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Why ISB is better bschool

sridharo — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:10:00 +0000

Here’s a link by Arindham Chaudhuri on why ISB is better than IIM’s.I like the exhaustive criteria and the substantiating evidence.

Though I feel other than the fact that all these institutes offer similar programs they cater to different audiences,such rave reviews for a relatively new school is great.
Kudos to the ISB ideators,faculty,staff and ofcourse the graduating students and the alumni.

Do you need an MBA qualification?

sridharo — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:56:00 +0000

Well you don’t need one according to book written by Philip Delves Broughton and Sean Rickard.
According to this news item, they said, “The MBA business degree is not just useless but positively dangerous.”
Strangely they seem to be related to a school of management.

India @ 75

sridharo — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 07:51:00 +0000

So we have heard about Vision 2020, Mr. C.K.Prahalad, another visionary believes in India @ 75.Here’s a brief on his address to the students of ISB,Hyderabad.
I quote Mr Prahalad:
“…India should have the right and the ability to “shake the emerging world order” – be it in the area of human rights, world trade, agri-policy, IP, etc.”
I sincerely hope this would come true.

“…India must shape this emerging world order and not be a passive recipient. To this end it needs three pillars – “economic strength, technological vitality (not just innovation and science but contribution to fundamentally new ideas), and the third and most critical pillar being moral leadership.”
Economic strength is an often talked about subject,but the other two are new….need to read his new book.

“…greatest strength that India has is its secularism – the multiple rituals, languages, and customs – the diversity held together with a common idea. “We can leverage diversity and become the benchmark country in the world, as 90 percent of the conflicts of the worlds are due to inability to cope with diversity.”
According to me the biggest challenge.An all encompassing approach to growth.

“…You need to have an aspiration which is larger than your resource base – that is the definition of an entrepreneur. The problem is not resource but imagination, inventiveness, and shared aspirations.”
Hit the nail on its head.Precisely the reason behind my decision to join a good bschool and become an entrepreneur.

“Incrementalism will not get us there. To become a leader in the world we must begin by creating a shared commitment to aspirations supported by creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. We need to have a shared understanding of the goals not of the means.”
Again something which I ‘ve seriously started to believe in .Shared goals,aspirations and vision.Quote by Rajat Gupta,Chariman,ISB.

Now to know more about this thinker,click here to read his bio.I started reading about Mr Prahalad after knowing about his recently launched book “The New Age of Innovation”

Leaders – The Inception of ISB

sridharo — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:42:00 +0000

This is a post reproduced with permission from another blog called “Books,Science and Stories” by Archana Raghuram.Credits to Archana Raghuram and Karthik Agarwal(the Insider;-) who prev worked in ISB taking care of Marketing and Branding for the SAARC region).Though no one can vouch for the accuracy of the post(many things are hearsay),it still makes an interesting read.

The founders(Rajat Gupta, Rahul Bajaj, Adi Godrej and Anil Ambani) had initially short listed three cities for the college, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. Hyderabad did not even figure in the list. As Mumbai was their first choice,they met Bal Thackeray who was willing to give them a 25 acre plot in Navi Mumbai. But he insisted on a 25% reservation for people from Maharashtra. It was not for people living in Maharashtra but for people of Maratha origin. He wanted the reservation both for the students and the staff.
This was a big no-no for the founders. So they went to Bangalore where the then CM. S.M.Krishna made them wait for three hours and then spoke to them for 15 minutes before handing them over to his secretary. They were shown a land on a map which had no access from any major road.
They visited Chennai to meet the CM, J.Jayalalitha. She showed them a land near an industrial area which did not appeal to them. If you know Jayalalitha, it won’t be hard to guess the other things that would have been discussed.
Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu came to know that things were not working out with Bal Thackeray and requested the founders to consider Hyderabad. He invited them to visit the city. Anil Ambani then convinced the others to take a detour to Hyderabad, not with the intention of setting up the college there but only to appease Naidu. When the landed, they were met at the tarmac by the Chief Secretary and the Minister for Education. They asked them if they wished to first see the land or meet the CM. Now, this was very different from the experience with other CMs. They first went to the site (in a Mercedes Van). In was a 250 acre plot and about e 20 officials were waiting for them with maps and details about the development plan for the area (the roads that were going to be laid and the power lines that were to be setup).
Then they went to Naidu’s house and they were taken straight to his private quarters. He welcomed them with a smile and asked them if they were happy with the land. If they were satisfied, he had a draft agreement which they could sign right away. He took out a blank paper and gave it to them. All they had to do was lay down the terms and conditions and he would sign. He then gave them a small presentation about the state, its culture and heritage, industry and people.
The rest is history. It’s truly amazing, the things that can be achieved if the right political will is in place.

This is what I call acting like a LEADER.Period.

P.S : It may also interest you to note, that the biggest campus of Infosys is not at Bangalore or Mysore but at Hyderabad.

Later Edit on August 05,2008 : Click here to read further on this in Indian Express Archives

Rajat Gupta’s Quote

sridharo — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:09:00 +0000

“Great leadership is to lead through team work and making other people successful.”
Rajat Gupta,Chairman,ISB.
This is one of the best definition of leadership I’ve come across.A leader is not only successful but also makes others around him successful!
How many have you come across?

Imparting Ethics….

sridharo — Fri, 02 May 2008 07:20:00 +0000

A corporate’s success depends on the leadership abilities across its entire rank and file. With many cases of corporate crime,b schools are imparting ethics.Read the full story from BW here.

Compare Countries for Business

sridharo — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:10:00 +0000

Click here to compare two countries based on a number of variables mostly apt business cos.The site is maintained by Insead-a bschool in France.