Those times to Ponder

Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.

I remember reading this quote of Robert Frost back in school. I remember promising myself that I would do the same. But somewhere down the line, you tend to forget the promises that you have made to yourself. You tend to leave your dreams behind and start running the rat race. More than that, you start running with just 1 intention-to win.

It is that time of the year again. That time when you suddenly start wondering: Why MBA? That time of the year when, after 18 months of fun and frolic, you are jolted back to reality. That time when you once again start reflecting on all that you’ve accomplished (or failed to do so) till date. Sometimes I wish I could answer these questions as I shall describe below. But alas! There’s a race to run again.

Why MBA?

It may seem a bit strange. For many, IIM K was a compromise. They longed for greener pastures. But for me, the answer to ‘Why MBA?’ was, is and probably will remain quite juvenile.

1^st April, 2012: IIM K PI: I wish to pursue an MBA so that I can study at IIM K. Coming from a school famous in my suburb to graduating from a college popular in my city; I wish to study in an institute of national importance. Not for the salaries that I would earn after my post graduation, but simply for the brand name.

11^th December, 2014: G-20, IIM K: Perhaps, I have more IIM K branded merchandise than most of my batchmates. I wonder if my reason to do an MBA has changed over the past few months. But, my answer still remains unchanged.   

4^th April, 2015: 17^th Annual Convocation, IIM K: Maybe after getting a job, my reason for doing an MBA would differ. I might want to do an MBA for the better career prospects, for a higher salary. However, the degree certificate with the IIM K brand would shed all these whims.

What I answered in that interview 2 years ago was quite different. It wasn’t what I have written. What I answered in several other interviews in these 2 years again wasn’t what I have written. The answer was quite different, quite mechanical; what they expect us to answer. Yes. The same old clichéd answer where you talk about your achievements, what makes you suitable for the organization and what makes the organization suitable for you. I wish I had been truthful all those times. I wish I had poured my heart out and said what I have just written. But, I didn’t say it then; neither would I say it now nor in any other interview in future for the fear of losing the race.

What has been your biggest achievement?

My biggest achievement thus far has been securing an admission into one of the top most B-schools in the country. I have worked with diligence all through my engineering to secure a good rank in engineering and simultaneously bell the CAT. After coming to IIM K, I have been privileged to meet new people, travel new places, study under the best of teachers and make friends for a lifetime. This, I believe is and will probably remain the most significant achievement of my life.

“What are you saying?”, they yelled at me. “There are more than 300 students who have made it here. How does this achievement make you different from them? What are you points of differentiation? If you say this, there is no way you’ll clear the interview. They are not waiting for you. They have 100 other options.”

“But THIS IS the achievement that I am truly proud of. Why can’t I be truthful? Why can’t I say this?”

And yet again, what I said in all those interviews was very different from what I felt. With a smile on my face, I said everything that I was instructed to say. I said everything in exactly the same tone, the same pitch that they wanted to hear. Yes. I secured an admission. Yes. I got a job. Yes. The interviewers were delighted with my answer. But I wish I could have been myself. The same, juvenile self that I truly missed being.

What has been your biggest failure?

This is the toughest part. You don’t know where you have faltered. You think you have been perfect. But still, an answer for this, you must have. “It shouldn’t project you as a weak person”, they said. “It shouldn’t be clichéd. If you don’t have such ‘kinds’ of failures, invent them. How does it matter? Your goal is to clear the interview, isn’t it?”

In economics, lies a concept, ‘The Impossible Trinity’ which states that it is impossible for an economy to have all the 3 policy decisions implemented simultaneously. My biggest failure was that it took me 2 years to understand this simple concept and its practical applications. This is what it actually looks like:

At any point, there will be only a select few who can have all the 3 simultaneously. And these ‘chosen ones’ as everybody feels so are indeed the lucky ones. But they are after all, outliers. For all others, this is the 1^st compromise, the 1^st decision and probably a tough one too- to select any 1 side of the triangle; to select only 2 out of these 3 options available. But rest assured this is not the last Impossible Trinity that you would come across. As you move up the ladder, there would be many more such trinities which if you fail to understand when the time comes; you will fail to live a happy life.

What are your short term and long term goals?

Children stories may seem a thing of the past. But they indeed teach us a lot. It is surprising how almost 20 years later, I understood the true meaning of these lines:

Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.

Alice: I don't much care where.

The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go.

Alice: ...So long as I get somewhere.

The Cheshire Cat: Oh, you're sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.

I do not know where I will end up after IIM K. I only know that the brand name would suffice to land me somewhere and that hard work would take me ahead. So why worry about the future? It is bound to be bright. There are less than 3 months left back here. As they say,

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it is called ‘the Present’.