

Sell me this Pen “The Art of Selling”

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the art of sellingIn the Movie ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ the Protagonist Leonardo Di Caprio asks a person while interviewing him for a job in his company at Wall Street. “Sell Me this Pen”…

What he was looking for in the person here was not how the gentle men explains him about the features of the pen, but how he portray his image in front of Leonardo….

This generally happens in maximum sales interviews. It is the mother of all questions which makes or breaks the prospectus of the person of being selected for the company.

Selling is offering to exchange an item of value for a different item. The original item of value being offered may be either tangible or intangible. The second item, usually money, is most often seen by the seller as being of equal or greater value than that being offered for sale.

So what is the art of selling all about; Is the person born with it? Or does it require something EXXTRAAAA….

There is an underlying process of sales management. There are some essentials to crack the sales. It’s not a rocket science to crack sales but these following items when taken care of help individuals achieve their desired target.

  1. Preparation– It all starts with planning. Doing research on your client is essential to crack the deal.
  2. Introduction– Introduction or opening makes or mars the deal to be cracked. The opening should be structure and develop credibility in front of the client. The opening should also be that a good first impression is created and which helps in closing the deal quickly.
  3. Questioning– Its is not always advisable to question your clients but to understand the need it’s very important that questioning is done carefully to establish rapport and trust
  4. Presentation and explanation or demonstration helps the client understand what are the ranges of product/service available with the company.
  5. Overcoming objections and negotiating helps in fine-tuning the client and making him confident about the product/ services.
  6. Close the deal and confirmation is the last but one step. This step done means the sales person has achieved what he had desired to and thus bears him with the fruit in for of Commissions and incentives.
  7. Follow-up and after-sales services help the sales person maintain the rapport and thus creating a “customer for life”.

A person or organization expressing an interest in acquiring the offered item of value is referred to as a potential buyer, prospective customer or prospect. Buying and selling are understood to be two sides of the same “coin” or transaction. Both seller and buyer engage in a process of negotiation to consummate the exchange of values. A good Sales person requires these three main qualities to achieve the desired outcome.

  1. Understanding the need of the customer
  2. Having 100% Confidence on his product
  3. Convincing Skills

Understanding the need of the customer:

Need is defined as something that is necessary for organisms to live a healthy life. When we talk about need of a customer we have to first analyze the customer accordingly. Profiling and understanding the customer is required. A good salesman makes a customer comfortable before pitching him his product. The reason is a customer never falls for the feature of the product he buys a product or service when he is in his comfort zone and not been attacked or bombarded with information about the product or services. Building a brand is about building a relationship with your customers. This process requires need identification.  For this relationship to be long-lasting, it has to be based on something meaningful. That comes when a brand satisfies a real need, either better or in a different way to any other brand available. The exchange, or selling, process has implied rules and identifiable stages. So Understanding the need for value creation becomes the epitome for the sales manager.

Having 100% Confidence on ones product:

The assignment of bringing a proposal to someone with the power to do something with it is called a pitch. A pitch cannot be completed and the customer can’t be convinced if the sales manager himself does not have faith on the product. The faith is shown when the confident Manager uses the product himself or quotes example of how that product has changed the life or ways of doing business. The sales person should ensure to know his own product/service extremely well – especially features, advantages and benefits that will be relevant to the prospect while meeting him. A sales Person looses a pitch if he himself is not confident about his product.

Convincing Skills:

Developing the powers of persuasion will help you get ahead in business and professional world. When you want to convince a client to make a big purchase the goal is to persuade, to make them want to agree with you and feel happy, smart, or right, when they do It is implied that the selling process will proceed fairly and ethically so that the parties end up nearly equally rewarded.

The convincing skills can be related to the communication skills one has. Its not only about talking with the customer but also about having an ear to listen to him. Here it is very important to understand and Check for the 7Cs of communication: These are

Clear – Use of precise and vigorous words with active voice to make things clear

Conversational – Group your ideas into conversation. Creating a friendly conversation helps in understanding the consumer better. Use a mild tone without using any jargons and prevent pompous language.

Courteous – Be straightforward to the client. Use respectful tone to make him realize that you are here to help.

Coherent – Use transitions and order ideas logically so that there is no confusion in the minds of the clients. Be logical and orderly to the clients to win their trust.

Concise – No redundancies and repetition of ideas or words. Use perfect tense whenever required. Don’t use it unnecessarily only to create a hype.

Complete – No assumptions should be made in front of the client.  Always use adequate detail and audience perspective and solve all the queries. If it is not possible to solve all the queries tell the client that you will be get back to him. This help in generating trust among your clients and make him believe your authenticity towards him.

Correct – Accurate information should be provided to the client. It should be error free. When false promises are made the client the client looses confidence in the sales person and he may switch to other options.

When these C’S are taken into consideration convincing is never a problem.

The art of selling gets polished more and more as practiced and followed. These few elements create the differentiating factor between the winner and the loser. So as a management graduate the Trainee has to master these skill sets as selling is required not only for the sales person but in every form of life where he goes.

Contributed by Roopesh Rao ( Class of 2007, IBS Gurgaon ), Corporate Trainer and can be contacted on https://www.linkedin.com/in/roopeshrao1