IFIM Faculty Workshop

We all (IFIM faculty) spent two very useful days on April 25 and 26 clarifying the role that we have to play as Business School faculty today. And found that this is a multi-dimensional role, that includes mentoring students & colleagues, building the institution's brand through executive training, research leading to publication , consulting, case writing and so on. 

The great faculty members of this world have distinguished themselves through either teaching standards, research or book writing. Think Marketing, and you think of Kotler. Services Marketing, Parasuraman, Brand management, Keller or Kapferer. Therefore, to be a recognised faculty member, you have to contribute in some way to the profession. 

Use of innovative teaching methods, including films, case studies, role plays, projects etc. could be great ways to break the monotony of a class. Live examples cited from current periodicals are also an excellent tool. Computer based analysis helps make students industry ready. These were some of the learnings. Also, a link between all these and appraisal systems would motivate the good faculty to stick around- retention issues re a headache across B schools. All in all, two days well spent.

Election Time

Election tamasha is on for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. In Bangalore it's on 23rd April. There is virtually no new idea from anyone, though it seems like a few professionals and intellectuals have joined the fray this time. That's a good sign.
The other tamasha is that of IPL, cricket played in 20 overs each, just right for today's age. Total of about 3 hrs, just about Ok for our low spans of attention. The first two matches brought unexpected results, with Bangalore and Hyderabad actually winning! Great for the game of 'glorious uncertainties', as Lala Amarnath used to say on radio before TV took over commentary.
We have a faculty workshop coming up for our faculty at Yercaud this weekend. This will be interesting, as we will debate teaching-learning innovations and some other fundas like the changing role of a faculty member at a Business school.

Golf in Salem

Got a chance once again to play Golf at Salem- the chip and putt version, but very interesting nevertheless. It was also on a day when the Augusta Masters was on in the US, so that added zip. My chipping improved a lot. A light drizzle made it pleasant. Back in Bangalore it was (and is) super-hot. No idea when the pre-monsoon showers will arrive. Usually they do, in April.

Early reactions on my autobiography have been good. Hopefully there will be some readers, apart from me! I am into a team organising a 25 year reunion for our IIMB batch this year at the campus. Should be fun, with most guys approaching 50 or beyond. Past our own mid-life crises, and into our kids' life-crises, with upcoming admissions, teenage blues and so forth.

Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson, well-known humour writer, has a way with words. I am reading his book, "A Walk in the Woods", where he describes his LONG walk up the Appalachian Trail- around 200 miles long. You might imagine that this would be a big bore, but he makes it very engaging. Why anyone would attempt such a walk is a question worth considering. As Bill puts it, you are for a while in a world without any meetings, engagements, things to do (except walking, of course), and I might add, without any expectations of other people to weigh you down. I also saw this movie about the motorcycle wanderings of Che Guevara through South America, and it has a similar spirit. The generally idealised 'world cruise' concept probably stems from the same desire- to do nothing for a longish period of time. Was it the same idea as Sanyas, or Vanaprastha, that our ancient texts talk about? Could be.

It's here!

My autobiography is finally out. Titled My Experiments with Half-truths, it's available from http://pothi.com/pothi/book/
rajendra-nargundkar-my-experiments-half-truths which is an online POD publisher, who makes it easy to publish your own book. I found out about it a month ago, and my book is already for sale online. I recommend it for motivated budding authors who are not looking to become a best-selling author (though you may still end up being one), but mainly write for a small audience of your own friends, or relatives, batchmates etc. No hassles of chasing a publisher, fighting duels with editors, and no mandatory order of 300 or 500 copies! Just format your own stuff, design a cover page, submit it, and voila! You have a book. It's called Print-on-demand or POD, so it's printed and delivered against an order. I really think it's a great concept. I wrote the book for fun, and to consolidate my experiences of student life and life as a prof. Hope there are some people out there who will read it.

An update (Aug 2012): The book is now also available through Flipkart, India's most successful online retailer of books and various other things. So that's two new technologies that have helped me, an unknown author of this type of non-fiction).