We recently invited members of our Board of Studies and a couple of other committees to the campus for deliberations on current curricula and future directions.
We had some stalwarts from companies such as Ernst and Young, KPMG, and some academic heavyweights who came from IIT Delhi, IIM Bangalore, IIM Indore and so on.
We got a few good ideas, and intend to work on them. Our 5-month internship for MBA students was roundly applauded. Also our emphasis on industry interaction at all levels, and our innovative pedagogy.
Some pics from the event.
below, a photo op in a classroom.
Proud of getting a good education. It was cheaper, those days. Including the Ph.D. abroad, through a scholarship.
Writing an autobiography. For many, it remains a pipedream. All through life. Like the Hole-in-one in Golf. I got two, in 2014 and 2016, at Kodaikanal and Wellington, both in South India.
Friends -making them, keeping them. I have so many I have lost count. Mark Zuckerberg and multiple job changes helped. All those colleges and schools I attended too!
Accomplishments of my students. And kids.
Many relatives I was fortunate to know, due to my parents. Cousins alone, are over a dozen or two.
My leaning towards music. Karaoke singing too, after practicing at antakshari for many years.
My ability to communicate over social media. Whatsapp, I don't like too much, but it's helpful for quick one-to-one communication and meetings. Facebook for more leisurely musings, or posting pics. Now, memories too.
My quizzes which are simple, fun and impromptu. I get engagement, and some really great answers.
Work first.
Started a journal, PES Business Review when I was at PESIT, Banashankari, Bangalore. Manasa, Jayasimha and Shahida all played a role. We launched it with some good papers.
A Case conference at Goa when I was Director at IMT Nagpur. It was exotic, fun, and very successful. Harsh Halve was a prime mover.
Successful convocations at IMT Nagpur. The Admin. played a major role. Also the faculty in various organising committees.
Publishing my first book, on Marketing Research. KIAMS staff helped, and students by writing cases for it. Now in its fourth edition, released at IIM Indore.
Alumni meets for IMT alumni. Many were memorable. Some friends made there are forever. Sheetal, Nikita, Anchal, Shuchi, are just some of those.
Ph.D. students I worked with as a Guide, or mentor. Manoharan, Suma and Naveen Das actually were my students as a Guide. Others, I was on their committees.
New courses, like a Seminar on Thought Leadership, or Digital Marketing and Seminar on Tourism Marketing. Taught me a lot.
Just how much of personal branding is 'personal' and how much of it is intertwined with the organisation you are with?
My thoughts are - your personal attributes are a part of your personal brand. They create other peoples' impression about you. This is an image built on your expertise, or your charisma (for celebrities, particularly, but not always), or your character - as in reliable, friendly, non-judgemental, kind and so on.
Organisational/product brands are purposefully created to reinforce a certain image (positioning?) that the company wants to reinforce so that target customers buy/continue to buy their product. As in Britannia biscuits brands, or a restaurant brand like Chaayos. Their characteristics are related to that product/service and (hopefully) differentiated from others.
Sometimes, these two intersect, with a founder or long-serving CEO, whose image kind of merges with that of his organisation. In the first couple of decades of Infosys' growth, Narayana Murthy became the brand ambassador and his persona merged with that of Infosys. Virgin Atlantic's founder Richard Branson, and Vijay Mallya (King of Good Times) also come to mind.
However, with people who work for many different organisations during their lifetime and contribute in each, their personal brand may be stronger than a particular organisation's. Some IAS/IPS officers who serve in different roles leave an impression for their personal qualities such as integrity or efficiency. So do a few in social sectors, not just corporate roles. Or in journalism. Or education, for that matter.
I participated as an invitee at ISB Hyderabad's Roundtable to discuss the road ahead for Indian higher education sector. There were a few other education leaders, from private institutions/universities such as SRM, Galgotias, IMS Ghaziabad, and CRM etc. I met a few former colleagues. We had a couple of breakaway groups too.
Pics from the event.
This is about classmates, starting from school. For many years, we never met. Only a couple, like Ram Kumar Seshu, I met in Hyderabad or Bangalore. Rajiv Krishnan too, just a couple of years ago.
Then, suddenly, we had a major gathering, with about 17 classmates showing up last year at Hyderabad. Before that, a smaller one had happened with 7-8 people (men, it was Boys' school)-Kamlesh hosted it, on a visit from the U.S.
Above- With TAS Vijayaraghavan, IIMB classmate, at XLRI. His wife is also in the pic. Met him after many years, in 2024.
College (Osmania engineering), I remember a large gathering at Begumpet around 12-14 years ago. After that, off and on, I met Venugopal Reddy in Delhi, along with a few visitors, Nagarjuna in Harihar and elsewhere- Indore, recently. And we went on a Bheemeswari outing courtesy G Sreenivas, near Bangalore. We also met at Makrand Deshpande's invitation at a wedding in Pune. KSM I met when he was at Euroflex too, and wrote a case on the company's international marketing effort as well.
Bangalore IIM classmates I have met in large and small groups, or individually, more regularly. Prabhakar introduced me to Single Malts, and I am grateful. Killer and Smoke Smoke Ramesh in Bangalore, Hassled Ramesh in the U.S., Banny and Ravi in the US, Venky, Cheenu, Anu, Chitra, Sekhar in Mumbai, Sandhya in Nagpur, Shanks, Bishop and Paddy in Chennai, Sajeev in Lucknow and Chennai recently, Rajan of India at Indore, Bangalore, Mumbai, Dash multiple times in Kolkata, Goa, Indore and Delhi, Vijjy at XLRI after years, Uday and Suma at Calicut and Mumbai, Sardie and Sujit in Goa, Harish in Delhi, Bangalore, are some warm and fuzzy memories. Snail in Delhi and Indore too. Dunhill in Lucknow.
See it, you may enjoy the story.. of a little girl who wants to be a grownup, instantly.. stars two good actors in the lead roles. A tad lo...
