A Happy Post!! :) :)

I am 4 weeks into my 10-week MBA Summer Internship and thought this would be a good time to write about my experience till now. I am working with a technology start-up, Lockhouse Network (lockhouse.net) , in Pittsburgh as a Corporate Strategy & Business Development Intern.

I absolutely LOVE working at this place!! I don't think I've ever felt more excited, enthusiastic, and happy while working before. If I remember correctly, I was almost always frustrated and stressed with my old job. But this is just a turn around. This time everything is different, and all for the good!

Y'all must be wondering about the reasons behind my joy and excitement about this job. Well, there are quite a few of them but I'll share the most important ones with you.

1. Struggle: I had to struggle hard for 4 months before this internship offer materialized. It was tough giving so many interviews and keeping sane. I was determined not to take up any random offer and applied only for the jobs I was truly interested in. But it all paid off in the end and suddenly from zero offers one day I had 3 offers within the next 7 days :) :) It was a good kind of stress to make the correct decision. My heart was set on Lockhouse from the beginning, but I assumed I had to decide using my head. So I had a lot of discussions with my parents and friends, and when they also encouraged me to follow my heart I went with this offer. Believe me, I thank god everyday that I listened to my heart and ended up here!

2. People: The one thing I've realized after working at Lockhouse is that the people you work with is the single most important factor in determining your degree of satisfaction and contentment with a company. Money, career growth, etc. are also important, but secondary factors. I'm working directly with the CEO and the VP - Marketing & Strategy, and they are Amazing!! Both of them are very down-to-earth, humble, respectful, and flexible. Both of them have accomplished so much in their life, but they have no arrogance or superiority complex about it. After dealing with arrogant and uptight company personnel for so long this was a pleasant surprise for me!

3. Work: The second most important thing to consider while deciding on a job offer. When I decided to go with Lockhouse I knew what I had to do, but I'd never imagined that it would be such high responsibility work. My opinion is asked, and taken into account, for any business-related decision that is to be taken. Also, I had never thought that I'd be using so many concepts that I had learned during my first year of MBA. But every other day I go back to look at the notes of some course I had taken last year, to move in the right direction. Some courses and workshops that have proved to be very very useful are - Service Management, Finance, Marketing Research, Marketing Management, Writing for Managers, Management Presentations, Pricing, and Excel Modeling for Managers. It gives me such great satisfaction to actually be using the concepts learned in the mentioned courses.
Another exciting thing related to work is the amount of appreciation I get for doing this work. I admit that I am not comfortable with getting compliments about my work because I feel I'm just doing my job, but that doesn't deter my managers from continuously appreciating whatever I do.

There are a lot of other things that I love about that place but it'll take me a long time to list them down.

I don't know what is in store for me in the long term, and what will happen after the 10 weeks are over. I only hope and pray that it is as good as this opportunity with Lockhouse!

Checking Out Now!
Ciao :)

Indian vs. American Kids

I've heard a lot of differing opinions on this post, so thought of putting a Disclaimer: This post almost exclusively describes the behavior of kids whose parents are from India, but the kids themselves have been born and brought up in the US of A! Also, this is my personal opinion based on my observations and in no way a generalization!!

I've been on Spring Break for the last 2 weeks. Before the start of my vacations, I made many plans to visit new places in and outside US, and explore. But, similar to any other American grad student living on limited budget and under the shadow of huge student loans, I ended up spending Spring Break at my relatives' place in Cleveland and New Jersey, catching up on movies and Grey's Anatomy episodes, and barely stepping out of the house. However, it was not a complete waste. I observed the daily workings of a typical American household and compared it to an Indian household. I also got a good look at the behavior and etiquette of American kids and yes, again compared it with the behavior of kids back in my homeland.

Before I go into the details, I want everyone who has been brought up in India to thank their parents for the "sanskaars" and values they've instilled in us. We should be proud of all the manners that are a part of the Indian culture and we've been taught by our family members.

When I see the way kids in the US behave with their parents, their teachers, guests who visit their home or just about anyone elder to them, I'm amazed at the lack of respect and in some cases, civility. Here is a list of a few traits that are common across most of the children born and brought up in the US (if you're aware of the number of relatives I have in this country, you'll understand that my sample size is quite large):

Disrespectful - As I've already mentioned above, this is the one thing that is common to all the kids here. They don't respect the elders in they way we do in India. I understand there's a major cultural difference between the two countries, but this is something that should not be affected by cultures. Respecting elders should be taught to every kid irrespective of the country they live in.

Indifferent - This is another thing I've observed that the American kids are very indifferent to the emotions, needs, and preferences of others. For them, it's all about I, Me, and Myself. Everything they want, everything they do/don't do is purely for themselves.This could also be called Selfish behavior, which is another terminology I agree with.

Money-minded - Kids here are completely fine with spending their parents' money without a care in the world, but ask them to shell out a penny from their own pocket and they'll think a thousand times. I'm not saying that kids in India don't do that. I am guilty of that too, but then I think equally hard before spending my parents' hard earned money too. But here, kids don't think at all before making huge demands to their parents and expect them to be met immediately.

Inflexible - American kids are not willing to compromise on pretty much anything. They want all their demands to be met, exactly the way they want it, with immediate effect. On the other hand, I find Indian kids to be quite flexible and accommodating. This again stems from the fact that we've been taught to take into account everyone's opinions and feelings before making a decision or before demanding something. But in the US, it all me, me, and me.

These area few glaring differences that I found in Indian and American kids. There are a lot many subtle differences, which are hard to explain and write about. I agree most of these are due to the differences in culture and the bringing up of children in the two countries, and I'm also not trying to be critical. It's just an insight into the contrast of values and the basic moral teachings of two cultures.

Just a last piece of advice before signing off: All you Indians, if in future your parents accuse you of being disrespectful, lazy, or argumentative, just send them to spend a week with American kids. I'm pretty sure you'll be the angels of their eyes after that one week. I'm surely gonna try that in the future.

Signing Out,

Ciao! 

The Perfect Song for my MBA Journey

The last 6-7 months have been a roller coaster ride for me. It is said that an MBA is a very intense course and you lose the track of your life during these 2 years. You are basically thrown in front of a train and have to constantly race against time to avoid being hit by that fast-paced train. You have to be on the top of your game at all times, one wrong step and all the effort you've put in can be wasted.
All of the above is true. It is also true that the stress levels are very high with so many things going around you. An MBA student has to successfully juggle multiple things at a time - Recruitment, Course Work, Homework, Networking, Housework, Social Events etc.

But the one thing that no one tells you about is how to juggle relationships with your peers. When you come into an MBA program you meet a large set of people from different countries, backgrounds, and cultures. You work with them in teams, hang out with them, and practically spend 3/4th of your day with them doing something or the other. You like some people, dislike some people, and for some your opinion keeps on changing constantly because you can't really understand them. But at the end of the day they are your competitors in every field. However, in the course of all this you also find a few people you can trust and genuinely talk to. You can be yourself with them and don't have to always keep your guard on. They become your circle of close friends.

But let me caution you, don't get fooled by this circle of friends and don't think of it as permanent! As is said, everything in the MBA is about professional relationships. You gradually realize that majority of your close friends are also nothing but opportunists who are with you till the time you are of some use to them. Be it homework, recruitment stuff, or something else. They are with you because of what you can do for them and not because of who you are. Also, they wouldn't hesitate in moving to the next group of people when they've extracted all benefits from you. That is when you realize how alone you are in reality and how you just cannot afford to trust anyone!

This has been my biggest learning from an MBA program till now. Never ever take any friendship/relationship you have in an MBA program to be permanent. It is simply a transactional professional relationship. This reminds of a popular song from a movie called Page 3, which is a perfect explanation of the nature of relationships in an MBA. Here are the lyrics:

Kitne ajib rishte hai yaha pe - (3)
 Do pal milate hai, saath saath chalate hai - (2)
 Jab mod aaye toh, bachake nikalate hai
 Kitne ajib rishte hai yaha pe - (2)
 Do pal milate hai, saath saath chalate hai - (2)
 Jab mod aaye toh, bachake nikalate hai
 
 Yaha sabhee apanee hee dhun mai divaane hai - (2)
 Kare wahee jo apna dil kee hee maane hai
 Kaun kisko puchhe, kaun kisko bole - (2)
 Sabke labon par apane taraane hai - (2)
 Le jaaye nasib kisi ko kaha pe
 Kitne ajib rishte hai yaha pe - (2)
 
 Khwaabo kee yeh duniya hai, khwaabo me hee rehna hai - (2)
 Raahe le jaaye jaha, sang sang chalana hai
 Wakt ne hamesha yaha naye khel khele - (2)
 Kuchh bhee ho jaaye, yaha bas khush rehana hai - (2)
 Manjil lage karib sabako yaha pe
 Kitne ajib rishte hai yaha pe
 Do pal milate hai, saath saath chalate hai - (2)
 Jab mod aaye toh bach ke nikalate hai
 Kitne ajib rishte hai yaha pe - (6)