Memories of Bangalore

 I passed the Silk Board junction yesterday. Brought back memories, not all good. But the good ones were of joining PESIT in my first academic leadership role, with a set of 15 faculty and 120 MBA students. A university affiliated system in India was new, and some challenges were to transcend its limitations. We did Ok, with a journal being published (PES Business Review), case method adopted by many faculty, and training programs and conferences being done. An international collaboration with Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania too.

Then came a brief stint at IFIM in Electronic City. New colleagues, and we tried new things in admissions, touring 30 centres to admit students from all over India. I went as far as Dehradun and Amritsar, apart from Chandigarh, Udaipur and Jaipur. We achieved our target.

One common feature of places I was in-charge of, were the FDPs or faculty development programs we ran for our own and other B school faculty. On research methodology, or Case method of teaching/learning, Case writing, etc. that saw good participation. Alumni connect was also strengthened in most places I worked in, and continues to this day.

Of course, the metro railway is new, and the pubs and microbreweries have grown in number since then. 2020 was a peculiar year due to the COVID pandemic, but there's a lot to explore in Bangalore.

How to Review an Academic Paper

These are simple guidelines for wannabe reviewers. You will never go wrong with these, and will rise to become an editor of a reputed journal in quick time..guaranteed.

1. Make a blank list of ten bullet points, where you will list the flaws (in the paper) you are yet to find.
2. Ensure that you don't use any adjectives that are positive.
3. Show how well-read you are. Quote three papers that the author has not cited (ignore those he has cited).
4. Ignore what the author has done, and focus on what he could have- examples are, How does this help to solve issues such as global warming? or, How does this help the reader know the exact reasons for Trump's impeachment? Where is the theory underlying this fishing expedition? (it does not matter that Management has not had any new decent theory for the past 50 years and most people think that it is an Applied Field).
5. Underline the fact that this piece of .... will be magically transformed from unprintable crap to a wonderful, life-changing piece that can solve issues mentioned in 4 above ONLY by amending it in line with your review. It's either your way or the highway!

Leading Professionals

There is an expectation from leaders in many situations, that they will do a lot of leading-in other words, micro-manage their subordinates' work from A to Z. In an academic institution though (and perhaps in other places which are full of professionals who have entered the profession with a will to do well), less is more. The major difference between an academic job and many others is that people here resent being told what to do and how to do it. Most are here for the autonomy to decide what they want to spend time on, and how to do it too. Mentorship for young faculty who want it is an exception to this.

To quote a former IIT director, your best bet is to hire the best people (faculty) you can, and leave them alone, and hope they will perform. This may be the best way to nurture the crazy set of autonomy-loving professionals.

Of course, this does not work with the non-teaching staff, who may need directions AND control. So, it is horses for courses, depending on the kind of subordinates you have. Contingency theory of leadership, anyone?

We Are Multidimensional

Women more so than men I think, but we all are to some extent, multidimensional. I think the tendency to look at a human being as only one thing (or two) is extremely myopic.

We all function for about 60-70 years in ways that require many skills at work, and even more of them outside it. We might pursue a hobby (or many of these-photography and writing, in my case), maybe play a sport (I have played Golf, Badminton, Tennis and cricket at various points, apart from Table Tennis), travel alone or otherwise, interact with a variety of people from all walks of life (maids, drivers, assistants at work, bosses,...you get the picture), and some of these are not easy things to do.

We communicate, handle emotions of great variety, from anger, frustration, joy, hope, in ourselves and others too, and handle mundane tasks like cooking, cleaning, setting up a home, bringing up kids, buying a vehicle, and need various life skills to do that.

Did I mention academics? It is deliberately left to bring up the rear, because I want to make a point.

The End of the short lecture.

Coffee Room Banter

That's just a term-the beverage could be tea, which it is more often in my case. But it's not the beverage, it's the banter that is the focus here. We underestimate the power of socialisation, methinks. It needs effort. You can always have tea in isolation-doesn't taste the same. You can watch inane stuff on TV and comment about it, joke about it, or have a serious discussion about the world's problems and solve most of them in the course of one morning -or afternoon. I have done it many times over!!

The tea break relaxes you like nothing else, when you are busy working on something or thinking- we in academics need to do a lot of the second, and it can be hard work, though some think it's vella-giri ( an Indian term for fooling around, wasting time).

Therefore, I recommend a tea break as a restorative, if you are doing something serious, once in a couple of hours. Of course, after a break-up, it's even more important- just kidding!

Non-teaching Staff- A Tribute

Academic life has its pluses. Lots of reading time, opportunity to feel young in the company of youngsters who are full of life, etc... But it also has another angle. A lot of staff (non-teaching) who you get to work with. This is a tribute to some of them, from IIM Indore, IMT and Kirloskar Institute, Harihar that I feel fortunate to have worked with. The immediate trigger is the wedding yesterday of Neha, who works at the MDP office at IIM Indore.

Some really good officers have helped run the MDP/Training office here, like Pradeep, Manas and Bhupendra earlier. They worked untiringly to keep the training programs going efficiently, leading to a lot of repeat customers, and significant new business. I also had the good fortune of having a wonderful academic assistant (Saumya Sharma) and two secretaries (Limaye before, Naresh at present) who are a great help.

IMT Nagpur was a place where I headed the institute, and therefore, the role of the staff was extremely important for me. From Archana, my secretary, to Group Capt. Nath, a smiling ex-serviceman who headed admin, to Kamal Nayak and Vinod in accounts, to the ladies in the PGP office, to the guys who served tea and the drivers, Anand the mess manager, and Pankaj in transport, all of them performed their duties in a pleasant and efficient fashion. IMT N remains on my list of Best Places to Work, in no small measure due to all the staff. Similarly, Gaurav at IMT Ghaziabad and Aparna Dey. Raju Pujari at IFIM also I can never forget for his resourcefulness. And Somanna in accounts/admin. The Research Associates at IMTN were all hardworking, and I remember Tripti Shrivastava (who handled a conference all by herself) and Abhinav in particular.

KIAMS was an idyllic world, inhabited by some of the friendliest staff I have ever seen. Rajesh and Raghavendra stand out, along with Gururaj, Veena, Mehboob, Dr. Gopi, Srinath, Nagaraj, Umesh, Yuvaraj, Pavan, many of whom remain good friends to this day, and I look forward to meeting them, several years after I left Harihar.

These are unsung heroes who keep the institutes going, sometimes after faculty have left.

Leadership Memories

I spent a few years leading some Indian business schools in the period between 2005 and 2013. The things I remember that I think made a difference, during those years, to various institutes I was in.

1. PESIT, Bangalore. My first and only stint in an institute that was not autonomous.

Creating a self-belief that faculty there could do anything that autonomous B schools could. Running a scholarly journal, interacting with industry, teaching through cases, publishing, teaching internationally. Most of these worked beyond belief, with some of the performance indicators exceeding the then norms at better ranked B schools.

2. IFIM Business School: Streamlining the admission process for MBA. We had spectacular success in reaching out, to roughly 30 cities in a year for admission. Bringing in research emphasis. Repositioning the International Business program as a desirable one.

3. IMT Nagpur. Encouraging both faculty and students to excel, all-round, in academics and extra-curriculars. Adding placement reps in metro cities to market effectively. Alumni relations were recognised for their importance, and channeled into chapter meets. And, of course, building a Golf course, even if it was only two holes. And using it. Running conferences successfully, also. Industry interaction with compulsory industry guest lectures. Wrote my first video case on Golftripz in the process, with the help of an alumna from KIAMS. Institutionalising an annual faculty outing for introspection and just building up a rapport among the team.

4. IMT Ghaziabad. It was a rather short stint, but getting faculty interested in research, case-writing and their own career development was a priority. Working towards accreditation was illuminating, too. Again, alumni relations were consciously improved.

In the current role, I am in charge of our training programs or MDPs and it is amazing to unlock the potential that my staff has, to increase the business significantly. Of course, backed by colleagues who do the hard work of delivering.

Avatars- They are all Right Here

We in India have heard stories of the avatars of Vishnu- ten of them. So what's the equivalent for us?

Maybe the roles we end up playing in life. Though not as spotless as those played by the Gods, we do play them in our own way. Sometimes (to use filmy analogies) we are the nanha munna mischief-maker who is every grownup's pet, sometimes the Rajesh-Khannaesque lover boy (Sharmilaesque lover girl), or the Bachchan-like angry young man out to avenge a thousand wrongs done to self or society. Sometimes the jester, a la Asrani or Deven Verma or Mehmood (or Tuntun aka Uma Devi). And sometimes the extra on the sidelines.

Sometimes the Soorma Bhopali who boasts about his (mythical) conquests, the all-protective Bhaiyya (big brother), the cudgel-picking daughter-in-law, or the gyan-spouting philosopher father. I remember one dialogue of that kind from Saira Banu's dad in 'Padosan' in particular. When his wife (Saira's mother) pesters him about how their daughter is of marriageable age and he is not concerned about it, he replies philosophically, "Jab jab jo jo hona hai, tab tab so so hota hai" (what has to happen will happen when it has to).

Coming to the self, the boring academic, the bored student, the leader of an enthusiastic bunch, author, the 'virtual friend' of many in the ether (you might call this an ethereal role), and that of a blogger with some readers (a wonder, in this age of distractions), are some others that come to mind.

A Year in The Academic Life Cycle

Every place has a rhythm of its own, and so does an academic institution. The nine or ten months from the start of an academic year to its close usually go through a set pattern, though the players are different each time.

June or July: Excitement of a new batch joining the institute, with formal opening, orientation, and new bridges being built among students joining, their seniors etc. Some will last a lifetime.

August September: Formal exams kick in, and some student bodies are formed. At IMT, we have several, including the CCC, CIC, Prayatna that runs the Coop store, Placecom which looks after the all-important placements, Ovia, the cultural committee, and many more.

October-November: The festive season also has a lot of activity in the form of conferences, student fest, and other things that keep the calendar moving faster than normal!

December: Usually the placement season is in full swing, with the population of well-dressed young men and women showing a sudden upswing.

Jan-Feb:Sixth term for the seniors, with fewer classroom courses, and some soul-searching as the day of reckoning (leaving campus) nears. Also the season for batch photos (currently on). Generally a mixed-feelings season. Elective courses are announced for the following year.

March: Usually convocation time for seniors, and 3rd term exam time for juniors. The approaching internship also is an important part of the 2 year PGDM, and can be a turning point for some.

April and May, though relatively calm on campus, have a planning component for faculty with some important meetings, and thoughts for the coming year's activities. Some alumni meets at various cities are held during this time. Also, admission season for the following batch. And so life goes on....

New Academic Year

It will be a busy time of the year starting this week. Senior batch of students is back, and juniors follow in a couple of days. A series of Programs for Executives are planned and a couple for other B-school Faculty too. The campus is throbbing with life.

Starting on a good note too, because Business world, a respected magazine, has ranked IMT Nagpur as 34th among Indian B schools. Considering there are 2500-or-so B schools in India, that's a great number to have. Collective efforts of students, faculty and admin support have made it possible, and we hope to sustain this and improve continuously.

Just got back from Mumbai after a very successful alumni meet of IMT alumni from the last few batches. Extremely interesting and enthusiastic group, and partied till late (early?). About 125 alumni turned up, upstaging the Delhi numbers at a recent do there. We hope to do this more regularly.

The rains are here, after a scorching summer. Suddenly, the road leading to the campus has turned green, so has the campus, and the summer is forgotten.