Nominated for Clear Admit Best of Blogging Awards

Update: Thank you for your support! Feels great to be among the top five!!

I remember when I voted for this contest earlier, now to get nominated makes me feel proud.
If you enjoyed reading my blog, please consider voting here.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/embeddedform?formkey=dGlKaHMzSTBkcmg2LTBMZEgwY3Q0a1E6MA&embedded=true&ifq

I will be wrapping up Spring semester in 2 weeks, hoping to make up for the lack of activity then!

David Pogue on Consumer Technology

A great thing about academics at CBS is its interesting courses offered by practitioners/adjunct professors.

This semester I'm taking a course by David Pogue, the famous technology columnist from NYTimes. The course focuses on consumer technology and why products become a hit or a flop. If the first lecture is any sign of what's in store, this is going to be a riot! Our first assignment was to write our own take on a consumer technology product that flopped. Here is what I wrote.

                             Google Wave -A Tsunami that never came

When I first heard about the Wave I was hooked on. Who wouldn’t when Google introduces it by saying something like, “how would email look like if we invented it today?” Wave was supposed to take over the world like a tsunami; no one at Google anticipated that it would be on life support within a year of releasing to the entire population. Reflecting back, one can identify many reasons why this failure materialized.             

What is a Wave?  
     Amazon.com makes their product managers write a press release even before first line of code is written. The idea is that if you can’t explain in simple terms what the product is and what you’re trying to solve, then something is wrong. When we look at Wave, this is the description we see - A wave is equal parts conversation and document. A wave is shared. A wave is live. It doesn’t take too much effort to figure out this is not the best written product description for a general population.  A product is not a laundry list of features. When a software product is introduced and especially when it’s something as forward looking as Wave, more thought should have given in coming up with a simpler one or two liner describing the product focusing on what it’s trying to solve or what it is offering new.                                
                                                                                                                                                   
Who uses Wave?
Wave was first previewed for developers early May 2009 and 100,000 invitations were sent out five months later. The product was opened to general public about one year later. For a product that was supposedly targeting communication and collaboration, this was a doomed release strategy. The hype in the technology community around Wave was huge around the time it was introduced. Everyone wanted to desperately get access. In hindsight, this moment should have been capitalized by Google. Instead only 100,000 invitations were sent out and that focused mainly on the developers. A better strategy would have been to identify specific communities of users/networks so that if I were given access, chances are at least some of the people whom I need to communicate/collaborate with a lot also have access. This didn’t happen till about a year later when everyone could sign up. In that one year period, the limited number of people who got access didn’t have a real use case to use the product. If only, those who got access could also import all their top Gmail contacts into Wave automatically, this was going to be a non-starter.  And that’s exactly what happened and by the time general population received access, this mistake continued. None of their current contacts in Gmail were added automatically; instead everyone had to sign up individually

How to use Wave?  
 “We built this and then put it out there to see what users would do with it”, remarked Google. This was a risky strategy and unfortunately didn’t work out for them. Regular users required at least one compelling use case and the community whom astonished at the product for its technical finesse, were not a critical mass for the product to succeed. These regular users of Gmail and other Google products were taken aback by the complexity of the product. The Wave managed to wash them away into the middle of an ocean and they had no compass either. It’s interesting to compare and contrast the case of Apple Ipad in this scenario. There was no compelling use case for this product on introduction either but the masses embraced it and created the use cases. The difference in outcome can be directly attributed to the simplicity of the Ipad in its user interface which was essentially lacking in Wave. In this aspect, ironically the wave indeed became an unmanageable tsunami within a few minutes of collaboration with multiple users and required its own time machine (Wave replay feature) to understand how it all happened in the first place.   

Overall, though Wave is a technology marvel and definitely worth a lot of potential, in its current form failed miserably as a product. I’d argue that the complexity in its design which essentially contributed to the convoluted marketing message and the wrong release strategy were the main causes for its failure. Google has done the right thing by making many of Wave’s great innovations open source and I expect this Wave will continue to evolve and someday a new Wave will be born and ready for the masses!

Into the world of finance

My marathon coach once said, "You can never be fully prepared for the marathon. You never know what will happen on that day. All you can do is believe in yourself and not give up too soon." Looking back at the on-campus internship interview period I feel the same way.

CBS did a great service to the students by starting the interview season about two weeks before classes begin. This way, we didn't have to worry about readings, team meetings and homework at least till we got a taste of the interviews. Some of my friends and I celebrated the end of first semester by going to Atlantic city for a few days. We were recruiting for finance/consulting positions so essentially we wrapped up the vacation festivities late December and started our prep in full swing. As I was recruiting for a finance position, I focused on brushing up accounting and corporate finance while the consulting folks where busy doing case prep. Being a career switcher I wanted to make sure I nail any technical questions thrown at me. The resources I used (Vault guide to finance interviews, CBS interview guides prepared by the clubs, Training the Street etc) where really useful in  improving my knowledge and confidence. Interview prep was not just focused on these technical stuff but we also focused on the behavioral/fit part. This is somewhat similar to what you'd expect during an MBA admissions interview (Tell me about a time when you ....) and sometimes involved describing the decision making process for a hypothetical situation (relevant to the role we are pursuing). As such, we needed to be on top of our game from the get go.

One of the most important part of our preparation included polishing the "pitch". This is basically a 1-2 minute long monologue where you cover your background, why you want to work in this function/industry/company and why you are a great fit for this role. I'd say this was the most difficult one to nail. In the last few days prior to the beginning of the interview, I might have "pitched" more times than I could count and this was pretty common across the board.  Second year students helped calm our nerves by conducting mock interviews and giving pep talks. Soon, the day arrived and we were as ready as we ever could be. The suits were new, the shoes were shiny, and the eyes were dreamy.

To cut a long story short, I experienced both sides of the coin just like so many of my friends. Happiness and sorrow. Joy and disappointment.  Stress and relief. Looking back, I think I learned a lot about myself- how I handle these emotions, these pressure-cooker situations where you win and lose on margins. Another thing that I really cherish about this period is the bond I further developed with some of my friends. We were all looking to get our foot in the door at the same places. We experienced similar challenges and we tasted success and failure at different times. Nevertheless, we were always there for each other. Whether it is to share the joy or the pain, whether it is to vent the frustration of a bad interview or share what clicked during a great interview. Cheers to our friendship!

As for me, I'll be here in NYC, gaining experience in Corporate Finance and Investment Banking! Now, if you really must know how many $$$ we will earn during the summer, go check out the 2010 career report. The numbers are still the same mostly :)

Final sprint & Columbia admit events

We had our first recruiting event within weeks of joining school. If memory serves right, we started working on our resumes within a few days after orientation. Whoever said recruiting is a marathon and not a sprint was spot on. It's been a long journey and over the next few weeks more than a dozen firms will conduct their interviews (mostly for positions in finance/consulting) - the journey will come to a successful end for many. For some, they would continue their marathon hopefully in a better position from the experience they gained through these events.

I've been fortunate to receive over half a dozen interviews from many top firms. God willing, this could be the final sprint for me. Wish me luck!

Before I forget, Columbia Connect I for the next batch is on Feb 10th and 11th. I recommend everyone to make an effort to attend these admit events. If you wish to know what happens in these events, here are detailed reports from the ones I attended.
Admit event I - http://columbiambaclassof2012.blogspot.com/2010/03/columbia-mba-admit-event-1.html
Admit event II - http://columbiambaclassof2012.blogspot.com/2010/04/columbia-admit-event-act-ii.html

Happy new year!

Sneak peak into the future

When you are deep inside this bubble called  investment banking recruiting it's difficult to plan ahead for the upcoming semester. Nevertheless, we still had to bid for courses we wish to take in the 2nd semester, and more importantly decide the destination for spring break!

Bidding for courses is a new phenomenon for me and it does become difficult to come to terms with it at times (especially when you lose!) . Even though there is great diversity in backgrounds and interests among the class of 2012, there are still many courses that fall into the trap of a supply/demand equation. For instance, Professor Greenwald's course on Value Investing is legendary around here. When you stick a rumor (or fact maybe) that he is taking a sabbatical after next semester... you get the idea. Many of my friends who bid >3000 points (which is ~25% of your total available bid points) still ended up empty handed as the course cleared over 5000 points! Initially I thought about bidding for the course (and most likely not win) but then I decided against it. I wanted to focus on taking courses that might help me perform better during my summer internship in an investment bank (if I'm fortunate to get one, touch wood!).  I got lucky and got all that I bid for- Capital Markets & Investments by Professor Tetlock, Financial Statements Analysis & Valuation by Professor Katz and Consumer Technology by David Pogue (New York Times Technology columnist). There are a few more courses we had to bid for and those bidding results are due in a few days.

Moving on to more fun things, I had to decide whether to participate in the lottery for Chazen study tours. Chazen study tour is basically a week long trip to experience the business and culture of a new country. Some of the main attractions about these trips are the opportunities we get to interact with senior managements of the top/most exciting companies in that area and also meet with  the senior political leaders of that country. The main attraction is of course the cultural exposure you get to experience and share with your friends from CBS! For the spring, we were offered trips to Italy, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Mexico. Most of them had a selection process that included a lottery or an application. (When you decide to attend an MBA program, get ready to accept  this as a fact of life- there is more demand than supply for all things worthy, except beer during happy hour!) All that said, I was in two minds about applying for the trip. On one hand, I had missed out on the awesome CBS World Tour and I was excited about traveling with friends from CBS. But then, for good or bad, Chazen didn't allow significant others to accompany us on the tour.  I was looking forward to spending time with my wife without stressing about internships and academics etc. Finally, my wife and I decided that it will be a good experience for me to take part in the Chazen trip :-) So I applied and was lucky enough to win the lottery for the Israel trip (my first choice!). Yay! The itinerary is exceptional- check it out here

So it's going to be a great start to a new year! Now before I start thinking too much about spring break, there is still final exams, cover letters, resumes, interviews and all that jazz standing between me and 2011. So for now, back to reality.

James Gorman and Chris Dixon

Yes, you read it right. Normally, there is no reason that would require them to be mentioned in the same context. But if you attend Columbia Business School, you get opportunities to interact with both. If you wish to do an MBA, you would want to be in a school that promotes diversity in all aspects. It can't get any better when there are no seats left in the room whether it is James Gorman who is the speaker or Chris Dixon.

I worry about the high interest (~10%) I'm paying for my student loan as an international student. When Mr.Gorman spoke about having a long term view about the MBA, he meant it- his interest rate was 24%!
It was insightful to understand his perspectives on leadership. He mentioned the importance of being able to reduce complexity. As a leader, you need to be able to decide on what matters and what doesn't. Once you decide that, you need to be able to communicate that well to your people. Above all, you should be equally equipped to deal with less information than ideal during decision making and also have the ability & desire to dig into the details when required.

As expected, there was a discussion on the recent financial crisis, what happened at Morgan Stanley and the ongoing financial reforms and regulations.  He expressed some reservations on the Volcker rule on principle- the ability of the government to dictate what businesses a financial services firm can participate in versus what it can't. His point was to let the government give guidelines on the capital requirements and other matters and leave it to the shareholders to decide the business focus of the firm and whether they find certain businesses attractive or not given these guidelines.

The focus went back to leadership again and he mentioned that one needs to care about what one is leading and be true to self. He recommended to keep our focus on the quality of the institution and the people and reminded us that we will have many careers in our lives, so we shouldn't judge by what happens in the next one year. He spoke about the importance of being able to communicate well and suggested that we get ourselves recorded in front of a camera to improve our communication skills (Every single student at Columbia Business School is recorded in front of a camera and given feedback as part of our career development program!)

The talk ended with him sharing his thoughts on the current economy and the importance of having patience in this turbulent period while things change for the better.

Clubs and leadership

CBS offers many outlets- clubs, conferences, competitions and other events one could participate and contribute to, be it professional, social or something in between. When the Association day (the day when we can officially join the clubs) arrives everyone goes crazy with all the choices available- Wine society or Microbrew? Soccer or Rugby? Banking or Consulting? Almost all of us end up spending 500$ and join a ton of clubs, this behavior may be explained by the phenomenon -Fear Of Missing Out.

Through my application process, I had networked with current students and was aware of this issue. So I decided early that I won’t spread myself thin and end up not enjoying the experience as well as I could. I promised myself  to pick not more than two-three things to focus on each semester.
 
This semester, I'll be focusing on Hermes Society (selected group of students who assist the admissions committee), and South Asian Business Association, as the AVP of Careers. I'll also be dedicating a lot of time and energy on the Investment Banking Club activities as that's my professional area of interest. Recruiting for an IB internship merits its own post and I'll cover this topic once my midterm exams are over. 

That said, I did sign up for one more activity initially only to drop out later.  I enjoy writing and I wanted to actively participate in the CBS Follies club. After participating in a few sessions pitching  skit ideas and working on a draft I could already see why everyone says Follies is one of the most fun/rewarding thing you can ever do here. Kate, Imran and rest of the leadership team go to great lengths in making this so much fun. The only reason I dropped out was because I couldn't do justice to the opportunities presented to me. Some of the workshops I attend to prepare for my future career were being scheduled at the same time Follies met...  I do hope I will get a chance to join the team again in future.

CBS MBA is all about making choices, sticking to them and not falling into the trap of FOMO. In my opinion, that’s the secret sauce to getting most out of this two years!