The Global Consulting Project

Since most of my posts are wordy narrations, I will spare you of that and leave you with a video sharing my awesome GCP experience in the middle east. Things have moved on since with trips for the MBAT at Paris and the Sofaer Case competition in Israel. I will catch-up with my posts soon ...... 

The Halfway Mark

It feels like it was just yesterday that we were standing in the foyer at JBS introducing ourselves to each others with a bright smile and eager looks on our faces. Friday marked the completion of our University exams and the Lent term - the half way mark on the MBA. With this technically all the 140 MBAs should be masters in Corp Fin, OB, Accounting, Marketing, Operations and Strategy shaping up the fundamentals of management in organizations. While the horror of receiving our marks on these exams remains a distant future and expectations on placements remain to be met, I was asking myself one question as we were returning from dinner hosted by a consulting company in London. 

"How has the MBA changed me?"

I am not sure yet. Maybe all the time spent in classes listening to WACC and DCF has made me a bit more aware about the world of finance (or not). Or it is the learning gained from stories that several speakers shared with us including Credit Suisse's Chairman and Lloyd's CEO (can't seem to recall anyone's content except that of Lord Bilimoria of Cobra Beer :). Among these uncertainties, the network and friends I've added are the most valuable and memorable of my experiences thus far at Cambridge.

Now that I've got System 1 out of the way, some words from the other system. In addition to the academia that we've dunked ourselves into, we will be stepping out into the real world for a brief period to complete the Global consulting project. The map below shows the footprint of the MBA Cantabrigians over the next 5 weeks to advice companies on a range of challenges. I am headed to the Middle East to advice a port operator and third party logistics company about potential growth opportunities through M&A. My team has representation from Brazil, China, Thailand, Kazakhstan and India (me) showing the diversity of the Cambridge MBA once again. I am looking forward to my 2 weeks at Sharjah and guess the next half of the MBA will be even more fantastic than it has already been! 

What do you do, when it feels like you are in the middle of a storm?

I laugh reminiscing the words of an alumni who said, "You write a blog, great! Let's see if you can keep up when things get busier".

I noticed that it has been close to 4 months since I wrote my last post and the past few months have certainly been very eventful and a super excited journey. True to my word, I've indulged myself in many things that I've never even dreamed of in my life. I'ved tried my hand at shooting a video for a case competition while simultaneously being mistaken as a quidditch society member, attended lectures on the Entertainment industry and met the CEO of National Geographic (who would have thought), got a loyalty card in Addenbrookes accident & emergency,  attended formal dinners wearing gowns in some of the oldest colleges of Cambridge (No Trinity yet) and most importantly realized that accounting and Smirnoff are inseparable (thanks to Prof. Meeks). I am even more excited when I think of what awaits me: a consulting project in the middle east followed by a trip to Israel to participate in a case competition (if all goes well). And the biggest event that the whole school is pumped about is MBAT!

Ofcourse I am talking only about the highs, and there are both some illusive and actual lows when you do a stressful course as the MBA. For one thing I often feel guilty of not spending any time reading books (Infact I haven't bought even a single one :). With so many things happening around me - case studies, group meetings, assignments, networking events, recruitment cycles etc., I hardly have time to read the hardbound monstrous volumes of strategy and corporate finance. I am sure the MBA will have to be 3 years if I had to read it all and the 1 year format is really really fast. But I also realize that my learning is abundant and continuous, with the sources being the most unlikely of places. So, that is all for a recap of my past few months in a half sleepy state. More when I can, until then keep calm & enjoy studying!

PS: I forgot that I have converted from a category non-buyer of energy drinks to a frequent buyer. Redbull gives me wings! :)