When Simulation becomes more real than Real Life....

Term 2 at ISB has reinforced two things - one, we're in a world-class B-school with world-class subjects and faculty ...and two - the sleepless nights and the general mothering continues. It just gets worse.
But first, Competitive Strategy, and Prof. Prashant Kale, of Ross Business School. The subject took us by storm. All case-study based...but the Prof takes it to another level. He believes in the socratic method of teaching which means all Arbit CP ends (I guess I have to define Arbit CP - arbitrary class participation, or the bane of all lectures). You say something stupid, you get asked 8 questions before you back off, and you're at an answer completely different from where you started off. And, you're never going to forget it that way. Everyone gets called btw...you can run but you can't hide. I for one am not going to forget Porter's 5 forces, or the McKinsey game matrix, or the Pepsi-Coke strategy case, or Southwest Airlines, or Apple..or..or...(oops I did forget)
Then, there's Markstrat. Can't find any appropriate link whic describes how painful and exciting this thing is. I'll try my darndest - Markstrat is an online simulation exercise, developed as a teaching tool by two INSEAD Profs, Herbert Gattignon and Jean-Claude Larreche. So we have a firm, an industry, one - potentially two - products to launch into Markstrat World. There's a budget to do sales, advertising, R&D. And 8 decisions to make - all of which would include a combination of increasing production, launching new brands, new products, new target segments. We're competing against four firms in one industry...and against all firms across ISB which have the same characteristics as us. Confused? So are we...
Suffice to say- Markstrat world has taken over real life. I for one am obsessed - how the hell did firm E kill the market? Can we do enough R&D and launch a new product? Can we wage a price war? What the hell is the sales force reaction elasticity? Are the consumers price elastic or inelastic? Am I sounding like a total nerd? Do I need to get a life?
At the moment, my firm, i.e firm I (the five firms are A, E,I,O,U) have got hammered with the highest level of inventory across all firms and industries, and have no money to launch new products. But I will fight like my life depends on it, grades be damned.

To end on a more realistic note - two snafus:
Arbit CP of the year
Prof asks a student - "Who will be your target segment?
Student - "Err... The customers"
Prof - !!!!!!!!!

Close runner-up
Prof: We will now define Π, as the measure of risk...
Student 1: How do find out the value of Π?
Student 2 (interrupting without listening to the entire thread of conversation): Duh, it's 22/7, didn't you know that?
Class: Huh?

So long folks, next week is midterm. See you if I survive.

Look ma, it's Term 2!

It took me some to realise that there are things that one can do in the day besides finish assignments and study, and worry about grades. Needless to say, its the grades that brought about that realisation. At times, when the going got really tough at about 03oo in the morning, I started listening to Sting on youtube.com. Nothing more therapeutic than that.

Before one could blink, Term 1 got over, end-terms were a disaster as I found out today, hoping against hope for a miracle, and we're now in the full swing of things in Term 2, grappling with Decision Making and Optimisation (DMOP), Marketing Decision Making (MDM) and Competitive Strategy (CSTR or CompStrat). The one bright spot - Neeti (wife) made it to ISB in time for the finals and then stayed for a few days during the term break. Now it's back to the single life all over again.

But things are buzzing on campus. Ideas are floating, clubs being formed, life-long relationships are taking shape, while non merit listers have given up the ghost. Much as I resist, I'm slowly, surely, steadily falling in love with ISB and everything that it stands for.

But more about that later. I spoke to a friend recently... and the conversation went like this -

Friend: Your blog is nice, but there's nothing about ISB

Me: Huh? It's only about ISB! What else is there?

Friend: It's more about you... and your cribs and bitches.

Me: (More huh) But that's largely because ISB makes me do all that.

Friend: Oh please, I don't know squat about what an ISB MBA is like. I mean, yea it's stressful, but what isn't? Don't be such a self-centered ass.

Me: ????????

Friend: Oh just shove it.

Above mentioned friend is female, btw. She does make a good point though - what constitutes an ISB MBA?

So let's see - clearly, its diversity, world-class infrastructure and faculty and a stress load that ensures that you've barely got time to breathe between lectures. Profs are all topnotch, including some of those who taught Part 2 of Term 1. Even if we've not got the grades, we've absorbed enough fundas to understand a lot of business decision making.

But what's so super about ISB is the healthy emphasis on co-curricular activities and on learning beyond the classroom. In less than two months, I've attended leadership sessions, donated blood, partied, bid friends farewell, become an active member of Club Media and can sense a drastic difference between old me and new me. Again, going beyond the classroom, my time management has improved, I'm understanding team dynamics better and have learnt to let my hair down when required. It's a thrill-a-minute ride, and after groaning about the stress for four weeks, I've begun enjoying it. Things are getting exciting now, with Aikya (an ISB activity where students get to itneract with prominent families of Hyderabad as part of their extra-curric learnings). There's loads of more activites to follow. I'll try to make it as exciting as possible!