Autonomous B Schools, or University Departments?

 Which is better?

In India, it appears, the autonomous B school outshines the department of management in a university. Especially if it is fully residential. This is unlike the US, where autonomy is inbuilt into university departments. The large bureaucracy in an Indian university nullifies some advantages that it may have in terms of scale and diversity.

Another unique thing is that the top Indian B schools are run by the central government. Unlike the Harvards of the U.S. This could be because the first independent Indian government identified Higher Education as a strategic growth lever, and went into action mode. Set up IIMs and IITs. The focus on one discipline helped them carve out a niche, unlike state universities, which also had fund constraints-still do. Industry participation initially was insignificant, and the government fully subsidised these institutions. My fees at IIM Bangalore for the PGDM in 1982-84 were around 3-4000 rupees per annum.  Seems to have paid off for the government.

Less bureaucracy, strict faculty selection and student selection and swiftly changing curriculum and pedagogy with freedom and incentives to faculty have made IIMs a force to reckon with- I worked at 3 of them, I should know.

Why IMT Nagpur Was Magical

 Can't put my finger on one thing, but I think the place had a vibe that was special. It included the people, and the way they interacted with each other. The students, the faculty, the staff, and also some of the inanimate objects. That may sound strange, but tangible inanimates do play a role in our lives. The grass, the trees, and the rocks. The design of some rooms, colour of the walls (Red Bricks in this case). 

Most of all, the people. Kirloskar Institute in Harihar (where I worked a few years before IMT) had this vibe too. In addition to a very tangible Golf course, but that's another matter.

The students had a mix of IQ and EQ that put them in a unique category, with a high total score. Other Qs too, perhaps. After all, we are multidimensional. So I would say that people brought their uniqueness to it,  being from different corners of the country. The faculty were actually global- many had studied or worked abroad.

Diversity makes a campus more vibrant, and we saw it in all IIMs I was at- to study or to work- 4 in all. We had it in good measure. I am still able to meet alums in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad if I visit these places- so many years after I stopped working at IMT. Many faculty have stayed for 15 years or more! Another sign of a good place!

The autonomy we enjoyed in running the place was also a contributing factor. Which meant student and faculty needs could be met without looking over our shoulder. 

Complacency

 When you are doing badly, you know you have to do better. So you work towards it. 

When you are doing reasonably well, it's tougher to be motivated. You might think, 

"I'm doing well. Why work harder?" 

And that's true of organisations as well. If you don't have obvious shortcomings, it's easy to fall into the complacency trap. And stop trying to be better. 

An example- IIMs think they are getting the best students. They could be, but even a low-ranked American university has more diversity in their student body. International diversity. I know, because i worked in one. Faculty diversity too. 

Just so you don't get complacent as an organisation, I suggest you revise goals every three years or so. And this applies to educational institutes as well as corporates. And see what happens.

What I Learnt From IIMs

I mean as a teacher/faculty. And what IIMs can do better..

Classes are overcrowded (MBA) - 70 plus in a section, not conducive to learning. Why can't they have smaller classes, larger faculty size? The norm in the US university I was at, was around 40 in a PG class. UG was larger.

More faculty would also help get more original research and accreditations if that is a goal. More cases too, perhaps with contributions from Professors of Practice. 

Not enough Ph.D. candidates. Each faculty could potentially have 3-4, or one new candidate each year. We would help create manpower. Make efforts to get more quality candidates by spreading the word. 

I had an academic associate (in Indore) who helped with grading. A must for every faculty, to give her/him time for value-added work.

Not enough guest faculty from industry. At IMT and some other institutions, we had a better number of industry folks within the courses, coming to guest lecture.

Projects (live in the course directed by faculty) are going down. Seminar courses are rare, except in Ph.D. classes.

Flipped classrooms are almost nil, in most IIMs I was in.. shouldn't top institutes be doing more of innovation?

 

Friends

This is not about the TV serial, but my friends. Friends are great, for many reasons, and it doesn't matter where they are- next to you, or in another corner of the world, as long as you connect when both are inclined to connect (HMT watches had a slogan once- If you have the inclination, we have THE TIME).

I am energised constantly by my friends-online and offline. It helps to meet sometimes, obviously, but that's not always possible. Where it is, I try, whether it's a work trip or a holiday. Most times, I am able to meet an ex-student, or a friend I haven't met in a while, and share lovely conversations about the good old days. In terms of numbers, many are from IMT Nagpur, my IIM Bangalore batch, Kirloskar Institute, PESIT, IFIM and then, IMT G, IIMK, IIML, VJIM, and of course, IIM Indore (my second longest stint after Kirloskar Institute-I love poha).

Sometimes, we end up playing Golf, but just chats are great too, over a beer or coffee. Sometimes I bug my friends to write cases or give guest lectures (ha, ha, beware!), and some actually oblige. But more often, there's no agenda, it's purely for fun and joy.

Here's to more meetings with friends, or chats online-these happen regularly too. I notice people asking me for advice these days-all that grey hair probably makes them think I know something they don't -wink, wink...

Intelligent Comedy by Women

Happened to watch a nice comedy show on TLC the name of which I forget. The name is immaterial. I was impressed by the female artists (this was a show for them)- comediennes. Why do we have male-dominated comedy shows, mostly? Stand-up is where equal opportunity should come in fairly easily. Why doesn't it?

On another note, I attended an Economic Times event-again the name of which I forget (proving that I deserve to be a prof.). It was a leadership contest for B-school students. There was only one female judge among a dozen- they were mostly CEOs or Business Leaders of some kind.

These shows/public events do send a message, even if symbolic. The first is a good attempt to showcase talent for comedy.The second is a reminder that corporates remain unequal for genders at the highest level. IIMs, incidentally, also have had few women directors. Just one currently and one long ago at IIM Lucknow that I know of. I am sure that's not due to lack of talent.

Here's hoping that more women show up when opportunities are made available at least- like driving in Saudi.

Selfienomics- Book Review

If you take this book seriously, you may not like it that much. If you don't, chances are you will like it a lot. Because it is written in a folksy (facebookish) style with plenty of hashtags and humour. There is an underlying seriousness, though. It aims at improving you. If you are like 99% people (or is it 99.98, like the CAT cutoffs) who believe firmly that they will not improve (# Hum Nahi Sudhrenge), then that is effort wasted (# Gaya tel lene).

But it is definitely worth reading. He even takes off on IIMs and other holy cows, after saying how we Indians don't like anybody criticising our icons. Some of his jokes are ROFL type, and will keep you going through the boring parts- there are a few, like advice on how much water to drink a day and why (haven't we been through this somewhere?).

There is also a panacea for many of India's ills- a better justice system, which works fast and well, and online where possible. The solution may sound naive (after all, he did not take the offer from IIM Bangalore), but the point is well-taken, that many of our systems of governance and citizen services are archaic.

Another point well-taken is about our responsibilities to society, and to ourselves, being neglected in the blind pursuit of the "family's good" (# Mere paas maa hai).  His advice on personal branding is good, and the reason why I bought the book in the first place. Create a first opinion, rather than just a first impression. Because people take time to form an opinion, but stick to it after they form one. Don't waste money on branded clothes, but dress well. ("If you want to know how, look at gay people-they have been in the closet longer than most"- jokes like these abound in the book). Remember things about people who you want to know better, if necessary by digging up info on the net, and using it to make conversation (# Stalking-the good side).

Generally, quotes from lots of people (like 'Patriotism is loyalty to a piece of real estate'- be a global patriot instead) also make this readable. (#Go Read it)

My Past Bosses

My Bosses over 20 odd years

This one should be a super hit (as they say in Bollywood), as bosses and spouses are the most talked about (maligned?) people on earth.

Boss at the Ad Agency: A lady was my first boss at this workplace. I was a fresher, and I felt she did not make use of skills (ha!) that I had. But I did learn how to be pushy from her. She was not that good at her work, but adequate for a small agency that had no ambition. My (women) colleagues did not like her one bit, and my (male) colleague Sunil Jariwala who was in media, was also fairly cool. She wrote my first appraisal in my work life, and it was not flattering. I did not stay long enough for the second appraisal.

Market Research Company: At my second job, the bosses (three of them) I had (C.K. Sharma, Matthew Paul and Shyam Sunder) were some of the nicest guys on earth. They were very democratic, and being from a similar background as mine (an IIM), maybe, were understanding. They gave me challenging work to do, and appreciated good work when I did some. I was rapidly transferred to their biggest territory (Mumbai), and they were cordial even when I left to go to the U.S. I really enjoyed my work, though the pay was not so great.

My Ph.D. guide at Clemson (Mike Stahl) was great, a very focused guy, and but for him, it would have taken me much longer than three years. He was quick with feedback, and pushed for acceptance from other members of the committee if he was convinced. When I see some struggling doctoral students in India, I am reminded of my good fortune.

At Lander, my Dean Dale Molander was very respectful (because I could teach quant subjects?), and supportive. Quanti teachers got a lot of respect in the U.S. anyways. He was also a very straight-talking and easy-to-get-along-with guy.

My first Indian academic boss (A Jesuit Father): At Bhubaneswar, I was aghast when I attended my first faculty meeting. It was more like a discourse in a Sunday Mass, and the boss was unstoppable. Anyway, I got into a fight and left fairly quickly, but it bothered me for a long time, coming from a democratic system in the US where faculty even voted on critical matters. This guy was also vindictive, and left a bad taste in the mouth.

Boss at Hyderabad: An officer and a gentleman is how I would describe this guy, ex-Air Force officer and ex-faculty member at Administrative Staff College (ASCI), who saw us through the initial few years. We jelled well. It was a nice experience while it lasted- about three years.

Kirloskar Institute: Boss No. 1: He had pedigree (had been at IIMA for donkey’s years), and good teaching style, but was somewhat introverted. We got along fine, and I learnt how to invest in infrastructure (intellectual) from him. We had a great collection of Harvard cases, films and business books. One of the films we used there, called “Who Killed the Sale?” was a classic.  We also had great visiting faculty from IIMs and elsewhere. We also valued people- salaries were twice those at other colleges.

Boss No. 2: Though not as illustrious as his predecessor in management training, he was a great human being, respectful and nice to work with. He succeeded in getting an MBA program going at Harihar, and genuinely wanted the good of the institution and all stakeholders.

Boss No. 3: A devil incarnate, and my first inspiration to strike out as a director. Absolutely without scruples. I had the most altercations in my life with this guy, and I don’t think they had any impact on him, as his skin was too thick. Teflon coated, as U.S. president Reagan was once called. (Some Teflon may be good for the boss, but not too much.)

At Lucknow: He was a director with a reputation for leadership, and I had no trouble at all from him. He had a lot of finesse in dealing with people, though it was apparent that there were many who did not approve of him. But then, a leader or anyone in an administrative position can rarely please everyone. One of his bad traits was getting less than qualified people to teach at IIML, but most IIMs were in dire straits for faculty, so maybe there was some good in that. I don’t know.

Other academic bosses: Boss No. 1: A very shrewd guy, managed his self-interest, but not that of his team. Did not have a clear plan for the institution, except claiming to be high and mighty. Lived on his past reputation, mostly.

Boss No. 2: Another inspiration for my directorial ambitions. Had a severe case of verbal diarrhoea, and people ran miles to avoid getting into the trap of his one-way communication. But a relatively ego-less guy, and therefore easy to get along with if you could tolerate the earlier-mentioned fault.

I become the boss: I also have a few (!) faults. I am the big-picture guy, not too target-oriented, tough, and so on, but I believe I am easy to work with (mostly), and concerned about an individual’s development. I also delegate extensively, and (I believe) give enough rope to people to hang themselves. I have no illusions of greatness (either mine or anyone else’s)- I believe we are all fallible.

My Favourite Students

This is not a recounting of all my favourite students over the years, because there are about a million of those, but a select sample. Many of these I remember because we are in touch on fb or otherwise. From many different institutes, because I have seen a few of those too...XIMB, Vignana Jyothi, PESIT, KIAMS, IIML, IIMK, IIMI, IFIM, IMT Nagpur and Ghaziabad..

Yamini, Aishwarya and Anjali Iyer, Shreyashi, Shruti, Harshad Lunavat, Abhinav Kamal, Pradyumna Mohanty, Bhagyashree aka Bugzy, Parul Kashyap, Hitansh, Vivek Anant, Dushyant, Sreeram, Anupriya, Anuja, Shivashankar, Murtaza, Aashish Chaudhary, Sheetal Garg, Anumeha Saxena, Anukeha Jain, Shafique, Nikita Kumar, Meghna Sinha, Adarsh, Jasleen, Pallavi, Vidisha, Kanika Mhendiratta....IMTians all, with a creative spark..actually many more, but this sample might be representative. Adding Ananya Nandi De, Abha Kulkarni, Ishita, Anshita, Rupam to that list as I met them a few times too. Abha, who was at IMT later on..

Deepa, Ranjana, Deepthi, Sudhir, Roopali, Giri, Sanchit, from Vignana Jyoti, Hyderabad.

Smita, Aditi, Nidhi (she's from Indore), Vidya, Swapna, Padmapriya (National Award winning actress afterwards), Dheeraj, Jogeswari aka Jogi (director at Golftripz), Nikhil Damle, Praveen, Jimmy, Siddharth, Aman, all from Kirloskar Institute at Harihar, an idyllic place if there was one. Anushka Mishra, who came to KIAMS later, after I had left.

Anusha, Siddhant Patnaik, Aishwarya, Sowmyashree Gonibeedu, Viju Varghese, Chaitra, Sonam, Sushmita, Sanjeev Undri, ..from PESIT.

Shreesha, Bharath, Aashneet, Veena, Nagendra, Monika Ghosh, ..from IFIM.

Anusha, Sapna, Tamros, Monika, Barleen, Bhuvneet from IIMI. And all the bunch who acted in The Importance of Being Earnest (many from IPM, such as Sanjana, Jasmine, Shrunga, Avik, Philip, Ayushi, and Urvaksh from PGP)

And some who weren't my students- a big group  of Ph.D. students at IIM Indore who I became friends with, some on the Golf course- Prachi Jain, Akansh Khandelwal, Neeti Ingole, Pratishtha Batra, Vartika Varyani, Geeti Mishra.

Nagpur and More

Don't know why, but coming to IMT Nagpur feels like coming home- hope my wife is not reading this, sitting in Pune. But jokes aside, it is a homely feeling on campus. I can understand the pangs of students who have to go away after spending just two years here. I am also reminded of some 'professional students'-mostly Indians on American campuses who did not want to leave the campus, and continued to enroll in some program so they could continue living there.

I was recently in two other campuses-Bangalore and Kolkata IIMs- in my quest for faculty to join us. They also had a unique feeling to them, though my stay was only a part of a day. Of course, I did spend almost two years in my avatar as a PGDM student at IIMB many years before. We played Frisbee footer then. Nagpur also has golf, if one is so inclined. But it does not matter much what the physical facilities are. It is the feeling of being away from the so-called 'real world' of anxieties, EMIs and all, that gives you incredible peace-barring placement season, if you are a student, of course.

I also find faculty here more at peace compared with those in bigger cities-including Bangalore! Maybe the monks got it right when they built monasteries in inaccessible places. I am afraid I might become a monk (without a Ferrari) if I stay too long!