Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation
A case discussion in the first session focussed on a scenario where people just got together to start something up, more often than not in their area of expertise. After doing something here and there for two years or so, they then begin to start focusing on what they really want to do. They had worked recently on things completely unconnected to their domain (which hints that you DONT have to work in the same field if you want to do something). Some lessons here and there.
I liked the second session a little more. The professor had invited a few incubatees from NSRCEL (The incubation centre at IIMB. For the record, you don't have to be a student to come here!) We had a person from our immediate senior batch out of PGSEM give us a talk on how he got started. We also had a much older PGP alumnus amongst this group. I couldn't help noticing that they all had some experience in that field before they quit to get into it full time, and that there had support from some powerful contacts. Networking apparently is a good thing! There was almost no time for questions, but I think people might go down to NSRCEL to get more doubts cleared.
Social Entrepreneurship
The prof first speaks to us about NGOs, and how the vast majority are more known as NFP (Not For Profit) orgs. So he tells us about how they try to achieve buy-in from the community, not by approaching them with the solution and trying to find a problem, but by really looking into the problems and doing something about it. He also spoke to us about how NGOs are answerable to the donors. This tends to go both good and bad, good because we get money for the cause, and bad because more often than not the bad guys think they're God's gifts to society and have the right to interfere in every small thing.
In the next session, the prof spoke about Agriculture related issues, and went a little closer to explain to us the state of a majority of people in agriculture. Apparently 70% of India's farm land is rain-fed and not irrigated. Therefore, it tends to give much lesser yields and much more pains. He spoke about how money lenders and even micro finance team in these places charge far higher interest than banks. And he's quite sure that such a finance model can not be sustained. The poor don't have enough money to repay the principal, and here we're trying to charge much higher interest. He gave us his take on the typical happenings in a full year, and it was a little easier to connect the dots at the end when you realize that the seeds are planted in May, the harvest collected around Oct/November, and then for the next three month you clear off your loans and all that by migrating to the city and getting a job for these months! There is no money left to carry on the next year! And then you take loans all over again. Even if people want to charge lesser, they can't.. because there's a cartelization of moneylenders in most of these districts, and such an action can create a shunning of the moneylender by the others. So the solution is not clear yet. Today at least.
B2B Market Management
The prof is trying to cover the basics of B2B Marketing, we were talking the difference between value, price and fitting it all together nicely with frameworks. The frame of reference was the cases given for reading, and surprisingly a LOT of people read the case. I'm not saying the common lot, I mean the LOT, everyone! Well, almost, but you get the point.
It's quite nice to see all our classmates pitch in for the discussions when things are being written on the board. We tried to take it apart based on all the numbers assigned in the case. And low and behold! 5 minutes before the class ends, we've decided exactly how to go about this case. Now just put us in charge of the company. Or maybe not... next time, for sure!
International Business Negotiation Skills
Walk into class and the sudden burst in headcount just catches you there. Apparently even the prof wasn't weak-sighted enough to notice this. As new people kept walking in, his eyebrows kept climbing higher and higher. Thankfully, not too many people entered again after that. Anyway, the prof begins as usual at 40000 feet. BUT, this time he tells us at the start that it's our responsibility to bring him down when he goes higher. If we have any doubts, we should speak up immediately! In fact, he's quite open to interruptions. The fact that few people interrupt him is a different thing altogether. But those that do... they get his time, and doubts clarified.
He is still talking more from a high-level funda-types OB side. He was trying to get us to understand the important of an open mind. And so he spoke to us about what we need to do if we want to enhance our abilities of receptivity and reflection. Imagine that if OB is typically funda based courses, then this is funda OB. Get it? And yet, he didnt leave it all qualitative. He stressed on the importance of process and discipline, that it's important to have such qualities under your control. A lot of tips for receptivity (I'm guessing he thinks mere mortals like us incapable of accepting other people's ideas. Well, I dont accept that!). As a glimpse into the type of process he was talking about, he told us about how do we know what triggers us to perform better and faster, and what pulls us down (swastha and aswastha). His solution was quite simple. From the previous evening till this morning, mark down whatever you did with the minutest of details on days when you feel at your top, and on days when you feel really low. After three such occasions, you may begin to see a pattern. Learn from it. And then avoid what causes the drain. He gave us an anecdote of how it worked for him, a live example. I'd dare not repeat it here. What happens within the institute, should stay within the institute! ;)
A good week overall. A little hazy, but hey, other than a library of readings, not much else to complain about!
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