My MBA Journey Ends Soon

I get done with Rotman on April 29th.

Last 2 years went by very quickly. I consider myself fortunate and smart to have spent the last 2 years in Toronto and at a very good school. We had our Graduation Ball last month - it was fun! Also, it served as a closure to my MBA life.

Someone asked me," Was it worth all the time & money you invested in yourself".
I answered," Absolutely, Yes!"

My personality has transformed at least 85% in the last 2 years. I feel as if I am a new person. I can do a lot of things personally and professionally now (much better than the normal population). Aside from the fact that the MBA has opened my mind, I have also made great friends; I hope to carry them forward in the future.

So what is next?

Our big move to California at the end of May! :)

Wired to Care

Recently, I attended another great Design speaker series at Rotman. Dev Patnaik, founder of Jump Associates spoke on two occasions:-

• About his new book, 'Wired to Care', where Dev emphasized the importance of empathy in order to innovate in both, good and bad times. The book is a great read - totally recommended for every business and human!
  
• A session geared specifically towards students, where students had an open conversation with Dev and Peter (Jump's media/communications person)
  

I must admit I have never in the last 2 years of my Rotman life felt after a session - "Yes, this is the company I would love to work for" so strongly except for this particular company. There were several funny and "aha" moments in that session. The energy in that session was so much cooler than at a cold informational session.

There were 3 instances, which completely blew me away:-

1. Dev and Peter started the session with an exercise called "bam jump" or something with the word "bam" in it, where everyone gathered around in a circle and clapped their hands at "bam". This is pretty unusual in the recruiting world, but an excellent way to stump your audience and connect with them more. It sure made the students relax and connect with both, Dev and Peter. Also, everyone had to count down from 20 to 1 without overlap/repetition with eyes closed. As expected, we had to start from scratch several times, because of the competitive nature of the MBA students. The exercise made me realize, if you can learn to really listen to your audience, you can do wonders for your business.
2. Dev and Peter also performed a 3 questionnaire game: a) Tell me one thing you like about me; b) Tell me something I don't know about you; and c) Tell me one thing you think we agree on - Although the game sounds trivial, it becomes harder after you repeat it 3 times and specially if you have known the person for long. Most importantly, you engage your audience/client through the game.
3. Dev narrated a fascinating story about how he started Jump. He mentioned that he spent about 9 months working on his portfolio, because the company he wanted to work for was not hiring for another 9 months. Once he did interview with them after those 9 months, they loved his portfolio and hired him. Once he started working with this company, he hated them! He left and started Jump, because he felt,"damn it! there is no company around that I want to work for" :)
   

I was very impressed with the fact that both men were extremely transparent in their interaction; a very rare sight in business world.

The entire interaction/session said a lot about Jump's culture and values.
The entire session was also a great opportunity for a great conversation with some very fascinating people.

I am happy that I was a part of it :)

Design Speaker Series at OCAD - Part 2

I was fortunate to attend another great Design speaker series at OCAD on February 11th, 2009 - Larry Keeley, co-founder of Doblin spoke at the series.

Some interesting points that surfaced from his talks were:

1. Innovation is not simply about products; it is about platforms.
2. Build platforms that manage complexity.
3. Designers should be good at cataloging the unfamiliar.
4. Designer imagine and pursue what could be, instead of what is.
5. Empathize with people and situations.

Most importantly, platforms transcend enterprises, industries, and political borders.

I enjoyed Larry's talk, there was another piece of information that raised my curiosity - OCAD is offering a Masters in Design, starting September 2009!

No-no, I am done with school for now (at least for this year), but I think if an opportunity presents itself in a few years, it could be worthwhile to explore a degree in Design - I wonder how my life would have changed had I been at OCAD, instead of at Rotman!

Design creates emerging possibilities - I hope to be a part of these possibilities through my future career.

Design Speaker Series at the Ontario College of Arts & Design (OCAD) - Part 1

On January 29th, 2009, Hitesh & I heard Jane Fulton Suri - Creative Director at IDEO speak at a Design Speaker Series at OCAD.

IDEO ranks high in my list of prospective employers. Jane was a very balanced speaker. She spoke about using empathy and a human centered perspective to solving problems in designing/improving:

1. Product
2. Space
3. Service
4. Strategy
5. Organization

During the Q & A, she made a comment that echoed in my head - Hire Curious People!
Well, that certainly is true in today's world.

Jane's book - "Thoughless Acts?" is pretty interesting. It is based on observations on intuitive design.

Lately, I have been intrigued by Design, User Empthay, and User experience approach beyond my expectations. I strongly believe in," if you want something bad, the entire universe conspires in your favor".

Let's watch the rate at which the Universe will bring me closer to my goals :)

I am Going To Stop Being a Vegetarian.

I have been trying to loose weight from very stubborn body parts. Luckily, my good friend Dave Chen is a work-out freak and has helped me loose weight in the past. In my opinion, Dave should pursue 'Fitness Consultant' as an alternate profession.

I turned into a Vegetarian when I met my husband. I had been a non-vegetarian (and I loved it!) for at least 25 years and gave it up without any qualms! This statement is actually for my husband's benefit (and knowledge:))
I occasionally eat fish (if my taste buds can remember the taste!). Let's say I am semi-vegetarian. Although, most of the times I cannot enjoy meat anymore. I have tried a few times, but because I am not used to eating meat anymore, I have been unsuccessful in the past.

I have to admit that I feel healthier ever since I gave up meat. However, at times I do feel that I am missing essential proteins in my diet.

I e-mailed Dave to seek help. I am willing to go to any extent to shed some weight. Dave's first condition is that I stop being a vegetarian. Once I agreed to that demand, he sent in a list of rules:

• Rule #1: No food after 7:30pm - eat your dinner anytime before 7:30pm.
• Rule #2: No carbohydrates after 4pm - you are allow to have carbohydrates for breakfast and lunch.
• Rule #3: You can only meat and some vegetables for dinner.
• Rule #4: Control your portion of food for each setting.
• Rule #5: Drink at least 2 liters of water a day - must keep yourself hydrated at all time.
• Rule #6: No junk food or sweets (anything processed such as donuts, cookies, chocolate bars and etc).
• Rule #7: Consume only whole wheat food that contains high fibers.
  

Wow!
I think it will he hard, but I think I do need to shock my body.

It is time I trusted a professional and watch the results. Let's hope this "stop being a vegetarian" works out wonders for me.

Do We Really Need to Wear Socks in pairs?

Yesterday, I met up with one of my favorite professors from Rotman - Alex Manu.

Alex Manu teaches Strategic Foresight, Innovation, and Business Design at Rotman. He is an unconventional business school professor. A few interesting facts about Alex:

• Alex always (and read always) wore White - he taught us for 4 months and we always saw him in White clothes.
• He did not stress on the usual "seek A+" trend - he always said," if I can have 1 brilliant (and practical) idea from this class, I have done my job". Essentially, he encouraged us to think in an unconventional way.
  
• He was always friendly and un-intimidating - so much so that it was easy to forget that he is a professor.
• His power points were stellar - he conveyed his ideas with pictures and minimal words - I mean a maximum of 3 words on a power point.
• On the last day of our class, he served 3 types of wines - a) $20 wine, b) $100 wine, and c) $500 wine. The main idea being that he wanted to introduce us to good, bad, and fine wines.

As I was talking with Alex, I noticed that Alex was wearing a bright orange sock on one foot and a bright green sock on the other! I immediately started laughing and asked him why was he wearing different colored socks. His answer was that he always wears two different socks!

After another 5 minutes i.e. when I couldn't figure out why he would be inclined to wear different socks, I asked him whether there was a particular reason he wore socks in such a manner. Alex said that when his son was 6 years old, he asked Alex why did he have to wear socks as a pair? Why couldn't his son wear two different colored socks and head to school?

Alex had absolutely no logical answer for his son. Ever since that day, Alex has been wearing different colored socks. In fact, Alex suggested to retailers that socks should be sold as singles!

The conversation made me realize that there are so many things we do in our day to day lives without questioning their logical explanation or existence.

Perhaps, we should look for logical explanations rather than accepting things as norms.

Trip to Mexico - December 2008

Hitesh and I traveled to the warm and sunny Cancun, Mexico and Riveria Maya (~ half) in December 2008 to celebrate my birthday.

Mexico is amazingly colorful - houses, crafts, and clothes can be extremely colorful ranging from bright yellow to bright blue :)
Also, Mexico has the bluest water and white beaches. I have nothing but good things to say about the experience. People are extremely friendly and accommodating.

Although, Mexico is a part of North America, the culture is strikingly different than both, USA and Canada. In general, people looked much laid back and happy.

My top 5 favorite moments from the trip:

1. Walking the lost city of Chichen Itza (and trying to understand the Mayan culture).
2. Trying to the ride the waves in the ocean.
3. Boarding the local ferry in the night from Isla Mujeras to Cancun (and listening to the local music on the ferry).
4. Getting a beach massage at Playa del Carmen.
5. Getting the braids done in Cancun.

My top interesting moments from the trip:

1. Number of times we were spoken to in Spanish and mistaken for locals - ALL the time.
2. Number of times we had to haggle for a product or service - ALL the time.
3. Number of times we saw a family of 7 ride an open pick-up - ALL the time.

I had a fantastic time in Mexico and I hope to go back soon :)