You Know You Have Finished Your MBA When...

• You ask the waiter what the restaurant's core competencies are.
• You refer to dating as test marketing.
• You can spell 'paradigm'.
• You actually know what a paradigm is.
• You write executive summaries on your love letters.
• You think it is actually efficient to write a ten-page paper with six other people you do not know.
• You believe you never have any problems in your life, just 'issues' and 'improvement opportunities.'
• You know every single piece of clip art in PowerPoint.
• You can explain to someone the difference between 're-engineering', 'down-sizing', 'right-sizing', and 'firing'.
• You start to feel sorry for Dilbert's boss.
• You refer to divorce as 'divesture.'
• You insist that you do some more market research before you and your spouse produce another child.
• You use the term 'value-added' without falling down laughing.
• You give constructive feedback to your dog.
• When Marriage is Another "M & A" for you.

Secrets of high performing teams

I am reading 'The Heart of a Leader', a book by Ken Blanchard. He sites a quote from his another book 'The One Minute Manager Builds High Performing Teams'. It goes like this...
"None of us is as smart as all of us."

Ray Kroc of McDonald's was also quoted saying something very similar...
"None of Us is as Good as All of Us"

And I completely agree with both Ken and Ray's views. It's the collective efforts, the team that enable us to do great things. In a true team, 1+1 != 2, but it's 1+1=11. So, how do you create such high performing teams?

Out of many things that may contribute to making of high performing teams, one that I have experienced in my MPE team is 'DIVERSITY'. We are a bunch of people from very diverse background.

• Anand (Telecom/MNC/Male/Travelled/Gujarati -Born & Brought-up in Maharashtra)
• Anshu (Insurance Broking /INDIAN FIRM/Female/Rajashthan)
• Lakshmi (Financial Services/MNC/Female/South Indian - Living in Mumbai)
• Namita (Insurance/INDIAN FIRM/Female/Travelled/Rajashthan)
• Prachi (Digital Media/INDIAN FIRM/Married Female/Marathi - Born in MP)
• Rajesh (IT Consulting/INDIAN MNC/Married Male/Travelled/Gujarati)

This diversity brings new perspectives, ideas and creative solutions on the table. It always helps when you don't know many things that others in your team know. It makes you be open and encourages you to continue learning. Ken Blanchard notes that "you don't have to be the only bright person in the group. In fact, admitting your vulnerability allows you to ask for help.".

What are your thoughts on secrets of high performing teams?

Sweet memories - Anand's Birthday

MPE Journey so far....

Exactly one year back on May 27th, 2007, I left US to enroll for MPE at NMIMS in India. The GD & PI went well and I headed for a much-needed 1 month vacation. It's been quite a journey since then.

1st semester was fun. New environment, new place, new friends... My project team was excellent. Well, let me first introduce them.

1. Anand: I still don't understand what he is doing in a Telecom company. He is a entrepreneur material - I just can't wait see him make it big in the business world.
2. Anshu: Balanced personality - very mature, thinker, well-read as well as someone who enjoys every moment in life.
3. Lakshmi: If you want to see a truly honest person, you must meet Lakshmi. I admire the way she conducts herself in every situation. Very accommodating and hard-working too.
4. Namita: Extrovert, Fun, Party, "Can do" attitude! Without Nami, our group would be incomplete. She truly makes it fun working as a team. Also, a very good manager, I must admit.
5. Prachi: Before meeting Prachi, I always thought it would be impossible for a working mother to manage study in a B-school. It says a lot about her passion and hard work. Also, a style icon!

In B schools, you learn from your peers as much as you do from faculties. I have learned a great deal from my peers and I must thank all of them.

We worked on various projects and assignments together.

• Marketing to Kids (Marketing Management)
• Personality and Development (Organizational Behaviour)
• Knowledge Management using IT (Information Management)
• Study of General Insurance Industry in India (Managerial Economics)
• Project Financing (Financial Analysis & Management)
• Various Case Studies (Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc.)

Of course, there was enough doze of parties, entertainment, movies, games as well.

Comparatively, the second semester has given less opportunities to work in groups. We just completed a couple of projects.

• Sales Management in IT Industry (Sales Management)
• Latest trends and challenges in Performance Appraisal (Human Resource Management)

At the same time, we did more case studies in this semester . Hilton, Intel, US Army, Apple, etc.

It's been quite a learning experience so far. So, what's next? We have few parties, one presentation and final exam lined up in next few months!!!