What made you decide to do a management programme?
Steve Jobs makes an interesting observation: "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards." Your work experience will give you the domain knowledge and skills you need to move your career along. What it doesn’t give you, though, is the perspective and global outlook you need to accelerate that growth. I chose to do the PGP because I realised I needed just that perspective. I want to understand why companies make the decisions they do, why markets behave as they do, and how better to find my ‘fit’ in a dynamic Indian market that is constantly thinking global, but acting local. Making the choice to study when all your contemporaries are busy taking home big pay packets is never going to be easy, but I think, looking back, you’ll connect the dots and see that it was a wise investment – both in time and money.

Reasons for selecting the ISB
I researched hard and long before I decided it had to be the ISB. I pit the ISB against Columbia, Tuck, MacQuarie, the Australian Graduate School of Management and a host of others but the choice soon became evident. There were many reasons for choosing the ISB - the chance to be among and learn from a diverse peer group; an internationally acclaimed faculty; state-of-the-art infrastructure; a dynamic learning model that emphasizes real-world learning along with theoretical knowledge; a host of professional and social clubs; the association with some of the world’s finest business schools and, arguably, with Asia’s most dynamic and enterprising student body.
In just three weeks, I’ve realized I couldn’t have made a better choice. I’ve accessed databases from halfway across the world in Asia’s finest-ever learning resource centre, walked the breadth of some of the most immaculately landscaped acreage, brainstormed ideas with scientists, doctors, gold medalists, and other like-minded media professionals, and studied under some of the finest minds in the industry.

Your first impressions of the ISB
My first time at the ISB, I had to stop and take a minute to breathe. You soon learn this is more than just a B-school. The intellectual Geiger counter is always ticking over at ISB; what strikes me most about the School is its constant effort to reinvent itself – from the countless opportunities it affords every student for holistic development to the cutting-edge technology, information, and services it makes readily accessible.

Some things a prospective student should know about the ISB
You know that this is a one-year course. But, understand what that requires of you - both in terms of sheer physical stamina and mental acuity. Some call it B-school bootcamp, and you’ll quickly learn they’re justified. The ‘opportunity cost’ that a one-year programme will save you is more than offset by the demands the coursework and rigour will make of you.
Never mind what your peers say, it’s okay to not know what you want to do after your management programme. The one-year at ISB is designed to expose you to every aspect of business and equip you with the perspective and skill you’ll need as a manager in any industry. What’s not okay is not knowing why you want to do the programme; a course like the ISB’s PGP will force you to constantly refine and reevaluate your gameplan.
What was it someone once said? “A diamond is just a piece of coal that did well under pressure”!

Some of the activities in which you would like to participate at the School
The seduction of ISB’s many professional and social clubs, the conclaves, conferences, and summits are hard to resist. You soon learn the ISB not only encourages you to be a part of this rich learning curve but also to generate opportunities and communities of your own. Right off, I know I’m going to get behind the mike at Radio ISB and also explore the potential of programming for and broadcasting to a community of listeners larger than the ISB. I’ve also enrolled for salsa and language classes and a volleyball tournament!
The Media, Marketing and General Management Clubs are on my list of to-dos because they promise the chance to build on my eight years of work experience and the Enterpreneurship and Business Technology Clubs are just what the doctor ordered for a non-techie, start-up-virgin like me!