Design : My management learning process@SPJIMR

Design as per John Magretta’s “What management is?”

Value creation: If I wonder as whom I am learning management for. Is it to peek into management jargon? Is it to get a wonderful cozy job? Is it for my family? Is it for society at large? Well, I don’t have any definite answer and it’s a real difficult question to answer..If I reflect and look back as what was my motive to join a elite B-school, one thing come out very clearly, I want to do something more. Was I happy with my previous salary? I would say more or less, yes. So, Is money the motivator? I don’t think it can drive me..My previous stint as entrepreneur, I failed miserably. Do I want to take that path again? I am married and I hold certain obligations towards my family. Should I work for them and then go on my own? But why do I want to become an entrepreneur when I don’t have motivation for money? Is it for society at large? Or is it to earn fame? My horoscope says that I would become a politician, yes I have lot of interest but am I ready to take the plunge. What will I get working for society? I certainly would like to be remembered after my death, but what do I have in me? Yes, I love taking challenges, I have done it in past and I see it as my strength. Do I need to live a easy going life? Certainly not, I had rejected offer for PhD in US and gave away a comfortable job with Nokia. I guess, I am hungrier to do things and earn fame and certainly not looking to ride on smooth way. If I try to summarize, there are 2 themes emerging out of my thought process. First one, pointing towards my social obligations for my family and second for society at large. Are these my short term and long term objectives in life? So would I be creating value for companies and then social enterprise? At least, I think so at this point of time.

Business model : Who will accompany me in this journey? My parents, in-laws and my wife. No second thoughts about it. All good times and bad times, they are there. But do I owe a favor? Yes, my wife would expect some really good gifts for her. And, I would definitely be obliged to my parents and in-laws. My class mates at SP Jain, all of them? I need to give a thought here. I don’t know most of them personally. But yes, I would need to learn from peer’s experiences. And why would they share it? Probably, they also need to know about my experiences. Faculties at SP Jain, yes I would learn basic management lessons from them, but beyond that. I need mentoring on my career planning. Yes, IM department is more important to me as it is my specialization. But why would they mentor. Largely, as they are suppose to help students, but completely when I show interest. I need to be actively filling this gap for my personal interests. Beyond this, my friends around. Who all and why? I have few good friends with whom I share a good camaraderie. Can I bank on them? For learning, yes. I believe they would be more than eager to provide me valuable resources. How about long term objective? I need to shed my inhibitions and touch base people around me who are also pursuing something similar. Should I join a NGO? Do I directly want to get linked into a social work now? Do I need to mentor my juniors who can help me grow ahead? I think I should help as many people I can.

Strategy: What would I do differently? I have round about 10 months. I would read a lot. 1 book per week would be a good idea. Beyond this, I need to build my skill sets and right attitude. I think I should participate more often. May be take 1 competitive challenge every month. Learning and sharing is something I should upkeep. I find Twitter and Facebook more useful to do this. Use technology to excel the learning process. Learning from videos, a fast way to learn. Be active in entrepreneurship cell and contribute as much as you can. Write something good, much better stuff to reflect the learning process. Be self-motivated and look to achieve good things in life. Team work is a good way to learn. I have an opportunity, I need to encash this. Apart from this, I have yoga and access to spiritual learning. I need to buck up and increase my spiritual quotient!!!

Organization: To keep a smooth learning process, I would be working with my academic group for all assignments and presentations. I would listen to the professors and conduct myself well in the classroom. I need to build my circle of trust among fellow classmates for learning and sharing. I would let other people with right skills to work on activities important to me and my learning process.