One of the most worrying things on every new year is the thought that maybe one's moving away from a long term goal.
Although, nowadays one wonders as what exactly is a goal of life.
It was the year,2005, when one ended with 98.28 percentile and no IIM calls. Friends advised to consider S.P.Jain. Rejected with the reason - never compromise.
One friend advised to write GMAT immediately and apply to ISB for class of 2006.
Failure in CAT was so overwhelming that one shunned everything and ended up in US for 6 months.
When the 11th Official edition was released in June, ordered it as among the first few individuals. But never had the confidence to take the test.
Went for a month of coaching in Jan 2007. But never took it.
Finally, decided to plunge in. Went for coaching again in August 2007. Took it in Nov 2007 and ended up with 700.
Came to office and told a colleague about this. He was all excited and said that i should apply for ISB immediately as the deadline was Nov 15th. I wasn't that excited for various reasons. Still, he asked me to give it a shot. So, wrote 3 essays and applied. Got the Interview call. Guess, i would've been the only candidate who applied in such a short period of preparation - 3 days to be specific! Ofcourse, the essay questions really helped me to write from my heart about one's passion and goals and there was no need to think hard for points.
The interview wasn't a happy affair, again for various reasons including a major personal one!
Maybe, it was for the good as graduating this year wouldn't have been a very happy affair thanks to the poor job market.
Now, it has been successfully 5 years since one has a dream of MBA and it still remains the same. That is the amazing part.My brother was teasing that no matter what happens, one still seems to be making an attempt or the other.
And this year, there was a mail from ISB mentioning that if i am interested i could reapply this year. (not sure whether this is part of their regular mail updates. But felt nice)
So what exactly are the reasons that the dream still remains a dream?
1. No compromise. One could've gone for S.P.Jain. After all, a batchmate of mine did MBA there and now works for PwC in UK.
2. Lack of confidence in a self due to CAT failure. Yes, it was a huge deal to fail in CAT and it was really a first major failure...Till then, one was slightly on the over confidence side on one's abilities. Still, one should've moved on pretty quickly.
3. Dilemma over personal and career growth. Maybe, this is mainly because of the gender.
4. Mismatch between dream and reality due to financial factors. Working in India and aspiring for a global degree does lead to a huge financial gap!
Also, after all these years, one wonders as whether it's still worth holding on to the dream. And the answer seems to be Yes :)
Ofcourse the risk is huge and the ROI might depend on various external factors. But it's definitely going to be the rope required to climb the career mountain or one can always toil with one's own hands!
Jul 29, 2009
Jul 21, 2009
Never stop with one letter!
Read an unbelievable story today....
"A couple who split in 1993 have rekindled their romance after a ten-year-old love letter was found behind a fireplace."
I think, it is so unbelievable because the probability of such an event happening is nearly zero... they both seem to have remained single, the letter was still there behind the fireplace even after 10 long years, the cleaners didn't clear the letter as some rubbish and most of all, the phone number remained the same...and she did make a call :)
"A couple who split in 1993 have rekindled their romance after a ten-year-old love letter was found behind a fireplace."
I think, it is so unbelievable because the probability of such an event happening is nearly zero... they both seem to have remained single, the letter was still there behind the fireplace even after 10 long years, the cleaners didn't clear the letter as some rubbish and most of all, the phone number remained the same...and she did make a call :)
Jul 15, 2009
Jul 14, 2009
Bias?!
This is my Kiva page.
I started lending in Kiva last September. So far, i have successfully lent to 10 borrowers.(either fresh contribution from my side or reused the amount paid back by previous borrowers) My first borrower is still paying back. While my second borrower has paid back 100%. I was invited to join a group. I hesitated for a month and then joined. And never had a great conversation with the group so far. Honestly, i don't know what to contribute.
But i see an interesting pattern in my lending.
All my 10 loans are for females. Yes, i never favor lending to males as i strongly believe that a strong female always implies a strong family whereas a strong male need not necessarily imply the same.
I seem to have an instant aversion towards borrowers with more than 2 or to some extent 3 kids.
I seem to have a bias against lending to people who are slightly well off. In other words, i seem to look out for people who are struggling for the next day bread and lend to them or those who are trying to move away from poverty.
I seem to have a soft corner towards single parents.
I seem to have a soft corner towards borrowers who have mentioned about educating their children.
All my loans are only $25 and not more.
I have never once contributed to Kiva admin costs.
I seem to have a bias against lending to so called developed nation borrowers like USA, whereas i don't seem to have bias against regions based on ethnicity,religion and hey, i have even lent to a Pakistani borrowers :)
I hate loans which are meant for females, but the photo shows her male relative. I prefer to see the borrower photo even if she is completely covered in burqa.
I don't seem to like Group loans. Actually, i agree that this is a good model for recovery from micro finance perspective, but i never seem to feel a personal touch with the borrowers in case of group loans. But nowadays, i am consciously trying to overcome this bias.
And nowadays, i seem to look for a better repayment terms, as i think that it might help me to reuse the money often.
Also, initially, i used to lend only when the repayment amount is received fully. Later, i started contributing additional amount to the repayment amount for a new loan. Nowadays, i am consciously trying to lend once a month.
So, is there an economist out there who is analyzing the lending patterns of individuals? If yes, here is your first sample ;)
Anyways, all in all, i wonder whether i am lending for my own emotional selfish perspective?!
I started lending in Kiva last September. So far, i have successfully lent to 10 borrowers.(either fresh contribution from my side or reused the amount paid back by previous borrowers) My first borrower is still paying back. While my second borrower has paid back 100%. I was invited to join a group. I hesitated for a month and then joined. And never had a great conversation with the group so far. Honestly, i don't know what to contribute.
But i see an interesting pattern in my lending.
All my 10 loans are for females. Yes, i never favor lending to males as i strongly believe that a strong female always implies a strong family whereas a strong male need not necessarily imply the same.
I seem to have an instant aversion towards borrowers with more than 2 or to some extent 3 kids.
I seem to have a bias against lending to people who are slightly well off. In other words, i seem to look out for people who are struggling for the next day bread and lend to them or those who are trying to move away from poverty.
I seem to have a soft corner towards single parents.
I seem to have a soft corner towards borrowers who have mentioned about educating their children.
All my loans are only $25 and not more.
I have never once contributed to Kiva admin costs.
I seem to have a bias against lending to so called developed nation borrowers like USA, whereas i don't seem to have bias against regions based on ethnicity,religion and hey, i have even lent to a Pakistani borrowers :)
I hate loans which are meant for females, but the photo shows her male relative. I prefer to see the borrower photo even if she is completely covered in burqa.
I don't seem to like Group loans. Actually, i agree that this is a good model for recovery from micro finance perspective, but i never seem to feel a personal touch with the borrowers in case of group loans. But nowadays, i am consciously trying to overcome this bias.
And nowadays, i seem to look for a better repayment terms, as i think that it might help me to reuse the money often.
Also, initially, i used to lend only when the repayment amount is received fully. Later, i started contributing additional amount to the repayment amount for a new loan. Nowadays, i am consciously trying to lend once a month.
So, is there an economist out there who is analyzing the lending patterns of individuals? If yes, here is your first sample ;)
Anyways, all in all, i wonder whether i am lending for my own emotional selfish perspective?!
Idea
A few years ago, this thought came up after a few visits to Walmart in US.
One of the important things which Walmart should care about is reducing the time taken for the customers to finish the checkout of purchases made. Ideally there is a barcode tag in every item and the employee has to show this to the reader one by one, while the items are kept on a rolling table.
My idea was, why not have a screening machine kind of setup for this activity. Say, the items are kept on a line on the rolling table. Every item passes through this screening machine. As it moves along, the barcode is read and the item is billed. So, the time lag involved in the employee picking up the item and showing the barcode to the reader is reduced.
One of my friend suggested that i am crazy... but i still consider this to be a very innovative idea. Infact, this might simplify the self checkout counters as well.
I am reminded of this idea after reading about the Patent filed by Bill Gates & co for stopping Hurricanes.
There is another patent for a temperature stabilized self containers which sounds similar to thermo flasks. Also imagine how it would be if there are ziplock kind of covers/ wrappers which can be used to cover a specific item and set a specific temperature... Maybe this is possible due to nano technology. When it does become a reality, i wonder what'll happen to refrigerator, microwave ovens and many other stuff. Would it be like how ice machines gave way to refrigerator?
One of the important things which Walmart should care about is reducing the time taken for the customers to finish the checkout of purchases made. Ideally there is a barcode tag in every item and the employee has to show this to the reader one by one, while the items are kept on a rolling table.
My idea was, why not have a screening machine kind of setup for this activity. Say, the items are kept on a line on the rolling table. Every item passes through this screening machine. As it moves along, the barcode is read and the item is billed. So, the time lag involved in the employee picking up the item and showing the barcode to the reader is reduced.
One of my friend suggested that i am crazy... but i still consider this to be a very innovative idea. Infact, this might simplify the self checkout counters as well.
I am reminded of this idea after reading about the Patent filed by Bill Gates & co for stopping Hurricanes.
There is another patent for a temperature stabilized self containers which sounds similar to thermo flasks. Also imagine how it would be if there are ziplock kind of covers/ wrappers which can be used to cover a specific item and set a specific temperature... Maybe this is possible due to nano technology. When it does become a reality, i wonder what'll happen to refrigerator, microwave ovens and many other stuff. Would it be like how ice machines gave way to refrigerator?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
