Dileep Mouleesha -- MBA Memoir

clean slate

2007-09-16T14:59:00.000+05:30

starting afresh.

Countdown: 41 days

2007-01-29T23:45:00.000+05:30

After running the mumbai marathon...
After recovering from the post marathon depression..
After declining 2 very decent opportunities...
After realizing that i have not been studying..

finally did start..
finished the basics..
finished kaplan GMAT...

40 days left..
3 more books to go.

plan for tomorrow: revise the key concepts.

2007-01-12T20:32:00.000+05:30

:( at office.
dont like to code.
dont want to code.

reality bites.

Aim: to finish math section over the weekend from kaplan.

2007-01-12T13:57:00.001+05:30

Sharpening a knife to kill time!

Countdown: 58 days

2007-01-12T11:40:00.000+05:30

Amazing run. Want to be lazy. Still basking in the afterglow of the run.

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
- William Blake

Countdown: 59 days

2007-01-11T18:29:00.000+05:30

its 6:30pm and i am still in office.
looks like i am going to sit here for a long time. :(
so much for the resolution to go home early and study.

Anxious

2007-01-10T11:25:00.000+05:30

been studying long enough to finish 1 page a day.
i am so proud of myself.

Countdown: 60 days

2007-01-10T09:31:00.000+05:30

This could be a good way to keep tab about the number of days left for the D Day.

Booked.

2007-01-10T09:21:00.000+05:30

Finally booked my GMAT date.
13th March. 9 AM.

Also started my seperation formalities with my current employer.

Catch 22 Situation!!

2007-01-05T16:29:00.000+05:30

Interviewer: Ask me one question after which i will never want to see you again.

Boy o Boy, this is a tough one. Dontchya think so??

Update

2007-01-05T16:13:00.000+05:30

1. Finished KAPLAN Sentence correction. Got 47/50 right.
2. Still training for the Mumbai Marathon.
3. Met Couple of guys from CMU, nothing special.
4. Still want to quit my job, waiting for offer letter as Business Anlayst.
5. Have not updated my Photo-blog/Blog. number of visitors in dec 700 :(
6. Watched a bunch of movies.
7. Alumni work happening in full swing.
8. Runs to be conducted post GMAT.
9. Holidays almost over.

Ok. Boys. new year resolution. will see this blog updated regularly.

!@*&

2006-12-27T18:10:00.000+05:30

Sitting in front of my computer.
Staring into her eyes.
She staring back into mine.
Both wondering how to beat the sh*t out of each other.

Back on track.

2006-12-27T11:11:00.000+05:30

With GOA trip down the drain.. thought would enjoy a couple of movies.. but the first one.. Dr.StrangeLove was quite a turn off.. nothing better to do.. other than run and read.. I think I will get back on track.. so GMAT here I come..

just read somewhere.. GMAT is my religion .. my religion too for the next two months..

Flurry of activity…

2006-12-26T10:27:00.000+05:30

Met two desi students from respected B-Schools (Read top 5 in the world). If I may say in the meeting place of their choice. Meeting friends in chai ka dukaan to meeting B school students in 5 star hotels. seem like a giant leap to me.

Frustration from work made me take a compulsory outing. My friend Negat|ve Creep decided we should meet the students from Chicago GSB who were visiting town. The candidate we met was a stunner. Beauty, Brains and Bank balance. Phew!! Quite a bit of reflection on Consulting and Chicago GSB.

Doc thought it was time I stop beating around the bush and start doing something useful and sane about my MBA plans. So here was his idea. He took me to meet this man who was a pass-out of LBS (eMBA). Couple of years older than I, but the intellectual difference was evident like a red stain on a white shirt.

I thought I was an early starter. But here I am.. a late bloomer.. miles to go before I sleep.

Derailed

2006-12-21T09:41:00.000+05:30

I know... I know it has been a long time… one month to be precise.. all work and no play makes GMAT studying an impossible and daunting task…

Just appeared as a lightning. If you have not decided on a date.. you can never prepare on a moving target.
1. Have not been reading..
2. Have to take up a diagnostic test
3. Have not yet booked a date
4. Did not realize it’s a month since I have not studied. Phew!!

5. Have to get myself some holidays to get into the grove.

Solution:
1. Will start today. Fixed a buy in 10 minutes after arriving. So can chill the entire day.
2. Will take diagnostic test on Sunday after 2 days of acclimatization.
3. Will book date after next month’s salary.. no money heeeehee..
4. Can’t cry over spilt milk. Will just go milk another cow!!

5. Also a job change on the cards, leaves me with less than two months to prepare… Just asked for leave so will be off for 2 weeks… should avoid the temptation of me going to the Bangalore film festival.

From Fountainhead.

It is not in the nature of man - nor of any living entity - to start out by giving up.

Some give up at the first touch of pressure; some sell out; some run down by imperceptible degrees and lose their fire, never knowing when or how they lost it. Then all of these vanish in the vast swamp of their elders who tell them persistently that maturity consists of abandoning one's mind; security, of abandoning of one's values; practicality, of losing self-esteem.

Yet a few hold on and move on, knowing that that fire is not to be betrayed, learning how to give it shape, purpose and reality. But whatever their future, at the dawn of their lives, men seek a noble vision of man's nature and of life's potential.

Critical reasoning.

2006-11-22T11:59:00.000+05:30

1. Read the question first.
Classify as
a. assumption question
b. strengthen/weaken question
c. Inference question
2. Read the argument
3. Paraphrase
4. Keep the scope in mind (easier to remove wrong answers)
5. Prephrase the answer
6. Select best choice

Actually 3 questions the first day. Got two wrong. Was very scared to do the rest. Well it went on well the next day. Used this strategy got 41/50 questions right on the Kaplan GMAT.

Off track!

2006-11-14T09:00:00.000+05:30

I have not been studying. Blame it on work, running, reading, blogging, film appreciation... what ever the reason(to be read as excuse)... though i have been reading... but i has been reading without any descipline... that is maybe because i think i will be taking my GMAT later, say 15th Feb types (because i want to run the mumbai marathon) ... i am the loser because i am not studying the right way... so from today GMAT here i come...

Basics of Grammar

2006-11-01T22:41:00.000+05:30

Sentence is a group of words which makes sense is called a sentence.

Little Jack Honor sat in a corner.

Subject and Predicate

Subject is the part which names the person or thing we are speaking about.

No man can serve two masters.

Predicate is the part which tells something about the subject.

Nature is the best physician.

Phrase and Clause

Phrase is a group of words which makes sense but not complete sense.

The sun rises in the east.

Clause is a group of words which forms a part of a sentence and contains a subject and predicate. The other group is a phrase.

We cannot start while it is raining.

Parts of Speech

Noun is used as the name of a name, place, person or thing

Akbar was a great king.

Adjective is a word used to add something to the meaning of a noun.

There are twenty boys in this class.

Pronoun is a word used instead of a noun.

John is absent, because he is ill.

Verb is a word used to say something about some person, place or thing.

Calcutta is a big city.

Adverb is used to add something to the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

This flower is very beautiful.

Preposition is a word used with a noun or a pronoun to show how the person or thing denoted by the noun or pronoun stands in relation to something else.

There is a cow in the garden.
The girl is fond of music.
The boy sat under a tree.

Conjunction is a word used to join words or sentences.

Rama and Hari are cousins.
I ran fast, but I missed her.

Interjection is a word which expresses some sudden feeling.
Alas! She is dead.

Example

They arrived soon after. (Adverb)
They arrived after us. (Preposition)
They arrived after we had left. (Conjunction)

My GMAT Strategy

2006-11-01T10:36:00.000+05:30

What’s on GMAT?

Graduate Management Admission Test has 3 Sections.

I. Analytical Writing Assessment

60 minutes

Analysis of an Issue and Analysis of an argument.

1 topic each.

30 minutes each topic.

II. Quantitative Section:

75 minutes.

Problem solving and Data Sufficiency

37 questions, out of which 9 are experimental

Almost 2 minutes per question

III. Verbal section:

75 minutes

Sentence correction, Reading Comprehension and Critical reasoning

41 questions, out of which 11 are experimental

Almost 1:45 minutes per question

What is inferred from these questions?

1. Analytical Writing Assessment

Designed to test your ability to communicate effectively and your capacity for incisive thought under pressure.

2. Problem Solving (23 Questions)

Designed to test your ability to convert real life situations into mathematical models that can be analyzed and solved easily.

3. Data Sufficiency.(14 Questions)

Because a manger must know what information is necessary to make a business decision before asking an employee to gather data.

3. Reading Comprehensions (4 RCs, 200-300 words, 14 Q)

Designed to see if you can gist of the prose, like managers need to pore over volumes of reports and get the key facts that contribute to a decision.

4. Sentence Correction (15 Qs)

A business leader is only as effective as his or her ability to communicate goals and agendas clearly and effectively to colleagues and employees.

5. Critical reasoning (13 Qs)

Business Managers need to apply these same critical thinking skills every time they evaluate the merits of a business proposal.

What books am I planning to read, with preparation time?

GMAT verbal workbook. (2 weeks)
GMAT 2006. Premier Program (4 weeks)
GMAT 800 (2 weeks)
Official Guide 10^th edition (4 weeks)
GMAT Barrons – Don’t plan to use it though.

When do I plan to take the test?

Need to decide, say in 2 weeks time, after reading up the basics for each of the sections. Mostly Jan 15^th time frames.

How many hours of effort do I plan to invest?

I think will be able to put in 200 hours of effort, though would want to put in 300 hours of effort. Would want to taper down in the last week before the test. Plan to put in 2 hours a day atleast during weekdays and 5 hours a day during weekends.

Fertilizer for the mind.

2006-10-31T21:15:00.000+05:30

The number of people who have been discouraging me from my pursuit seem to be far more in number than the ones who think pursuing an MBA is a sane idea. This is not as bad as it seems. The number of explanations I end up giving in defense of my ambition has just made my purpose much more clearer. The quote by APJ Abdul Kalam seems apt here “For an optimist even bullshit is fertilizer“.

Introspection

2006-10-30T20:39:00.000+05:30

My aspiration to do an MBA stems from a desire to do what I am capable of doing and want to do.

So is MBA a way to escape my present profession? Certainly not. It is a medium for me to advance my career in the same Business.

How do I think an MBA will help my career aspirations? I am certain that an MBA will move me from a position where I do micro level work to a place where I do macro level work and make a direct contribution to the growth of a successful enterprise.

Why abroad and not in our very own motherland? To have international exposure and the diversity which it mandates would make it an unique learning experience. Also the case study based curriculum would make me taste the kind of challenges a leader faces.

Does this mean my Technical Masters is a waste? Not at all. It is my masters that has got me here. And it is because of this education I am in a position to envision and understand technology faster. But for me to move further and break the traditional growth within an organization I would need an exposure which would give me an all round and better exposure to how businesses are managed.

Why is 2008 the right time for me to start my MBA? Simply because I believe I am ready to toil and learn with the organizational experience, which I believe is optimum. Optimum because I don’t know too much to unlearn deeply and I know enough to relate to significant number of situation in case studies.

So what next? First things first. GMAT. I didn’t succeed the first time around. Because I put the quantitative effort but not the qualitative effort. It’s like a marathon training needs 750km of training for over 15 weeks and you train 750km nonetheless but in 5 weeks. So you cannot run the marathon with your best speed and time. Similarly GMAT is an effort over a duration of time not a consolidated effort.

So wish me luck!