Post China Study Trip Thoughts…Part 1/4

It’s almost a week since I got back from China and I’m still jet-lagged (I think). I don’t know what’s up with me these days. I can’t sleep during normal EST night hours and I’m sleeping until 4:30 PM in the afternoon pretty much everyday. My family is starting to wonder what is wrong with me ;) I’ve never gone more then a couple of days like this following a trip to Asia, but I guess the late Christmas family gatherings and partying coupled with the jet lag are playing a part. I’m really tempted to take a sleeping pill to get back on track, but I guess that will be a last resort if things don’t remedy themselves. I guess we’ll give it a couple of more days. All in all, the entire trip was very memorable but I am very glad to be home with my wife and family in Ottawa. I’m now at the point where I’m ready to head back to London and get back to school. I can’t believe I’m saying that but it’s true. Family time is great, but I tend to like it in small doses and I think I’m ready to head home (yes… London feels like home now). I’m ready to jump back into the fire and meet up with my classmates that I already seem to be missing after only a week apart. I feel recharged and I’m ready to put in 110% again.

So how was China? Incredible! It changed my entire perspective on the region, and gave me lots to think about with respect to China’s prosperity, governance, and future role on the world stage. It was also an incredible journey with a bunch of great friends and colleagues. It was the type of trip that had a bit of everything: adventure, spontaneity, fun, sightseeing, sickness, excess partying, ups and downs, and drama. But it was also the type of trip that brought us closer together as a group and I think that this was the single greatest benefit of it.

Picture: My Classmates and I explore Beijing's Historical Sights:

So I figure I would write a series of blog entries to recap the trip. I’ll publish these entries in sequence as I get more time to write. This first entry is a general perspective on the trip and highlights my overall perspective on the China Study Trip. I’ll follow up with detailed blog entries on the specifics of days 1 through 11 spread over two or three blog entries…stay tuned.

It’s probably worthwhile to highlight the purpose of the trip before I go any further. The China Study Trip is an MBA elective course offered at Ivey (yes we get credit for it). The purpose of the trip is to visit China (Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong) and learn about how business is conducted in China, how it’s growing, what the business climate is like, what the culture is like, and perhaps its an opportunity to strengthen your bonds with your classmates (your network for life post-MBA).

So after almost two weeks in China, what are my immediate thoughts and perspectives on the country we hear so much about but know so little about?

-You’ve got to visit it to understand it. We hear a lot about China on the news and in the classroom; communism, human rights, growth to name a few of the dominant topics. I think that the western nations paint a fairly dismal picture on a country that is booming and is sure to have a prominent role on the world stage. Sure China has its problems, but things are changing rapidly and a visit to China is the best way to make up your own mind on how you feel about it rather then agree blindly with what the mainstream media is conveying. My perspective on China is completely changed after my visit. In fact, I almost wander if North America will be left behind in terms of infrastructure, and innovation in 20 years at the rate that China is developing and accumulating wealth and ownership of foreign debt (especially U.S. foreign debt).

Picture: Hong Kong at night (left), Maglev train in Shanghai (centre), Shanghai World Financial building - 101 stories; third tallest in world, and Grand Hyatt - 87 stories (right)

-China is absolutely a force to contend with and will pose serious competition and threat to the continued dominance of western nations. One visit to Shanghai and Beijing will surely demonstrate the economic might and future prosperity of this emerging market. Take a look at the 101 stories World Financial Centre or ride the Maglev train in Shanghai, or the metro in Beijing, and you’ll start to wander how they are doing it and whether North America is falling behind. Their economy is shifting from one that is dependant on U.S. exports to one that is dependant on its own consumption. In fact China’s economy is roughly 25% dependant on its own consumption versus about 65% for the U.S (so they depend heavily on the U.S. as does the U.S depend on them for debt funding). China’s dependence on the U.S. will likely diminish with time as Chinese incomes rise. Take a look around Beijing and Shanghai and the roads are littered with high-end Audi’s, Volkswagen’s, and Buick’s (Shanghai/General Motors ~Joint Venture). People have money in the big cities and with a small credit market it’s mind-boggling when one thinks of where the money is coming from or how families have saved so much to make such lucrative expenditures?

Picture: World Financial Centre in Shanghai at night (left), Hong Kong skyline (right)

-China’s major cities paint a bright façade for visitors, and offer the latest and greatest in infrastructure, architecture, and culture. Visitors are surely going to be blown away when the visit, but the question I kept asking myself was what were the rural areas like where 80% of the Chinese population lives? Do the big cities paint a false picture of what most of China is really like? I’m guessing that the rural areas/tier 2-3 cities are pretty third world. We had a chance to visit a pseudo-rural area one day and sure enough it was quite a different picture than their tier 1 cities. But China continues its cultural revolution and there is much talk of a trend taking shape whereby a mass migration of rural inhabitants will populate large cities, and new master-planned cities that will give Dubai a run for its money. The government is agile and can surely make things happen quickly without having to work their way through a House of Commons or Senate. After a visit to a new master-planned city near Souzhou (a city 2 hours outside of Beijing) I was blown away of how this new high tech master-planned city was becoming reality. I was also blown away of how they were able to preserve their cultural heritage.

Picture: Picturesque Souzhou (left), and Forbidden City in Beijing (right)

-The Chinese government is agile; a perfect quality in today’s world. Just look at their bailout package. Almost $600B U.S. in infrastructure projects announced and immediately approved, and that money has already spawned construction projects within weeks of the announcement. Compare that to the U.S. bailout that falters once, twice in Senate, and will likely take 12 to 18 months before infrastructure projects are kicked off the ground. Are we agile enough in North America? Is China’s socialist republican ways the reason of why they are able to control their 1.3 billion people and set the stage for economic prosperity while India (the world’s largest democracy) struggles to get control over its population and is easily 20 years behind China in development? Did India do it backwards? Should capitalism and democratic ways come after the government gains control and develops the infrastructure it needs (as it appears to be happening in China)? What can India learn from China?

Well that’s a taste of my learning’s and questions from China. Stay tuned for detailed accounts on the trip as I follow-up with additional postings over the coming days and weeks.

Happy New Year’s….Until next time.

Sacha

China…Here I Come!

I’m done with my exams for 2008 and I’m off to China next week! I’m participating in the China Study Trip along with 50 of my Ivey friends and I’m starting to get really excited. Geeta is heading to Ottawa for a month and I’ll be joining her and my family post-China.

Oh my god, life is passing by way too quickly. I’ve been having way too much fun this year, and I’m already starting to worry that life in the “Ivey bubble” is going to end soon. I know all too well that when I’m back to work, life will get routine again and that I’ll be submerged in my career. I know that this year will go do down in my books as the most memorable one, and perhaps the most influential one in my path towards ‘elderly wisdom’.

I know I’ve had an incredible experience here at Ivey, and perhaps my experience is not totally reflective of everyone else’s. I know I’ve been lucky to get a job six months ahead of graduation. I know that I’ve been lucky to make so many incredible friends. I know I’ve taken an easier path with respect to my course selection and extracurricular activities. I know that I’ve allowed this year to become a game changing one. I know I’ve grown in so many ways. I know that I don’t regret any of my decisions this year. BUT, I also know that not all of my Ivey colleagues have had the same wonderful year as I have had. Perhaps I paint a rosier picture of life at Ivey than that of the one that many of my other classmates would paint. What can I say; I’m a positive guy, an eternal optimist, and a believer in forceful optimism. My positive experience at Ivey may not be the same as yours, but I promise that you’ll learn a lot and that the chances of you regretting it are slim. That said; don’t always take my positivity in these blog entries as proof that you will have the same great experience. Honestly, your experience in this program is largely based off what you make it to be and will vary student to student.

Last week, I had the opportunity to see both Bill Clinton and Paul Martin in one day! What an inspiring set of speakers. I wrote a blog for the Financial Post on my key takeaways from these two leaders. Have a read if you get a chance. Feedback is always welcome and appreciated!

When you enter the MBA program, you’re told that you’ll depart as a more effective decision maker. Of course one would think that this skill set is more applicable in the business world, but it’s amazing to see how it’s very applicable in your personal life as well. For example, in my family we have an inherent problem whereby we have a tough time departing with useless articles and clothing that we’ve accumulated over the years. One visit to my parent’s house and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. My wife is a believer in a non-clutter environment, and departing with all things that are not used within the last year. That said, I was told/forced (sorry honey) to clean out my closet a few weekends ago. I used my newly acquired MBA decision making abilities (that allow me to make quick/effective decisions based on facts) to get rid of all the clothing that I had not worn in the last year. I ended up with a garbage bag full of clothing that will be donated to a good cause, and an organized closet that would even make our resident fashion expert proud. A year ago I would not have been willing to let go of these clothes, but I am now able to effectively make the decisions to do so and I attribute that to my $62k MBA education. See…its money well spent ;)

As one of my key goals this year, I’ve decided to become a less stubborn person. I’ve lost good friends in the past because of my stubbornness, and I don’t want to continue on that path. In the last couple of weeks, I feel really good about some of the changes I’ve made. My wife always tells me that I need to be less sensitive and less stubborn. I couldn’t agree more and I’m going to continue working on that through 2009.

What an incredibly crazy political time in Canada? My classmate wrote a really interesting blog on it that really makes you think about whether the Coalition Government is the way to go. Check it out.

Since I’ll be in China until late December, this will likely be my last posting until then. I promise a full report on my experiences in China; Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong. Have a great holiday and I wish you a Happy New Year. I promise to keep posting through 2009.

Until next time…

Sacha

From an Ivey MBA Candidate’s Wife

My wife (Geeta) recently wrote up a blog entry for the Ivey MBA Student Blogging website on a what it's like for a partner supporting an MBA candidate. I thought she did a fantastic job in portraying a realistic picture of what's its been like for her. Here it is.

----------------------
I was so excited when I found out my husband (Sacha) got into the Richard Ivey School of Business to do his MBA. More than anything I think I was excited knowing that we were going to be moving to London for a year. Both my husband and I were born and raised in Ottawa and never lived anywhere else. This was going to be a great opportunity to move somewhere different and expand upon our horizons. I was also thinking that being away from our family would bring us closer to each other.

I think I was more excited than my husband was about the prospect of meeting new people. As soon as we moved to London I got to work making new friends. I tried to find about the Ivey Circle – a group built by the partners (of the MBA students) for the partners. I couldn’t find anyone that knew anything about it (all the people that used to run it had left in the past cohorts), so I decided to start it up again. It was a really great opportunity to meet new people in a new city. It’s nice to have a group of people to hang out with when your partner has a 24 hour report due or when they have exams to study for. I hope that the Ivey Circle continues when we all leave with our partners since it’s been a really fun, and interactive way to get closer to people in the same situation.

When we first got to London I was a working woman. My job was one that you could take up anywhere as long as you had your laptop with you. I had been working at Nortel for over 11 years (the last few years as a Project Manager) and I wasn’t really enjoying my time there anymore - but my husband and I had a deal. The deal was that I would keep my job while he did his MBA and then after that I would quit and go into Event Planning like I had been wanting to for the past 6 years. It was a great plan, but one I was worried wouldn’t materialize because making a career change is not easy to initiate. Anyway, as fate would have it I got laid off (after surviving 24 rounds of layoffs at Nortel) shortly after we had moved to London.

I have to say that this sudden change in our lives, not to mention in our finances was a stressful time for us. Add to the fact that Sacha was in school day and night didn’t help the situation either.
After a lot of anxiety and not having Sacha there to talk to all the time, I decided that this was the best thing that could have happened to me. I embraced it and within a few months signed up for a number of Event Planning volunteering opportunities. I even got an opportunity to help plan the first Canadian MBA Leadership Conference at Ivey. Now I’m well on my way to transitioning into my new career and I am very excited about doing Event Planning full time!

These past 6 months have had their ups and downs. It’s always a strain on a relationship when you don’t get the time to be around each other all the time. During the times that I’m busy with friends or an event, I find it easy to be in London. During the times when I don’t have much going on, I find it hard being without my family. It’s tough to be home all day and not get any interaction with people. I guess the key is to keep yourself really busy. I found it a real treat to be at home in the beginning, but after a while there are only so many books you can read and only so much television you can watch ;-)

We always knew that Sacha would change as a person due to his MBA. It really is a personality challenge as well as an academic one. Being a part of this Ivey MBA “bubble” as they call it, has really brought out the social side to my husband. I like that but at the same time I realize that it takes time away from “us.” I used to get a lot more quality time with my husband and now I get time with him and his friends when he does have free time. I like the group thing too but after a while a little alone time is needed. We both find it much easier when his school work is lighter, but we have to make a real effort when school is demanding.

I know Sacha has learnt a lot about himself during his MBA program but I find that I have learnt a lot about myself too. I’m learning, for the first time, that when I don’t have a lot of interaction with people I really miss it. I learnt that when I like what I’m doing as a career I’ll put a 150% into it and that I can get so motivated. I’ve learnt that I was in the wrong career and I am so proud of myself for making a change now instead of regretting it for the rest of my life. I’ve learnt that I love meeting new people and making new friends. I’ve learnt that I really do miss family when I am not around them. I’ve learnt that whatever it takes, Sacha and I will work it out. But most of all, I’ve learnt that moving to London, getting out of our shell, was the best investment we made in ourselves.

Half Done!

It’s Saturday afternoon and I find myself back in Ottawa. Geeta and I decided to take a spontaneous trip back home after my team presentation (which was on “religionomics – the impact of religion on economic growth) concluded on Thursday. I’m currently sitting in a walk in clinic, surrounded by plenty of sick people….I’m paranoid that I may catch another horrible virus. My regular doctor in Ottawa doesn’t work weekends and I was forced to come into a walk-in-clinic. I’ve been sick for almost 2 weeks. What started off as a soar throat, and a weak voice (which is probably good for me because I talk way too loudly), has turned into chest congestion and I’m thinking that I need antibiotics? I haven’t exercised in two weeks and am dying to run again and get into shape for my upcoming China trip.

The drive up to Ottawa was quick. We listened to a dance club mix on the way up…my favourite lyric these days: “Daddy-O, you got the swagger of a champion.” You’ll never guess where that one comes from. …It’s Britney Spears, “Womenizer.” Wow, I’ve got a Britney Spears song stuck in my head …that’s pretty sad, although I do love the line. I’ll have to incorporate that one into a blog entry somehow ;)

Coming back to my hometown/Otown has been very refreshing. I didn’t realize how much I missed home over the last couple of months. It’s been really nice spending time with family, my nieces and nephews, and friends. Geeta and I have been splitting up our time here in Ottawa; she’s been living at her parents and myself at mine. I enjoyed a boyz day out with my dad and brother yesterday; we went out for Thai food and caught the new Bond flick (by the way I wasn’t too impressed with the movie). The family hooked up for an extended family dinner last night in the popular Byward Market after having pre-drinks/snacks at my inlaws…fun times. I’m looking forward to coming back here for Christmas after the China trip. My baby niece Sanya is growing up so fast and I feel like I’m missing out.

Unexpectedly, coming back to Ottawa made me realize how much I was being missed at home. I didn’t expect that. It made me realize how important it is to me to be close to home and close to my family. My parents are undergoing household renovations, and my dad has been taking on a lot of extra physical activities that I normally would have helped out with. My mother is recuperating from back injuries after a nasty ‘freezing rain’ fall. I wish I was here more to help them out. My brother told me a few weeks back that I should consider staying close to home in the future especially as our parents get older. That kind of hit home with me and I think it is important for me to be close to home no matter what endeavours I pursue. Moving to Toronto post-MBA is closer than London (4 hr versus 7 hr drive to Ottawa) so I hope I can be home a bit more to help out.

On a sadder note, I was disappointed to hear that a few of my Nortel colleagues were let go after last week’s dismal news, including two of my favourite executives Lauren Flaherty (CMO) and John Roese (CTO). As you may recall from my previous blog entries, Lauren Flaherty was going to come to Ivey in October to do a talk on leadership but had to cancel last minute…I guess I know why now. Last week, I published a blog entry for the Financial Post. That entry has been read by thousands of people around the globe and I’ve been getting lots of email and feedback on it. It’s amazing how far blogging can reach out. On the positive side of things, the article stimulated a lot of debate as it was picked up by other websites including allaboutnortel.com and others. It even prompted a counter blog to be written against my pro-government intervention view point. The Financial Post/National Post wanted to publish it in print last Tuesday but I opted not to go through with it for personal reasons. I have enjoyed the Nortel/Government debate and hope that I continue to write more about controversial topics such as this one. Thanks to everyone for your feedback and encouragement.

So what else is going on?

A couple of weeks back I had the opportunity to attend an Ivey Alumni Award Gala in Toronto. The alumni chapter in Toronto was honouring the Ivey Business Person of the Year (given each year to an Ivey alumnus from Toronto). This year’s recipient was the CEO of Manulife Insurance. Attending this gala was a surreal experience; there were CXO’s and EVPs from pretty much every major Canadian corporation. Its pretty cool being apart of the ‘Ivey club’ and to be apart of an alumni network that has so many prominent names. In fact part of our student group sat at the Harry Rosin table, where CEO Larry Rosen entertained us. When you come to Ivey, you often hear about how three out of every five CEOs in Canada are Ivey or Harvard grads…its one of those useless facts that you kind of just kind of shrug off. When you get an opportunity to attend a gala such as this one, that fact becomes deeply engrained in your mind…as you start to wonder if that will be in your own fate fifteen years down the road. Another notable event worth mentioning is that ten Ivey students got to go down to Toronto to see/meet with former U.S. Federal Reserve Chair, Alan Greenspan. In a couple of weeks, I will get the opportunity to attend a Bill Clinton talk in London…keep you posted.

Speaking of Toronto, I was back in Toronto last weekend to attend another MBA fair with some of my student ambassador colleagues. It’s always an honour to represent your school at these fairs and its kind of neat talking to prospective applicants, especially since you were in their shoes only a short time ago. The fair was successful and fulfilling on a personal level and I hope to attend many more in the future.

On a side note, I wanted to quickly mention my MBA learning team, “Team 5.” If there is one thing that has made my Ivey MBA experience it’s my learning team. I am a true believer in collaboration and team work and I was touched to come into class on my birthday with a gift waiting on my seat from my team. …it was a book on collaboration…how fitting and how touching. Our team just wrote a blog entry on "The Dynamics of Team Five" on the MBAA Student blogging site. Give it a read if time permits.

I thought I’d end this entry with an update on my ‘networking’ activities as my brother likes to call it (aka “partying” activities). Yes I’ve calmed down on the partying scene and typically go out once a week, and only if my wife is willing to join ;) I admit that one of my primary personality changes this year is the fact that I like to party now. I know it’s been a tough adjustment for Geeta, but I guess I know that it’s only going to last another six months and I want to make the most of the “ivey bubble” experience and ‘network’ it up before heading back into the routine working world. The last few weeks have involved some pretty crazy ‘networking’ activities. I celebrated my 28th birthday like it was my last birthday. I celebrated Halloween like it was the last time I would ever dress up….and next weekend I will celebrate a “bollywood”/”Iveywood” theme party in true Indian fashion and bhangra it up until my feet hurt. What can I say…I’m having a blast at Ivey and it’s definitely going to go down as one of the most memorable years of my life.

Four weeks to go until the China Study Trip….can’t wait.

Until next time,

Sacha

28 and counting…

It’s my birthday today and I’m 28 years young. I’m feeling 20 these days, and I think I look it too aside from the greys that I can’t seem to hide anymore …I recently shaved my head, and no more goatee for a while now ;)

Wow a lot has changed this year, and despite the many ups and downs, 27 was a great year for me and I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished. I feel like 27 was the year where I got out of my routine and out of my shell, and explored unchartered territory. It was year where I made so many great friends, and took risks…definitely a defining year for me and one that I’ll remember.

Geeta has been spoiling me rotten all week and she definitely made my birthday a special one. I missed not being around family today to celebrate and I’m looking forward to seeing them at Christmas after a class trip to China! Speaking of China, I just attended a class preparation seminar for our China MBA study trip. In that seminar we got a few mandarin lessons and it turns out that accents are accentuations are really important in the language. As a learning exercise, the class was taught how to say ‘da’ four different ways using the four mandarin accentuations...it was pretty funny hearing the class repeat ‘da’ over and over in different tones.

When I was born in 1980, President Ronal Reagan was elected into office that day as I’m told by my mother. Today, on my birthday President-Elect Obama is elected into office. I feel like I’m living through a historical moment…kind of like all those folks that lived through the first man on the moon landing, the JFK era, or the Vietnam War. I guess it isn’t entirely true (that I haven’t lived through historical moments); I mean I did live through the fall off the Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War, the dot com boom and bust, and 911….but somehow, Obama takes the cake. It almost feels as if the world took a deep breath today and expressed a sigh of relief….like everything is going to be ok :) Just wish the damn stock market felt that way today! It’s still paining me to look at my portfolio.

What were my key takeaways from year 27?

-Genius comes in times of adversity.
-Don’t give up hope when things look hopeless.
-A conservative person can become a conservative risk taker.
-Successes are nothing if you don’t have friends or family to share them with.
-Negativity is contagious but so is positivity.
-Don’t take all the good things you have for granted.
-Don’t let friendships slip away as a result of stubbornness.

I mention that these were my key takeaways, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve learned to master them :) I still have a long way to go on embracing many of these takeaways. Let’s face it: I hate adversity, I have downer days, I’m conservative in nature, I love family and friends but in doses, I love to bitch about things on occasion, I definitely take things for granted, and I can be one of the most stubborn asses you’ve ever met on most days….but hey... I’m working on it ;)

So what’s 28 going to be all about? I want it to be about successful new beginnings in a new city (Toronto), successful partnership with my wife, good friendships, keeping it good with family, making a difference, and having impact.

Thanks to everyone for you warm birthday wishes….means a lot to me.

Until next time….

Sacha

Blogging...blogging...blogging

I didn’t get much of a chance to write an entry this week. I’ve recently extended my blogging activities and I’m now blogging for three sites including this one! I can’t possibly write three different entries on a regular basis so here’s how I’m going to do this:

http://sachagera.blogspot.com: will be my personal blog highlighting the ups and downs of my MBA experience and will have a realistic and more personal feel to it.

http://iveymbastudents.blogspot.com: will generally be the same entry as this blog site but minus the personal stuff (since its audience is primarily for prospective MBA students). Sometimes, I will add MBA specific stuff that I won’t be adding to this site.

I’m also now blogging for the Financial Post along with two other Ivey MBA students. Check out my blog entries @ http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/executive/default.aspx . These entries will be focussed on business issues as well as MBA related articles.

Since I don’t have a formal blog entry this week, I thought I’d attach a link to my latest posting on the Financial Post. It’s about a topic I’m really passionate about ;)…can you guess? Yes, I get made fun of a lot in school for constantly referring to Nortel during our class discussions and this article is called “Why Ottawa Should Save Nortel.” Even the professors poke at me about Nortel to the point where it’s getting a bit annoying! Hope you enjoy it and I would love to hear some feedback on it:

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/executive/archive/2008/11/03/why-ottawa-should-save-nortel.aspx

Until next time…

Sacha

Inspiration from Passion

Its late Saturday night and I’m writing a blog entry...Don’t ask me why. I stayed home tonight which is pretty untypical for a Saturday night in the Ivey MBA program. Geeta joined me late in the evening after she put in a long day helping out with the Canadian MBA Leadership Conference (more on that later). We decided to keep it low key tonight and so we rented ‘Harold and Kumar’; pretty funny and silly….exactly the type of movie we were looking for tonight. Geeta fell asleep during the movie (she’s been on her toes non-stop for a number of days) and hence I’m burning off some excess energy as I write this. Today was a weird day. I think I got really bored! Life passes by really fast in an MBA program with school work, friends, and all the related class social events. Many of us call it the “Ivey Bubble”, a year of unprecedented learning, socializing, networking, and classroom drama. The truth is that I haven’t really sat at home doing nothing in a really long time. I almost feel like today was a bit of a detox session from life in the Ivey bubble ;) The weird thing is that I didn’t know what to do with myself. I tend to become restless when I’m doing nothing. The good thing was that the Senators were playing the Leafs. The unfortunate part is that the Sens lost again! It has been pretty depressing to watch them this year (so far). I hate it when my team is on a losing streak.

I thought I’d mention that I’m now an uncle for eighth time over. My sister-in-law delivered a healthy baby boy at 9lbs 8oz in London, U.K. Baby Adrian is doing great and hopefully we’ll get to see him soon!

When Geeta (my wife) lost her job at Nortel earlier this year, she was as happy as could be. I didn’t understand why. I had just taken a leave from work to pursue the MBA and we had gone from two good incomes to zero in a relatively short period of time. In honesty I was a bit scared. She told me that she wanted to do a career switch; that she was done with tech and that she wanted to become an event planner! She had talked about it for years and I guess it was a good time to explore it… but I’ll admit that I was a bit sceptical. I’ve always been a believer that anyone who is passionate about their job will be a success at it. I never really understood Geeta’s passion for event planning until she took on a volunteer position to be an event planner for the first ever CMLC (Canadian MBA Leadership Conference), which was hosted at Ivey this past weekend with students coming in from 13 Canadian MBA programs across Canada. Our MBA student council here at Ivey were pleased to have Geeta helping out and warmly integrated her into the role. Geeta did a fantastic job in helping to plan and organize the event, and it was a huge success. Above and beyond everything though, I realized how passionate Geeta was about the role. She’d been working really hard at it for a couple of weeks now and I hadn’t seen her like that in a long time. If there’s one thing I get inspired by, it’s watching people’s passion for things they love. My wife’s passion for event planning inspired me this week, and I’m really proud of her. I know now more then ever that event planning is what she’s meant to do. For those of you contemplating a post-MBA career; don’t lose sight of your passions despite the $$ that other careers may offer in the short run. I truly believe that following one’s passions is a long-term gain perhaps in exchange for some short-term pain.

Speaking of the CMLC conference; it was an initiative originally conceived by some past Ivey MBA student councils (now graduated). This current MBA council actually made it happen and it’s a testament to the strength of the students in this school. The American schools have been hosting conferences like this for sometime now; sharing best practices and strengthening the MBA experience across their country and across many schools. Hopefully, the CMLC will achieve the same objectives here in Canada and will continue on for years to come.

Brian Tobin, former Premier of Newfoundland and Minister of Industry & Fisheries and Oceans kicked off the CMLC conference on Friday with a heart-felt speech. He spoke candidly from his experience, and offered many wise words of wisdom. He was polished, honest, and simply a fantastic speaker! I guess I know where his daughter (a classmate of mine) gets it from ;) The one thing I will take away from his speech was some of his words about what constitutes a successful leader…it went something like this: “A good leader is someone who can sail the ship through the rough waters and is not afraid to jump into tough conditions. Any leader can sail a ship through calm seas.” I couldn’t agree more. He spoke highly of former Prime Minister Jean Chretien and his work ethic as a leader. He shared accounts of how there was never a bottleneck in Chretien’s leadership (i.e. his desk was always clear at the end of the day and all his work and decisions were made before he left the office). He spoke about leaders that navigated through the rough seas and that had to make tough decisions that weren’t popular; Nelson Mandela in South Africa and Brian Mulroney in Canada with the introduction of the GST. He talked about achieving the impossible; Canada eliminating its $42 billion deficit in the 1990’s and producing ten consecutive surpluses. It was a fascinating speech to say the least, and you could really see the passion come through from all that he’s done in life…inspirational to me!

I wanted to share a quick story from class this week. Last Thursday, our Professor came down with laryngitis. We were studying a case on the 2004 NHL Hockey strike. As a solution to the problem, she asked a classmate to lead and teach the class. One particular classmate stepped up to the challenge and did a fantastic job that really blew us all away. This student actually worked for the NHL Players Association at one time (the union side of the strike). What impressed many of us wasn’t so much his in-depth knowledge on the case (which was incredible), but rather how well he did acting in the role of a case-based facilitator. The role of the professor in a case-based school like Ivey is not to lecture or to provide answers but rather to facilitate a class-led discussion by probing, challenging, and pushing the subtle intricacies of the case. It’s this method that makes the students think in new ways and consider new angles; the perfect method to developing an effective decision maker. It’s amazing how well this student did, and its further evidence of the depth of the students in this class.

Until next time…

Sacha

Check out other Ivey MBA Student Blogs @ http://iveymbastudents.blogspot.com .

The MBA Pays Off....

October has been a good month for blog writing ;) As you can probably tell, I’ve got a lot more time on my hands these days. We’re currently in the GLOBE module studying economics, technology, and demographics amongst other topics and it is definitely less intense then the first 5 months. I find myself free most nights which has given me time to watch some t.v.; something that I haven’t really done since I’ve started the MBA.

Lots of news to report! First off, I’ve decided to take up a job offer from IBM!! I still can’t believe it myself. I’ll be working as a consultant in the telecommunications sector of IBM’s’ Global Business Services division, and yes that means that I will be leaving Nortel after six years of service ;( As many of you know, I am a Nortel loyalist and it was an extremely tough decision for me to make. I’ve loved every minute of my career at Nortel and its company that is very close to my heart. Many things have changed over the last month at Nortel and I feel that IBM will be a good move for me both from a career progression perspective, but also from a security perspective. Working as a consultant in the telecommunications sector will give me a first hand look into the business operations of our primary carriers in Canada including BCE, Telus, Rogers and others. Having spent the majority of my career in the technology and networking side of telecom, I am sure that it will be a wonderful learning experience for me to work to understand how the carriers operate and the business issues that they face day to day. I feel like the consulting position is a good fit for me as it aligns with my strengths, and I feel that it will allow me to enhance and fine tune the skills I will need in order to achieve my long term goals (to become an executive one day). Geeta and I will be moving to Toronto in May! Its kind of nice having a job locked in six months before graduation, and I think its proof that Ivey has a great brand/reputation and that there are always jobs out there even in a bad economy.

I thought I’d mention something about negotiations while I’m still on the topic of accepting a job with IBM. I recently completed a negotiations elective course in the MBA program and learned a number of invaluable tips. Despite not doing very well in the course from a grading perspective, I did find it very useful. I attribute my offer negotiation success to the some of my key takeaways from that course as follows: firstly to hold your cards close to your chest (i.e. not being too eager to give away too much information about what you want), being patient (i.e. taking a couple days to think about offer/counter-offer), knowing your starting point/resistance point/low point and a best alternative before engaging in talks, framing your case positively, and using a number of negotiation tactics including the ‘flinch’ techniques and ‘vise’ technique. I won’t elaborate on all of that because I don’t want to ruin the course for prospective students, but I will say that I was able to negotiate a better package as a result of my negotiating efforts. Furthermore, during the course itself we had to partake in an offer negotiation simulation with a classmate and we also got to watch our Ivey recruiting director, Sharon Irwin, engage in a simulated job offer negotiation with some lucky volunteer classmates. Both of these exercises were very valuable. What worked most effectively in my case was my patience, the fact that I had a job in my hand (at Nortel; which gave me ability to negotiate confidently), and understanding my value/being well-researched (Vault message board site rules!). The toughest part of the negotiation was when I wanted a one level promotion above where they were coming in at. I didn’t like the level IBM was bringing me in at based on my experience. This negotiation point was a deal breaker for me if I didn’t get them to go one level higher, and I had to really fight for it. I had to justify my position by positively framing my prior experience, and by sending in additional information including a more detailed resume. Ivey’s recruiting office typically has students put together a one page ‘business resume’ that makes it very difficult to squeeze in all your experience in. The ‘business’ one page format resume is great for many MBA jobs, but in my experience I found that tech companies typically preferred the two page detailed resume. Anyhow, I am very pleased with my negotiations and I’m happy to be joining IBM!!

I haven’t really mentioned the market turmoil all that much so I thought I’d comment on that. The stock market has erased 42% of Geeta and I’s portfolio over the last month. It hurts and our spending habits have been affected! I just count my lucky stars for not investing my tuition money ahead of the MBA ;) Prior to the MBA, Geeta and I sold our rental property in Ottawa in order to finance my MBA (amongst other reasons including a string of bad tenants). I decided to keep most of that money in cash on the advice of a very good Ivey finance professor (thanks Prof. Hatch). Some recent good news is that the LIBOR rate spread (the spread between the Central Bank interest rate and the rate that banks lend to each other) is coming down, which is an indication that the liquidity crisis is hopefully being resolved by the interest rate cuts and bailout $$ injected by the world’s governments. Now we just have to deal with that pesky recession that we’re in ;) I have a feeling that markets are at their lows and I’m envious of anyone that has the cash to jump in now. We recently had a special class on the credit crisis (delivered by Prof. Hatch), and I find myself far more knowledgeable about what’s going on. The other day, I flipped on CNBC and found myself understanding the economics lingo of the credit crunch…which was really cool. Ever heard of “jingle mail”? That’s when someone forecloses on their house (i.e. decides to go bankrupt and abandon their mortgage) by mailing their keys to the bank…hence the ‘jingle’ of the keys in the mail ;) I guess excess ‘jingle mail’ is part of what started this mess.

I recently participated in the CIBC Run for the Cure. It was my first time fundraising and doing something for a good cause. I ran 5km for breast cancer. Who knew that it would be so fulfilling? I felt good about the whole thing and I know that I will continue to participate in more events like this in the future. The Ivey Circle team raised over $2700 for the cause. If you haven’t done something like this before, I promise you that you’ll feel good about yourself after you do it.

On a side note, we’ve recently been talking about AIDS in Africa a lot in class. In particular, we’ve learned about how severe this pandemic is and how 30% of the African continent has AIDS and will die in the next 20 years. This is wrong and we must do more as a generation to rectify the situation. Bono is one of my idols and I particularly respect the work he has done to raise awareness on the issue. He is using his celebrity and power to lobby governments to open their wallets and minds to work around the political corruption in many African countries and to ensure that help is reaching the people. Bono was recently interviewed on CNN. What blew me away were the facts about how the work everyone has been doing over the last decade has made a difference….something we don’t hear as much about. How has the world’s efforts helped Africa over the last decade? Debt cancellation (i.e. rich countries cancelling the debt of poor African countries) has resulted in 29 million more African children in school! In addition 2.5 million Africans are now on AIDS/HIV drugs as result of initiatives like the ONE campaign and Project Red. It is estimated that $25 billion would put almost every African in school, would eradicate malaria, and dramatically increase clean water supplies. That’s not a lot of money considering the combined $3.1 trillion that the U.S. and the EU have recently announced as part of the credit crisis bail out. I know that money is not the entire solution to this problem; dealing with political corruption in Africa, and educating the people are also keys to this puzzle….but I’m blown away with the progress and I’m more confident that we can help beat this issue down. Check out Bono’s CNN interview @
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14lXAy_9vKc .

Last Friday was the Indian festival of Karwa Chauth! Karwa Chauth is a fast practiced by Indian wives around the world to ensure the well-being, prosperity and longevity of their husbands. Based on the website http://www.karwachauth.com/ , it’s also a festival that provides an opportunity for all married women to get close to their in-laws. Having been married for four years now, Geeta (my wife) has taken part in this festival four times…thanks for wishing me long life honey! On the day of the festival, Geeta didn’t eat all day until the moon comes out. When she sees the moon, she does a little prayer with me and then opens her fast. It’s really fascinating to take part in the festival (especially since I was born in Canada and haven’t done a lot to keep in touch with my roots). I never knew much about the festival until I was asked to explain it to some of my peers at school the other day. Of course the first question I got was why the men don’t have to do the same thing for their wives….good point….I guess its just tradition ;)

That was a long one! Until next time…

Sacha

Happy Thanksgiving!

Its Thanksgiving weekend and I’m sitting in a coffee shop in downtown London called Coffee Culture. It’s one of my favourite spots to chill out at on a Sunday. I often come here to prep my cases for Monday’s class, or just to catch up on email etc. It’s become a bit of a habit and its one of the things I’ve come to really appreciate while living in downtown London. Of course tomorrow is a holiday and I’m exploiting my time off to the fullest; 10 hours of sleep per night baby!

When Geeta and I took the plunge to accept the Ivey MBA admission and make the move to London, Ontario, Canada we came down twice to scope out locations to live at. Neither one of us had ever lived in a downtown core before. We are both more of your suburban goers and taking the decision to live in downtown wasn’t an easy one. Coming into the MBA, Geeta and I decided that we wanted to live out of our characters; to take more risks, and to try out new things/experiences. As part of the motto we decided to take up an apartment downtown and we love it. If you’re considering Ivey for your MBA and if you have a car, be sure to consider living downtown. Most of our social events are downtown and you rarely need to drive anywhere except for class! Furthermore, its quieter then typical downtowns in bigger cities and you are privileged to be within walking distance of a number of great restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, and food markets. While we’re on the topic of ‘living outside our character,’ I guess it’s fair to mention that the two of us have become far more outgoing this year. For example, Geeta and I grew out of the clubbing/partying scene many years ago and were more of the hang out at home with friends/dinner/occasional drink type of people. With 70 new friends in the MBA program, we find ourselves clubbing it up, attending theme parties, and doing things we stopped doing so long ago. We realized that when you have so many good friends, things that we didn’t typically like doing become super fun! We are already worrying about the end of the program when this fantastic experience will come to an end. Since over half the class will end up in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) post-MBA, there is definitely a huge incentive for us to move to Toronto so we can continue living it up.

The last week has been really interesting. I’ve been interviewing outside Nortel and I’m faced with some tough decisions on whether to leave Nortel and go elsewhere. Moreover, I’m being faced with a dilemma’s around $$ versus passions/interests versus job security. The stock market crash and pending economic crisis are weighing heavily on my mind. I’m finding it increasingly difficult to hold out for that perfect post-MBA position. I’m a believer that the perfect job lies in the intersection of where one’s passions intersect with one’s strengths. If you find a job in that sweet spot, the $$ will surely follow. Considering that unemployment is likely to rise, and wages will thereafter fall (thanks to my recent macro-economic training at school), I’m thinking that I maybe better off financially locking into a job earlier rather than later. Couple that with the fact that Geeta is in the midst of a career switch (it will take a bit of time for her to bring in income), I’m thinking I ought to sacrifice and compromise a bit on my post-MBA passions. Wow…who knew it would be so hard not to sell out. Keep you posted.

About a month ago, I had an opportunity to attend the World MBA Fair in Toronto with some of my student ambassador colleagues. We were representing Ivey, and what an experience it was! The Ivey booth was by far the most popular at the fair (including many prominent U.S. schools). The sheer volume of interest in Ivey reconfirmed the power of the Ivey brand and I think we all felt proud to represent the school. There were approximately 15 of us there representing Ivey (students, admissions staff, faculty, dean), and I don’t think any of us had more then 10 minutes to rest our voices over a six hour period as there were constant line ups of prospective students looking to talk to us. Pretty awesome experience! The next one is in Toronto on Nov 8 at the Convention Centre (downtown) for those that are interested; http://www.ivey.uwo.ca/mba/contact/fairs.htm .

On a side note, Slice TV has been filming a reality show at Ivey for the last few weeks and will continue to do so for a few more weeks. Its not The Apprentice, but it’s still kind of cool being able to tell your friends that they are filming a show at your school (although despite numerous attempts I haven’t been able to get into the background while filming….;)). The annoying part is that they are using our gym and common room for six weeks during the daytime hours. It’s put a bit of a damper in my workout schedule since the showers and workout equipment aren’t available 8-5pm daily. What’s impressive is that the school has been quick to listen to the student complaints and have made amends by setting up some treadmills in an alternative room with shower facilities….definitely makes me happy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sacha

Out with September and into the Fall...

It’s October, and the weather has taken a sudden turn toward winter. The mornings and evenings are cold and I’ve pulled out the old fall leather jacket to cope. It’s been a really interesting two weeks to say the least. We’ve started the GLOBE module in the Ivey MBA program. One week into this module and we’ve already overviewed macro-economics; who knew that economics would come so naturally to me? I guess having two parents with PhD’s in economics has rubbed off on me as much as I hate to admit it ;) GLOBE has been a nice break as I assumed it would be based on the word of previous outgoing students. There’s far less preparation and I feel like I’m getting more time for myself.

We had a week off in late September for recruitment activities. I spent the majority of the week in Ottawa. It was a crazy week. First off, a piece of good news; I successfully managed to throw Geeta a surprise birthday party….wow who knew that it would take so much coordination! The important part is that Geeta was surprised and we all had a great time; it was really nice catching up with friends and family. I figure it was time I surprised her with a bday party considering that she threw me a surprise birthday party three years in a row! The funny thing is that in all of those surprise bday party’s, I was in fact caught by surprise ;) As a joke, one of my best friend’s thought it would be funny to throw me a fourth surprise party in a row, and yes I was fooled again. I guess I’m just gullible.

Life at Nortel has taken a dramatic change to dark side in the last two weeks. The company is selling a major business unit and is enduring difficult times. The stock has plummeted over 50% and additional restructuring is likely pending. It’s heart-breaking for me to watch. I feel very passionate about Nortel and I want to see it succeed. I really wanted to be a part of the rebuilding process of that company post-MBA, but I'm feeling like it’s too late for this Canadian icon. Nortel gave my first job in high school, gave me a scholarship for my undergrad engineering studies, hired me back as a full-time employee after graduating, promoted me quickly, put me through their accelerated leadership program, and gave me a leave of absence for a year while I pursued my MBA. Do I feel loyal?....you bet and it hurts to watch this company falter. The full impact of the news was quite visible during my visit to Ottawa, Nortel’s R&D headquarters. I’m still on a leave of absence from Nortel while I pursue my MBA, and I spent three days out of my recruitment week catching up with colleagues, executive mentors, and my internal network. Having lunch with my former Leadership program teammates was an eye opener. We were supposed to be the cheerleaders for Nortel; the bunch that represented the new leadership and that motivated others to make Nortel a great Canadian company again. We were supposed to help make a difference. It was really hard for me to witness that even our most enthusiastic future Nortel leaders had suffered from the morale blow. Mind you, the news release is fresh in everyone’s head and I realize that with time the morale will go up but something seems different this time. Moreover, meeting with some of my executive mentors was also an eye-opener. When talking about my post-MBA plans with them, I was told off the record by multiple mentors that I should probably start considering companies beyond Nortel. That was really hard for me to hear, but I appreciated the non-bias advice. I have started looking beyond Nortel but am sticking to my guns when it comes to finding a position that aligns my strengths with my passions. I started interviewing with a few companies…keep you posted. On a side note Lauren Flaherty, CMO of Nortel, has had to cancel her visit to Ivey as a result of all that’s happening in Nortel. I’m hoping to reschedule her for a visit sometime in 2009.

The topic of friendship versus acquaintances has been a topic on my mind lately. Over the years, I’ve developed a lot of acquaintances (i.e. people that I socialize with but don’t consider close enough to open up to). Over that same time period, I would say that I’ve developed few ‘close’ friends and lost many others. I feel lucky to have married my best friend and I know that I can talk to her about anything, but I realize that it’s healthy to have and to keep good friends beyond one’s marriage. Throughout my life I’ve had many solid friends; mostly childhood friends that I continue to stay in touch with to this day. The unfortunate part is that many of my friends have become acquaintances over time and I’ve become more closed off and less trusting as a person as I’ve gotten older. Recognizing this, I’ve made a conscious effort this year to become a more open person, and I guess this blogs serves as part of that purpose. I’ve also made a conscious effort to make new friends and I feel that the MBA program has allowed me to make new ‘close’ friends. One thought that has been on my mind lately is how I’ve seemed to lose a few good friends over the years for really shitty reasons. It bothers me that I’ve let some friendships go over the years. Four years ago I stopped talking to one of my best friends after having a really dumb argument on a camping trip. Knowing that she and I are both stubborn in nature, it doesn’t surprise me that we still haven’t talked to each other four years later or that we threw away our friendship over an insignificant argument. I decided to put aside my stubbornness and finally reach out to her last week. I haven’t heard back and I guess I was a bit disappointed. It did however put things into perspective for me; it’s not worth throwing away a good friend because you’re too stubborn or because you want to prove a point. Good friends are hard to come by and I know that moving forward I’m going to make more of an effort to not let the little things get in the way.

Since the MBA program started, there have been a few people that have really influenced me both inside and outside the classroom. Without mentioning names, I though it would be neat to reflect on three of these individuals and how they’ve impacted me. I hope to follow-up with some descriptions of some others that have influenced me in a few blog entries from now down the road…here are the first three.

The first person is someone I respect and admire very much. She comes from a prominent Canadian family, but you’d never know it based on her grace, her diplomacy, and her tact. She’s modest, she’s confident, and she’s down to earth. She works hard, and puts a lot of pressure on herself to perform and seek excellence. She’s there for her classmates when they need her, and she takes on a lot of extracurricular responsibilities not because she has to but because she likes to add value. She’s nice, but gets strong when she needs to; the right mix of softness and strength. She’s serious, she’s professional, but she knows how to have fun as well. She’s a got a bright future written all over her. I find myself learning from her everyday.

The second person has taken a prominent class role; a tough job with little recognition. Few people realize the amount of work that is required for the job, yet he continues to work long hours to ensure that things run smoothly. He responds to emails late at night, with the Ivey brand on his mind at all times. He doesn’t need recognition or fame; he just wants the class to succeed and it is. His work ethic and responsiveness are contagious and I’m glad that I gave him my vote on class election day. I know that he’ll keep it up and I hope everyone recognizes his work.

The third person is an entrepreneur. She knows what she wants, and she’s driving forward with her dreams. She’s not concerned with all the others; she’s focussed on her objectives and you know she’ll get there. She’s appreciating the program and absorbing as much as she can get out of it. Her passion and energy make me that much more excited about the program. She’s an energy booster and she works long hours into the night to ensure that she’s learned what she’s needed to learn…my type of person.

Until next time.

Sacha

Rewind: Who am I?

I thought it would be a good idea to kind of start over with an introduction of myself for all the new readers of my blog. I recently took on an initiative as a Student Ambassador for the Ivey MBA School, and was tasked with getting a blogging site up for the school. The idea behind the blogging site is to offer prospective students a view on what a day in the life of an MBA student at Ivey is like. Six curret Ivey MBA students were chosen to blog (including mysefl). Check out the site at http://iveymbastudents.blogspot.com/. As a first blog entry, I did an introduction of myself by writing about my ambitions, influences, and background. Anyhow, I figure it would be a good idea to formally use that same blog entry to introduce myself on my own personal blog for all my new readers that don’t know me. I’ll follow up with a regular blog entry soon detailing my thoughts on a heart breaking week at Nortel, a busy week off of school, and my recruitment plans etc…stay tuned.

So who am I? I’m a 27 years old engineer born in Canada and of East Indian decent. I’ve been married for 4 years, and have an incredibly beautiful and supportive wife who’s followed me to Ivey and put her own career on hold for me for the year. I have no children of my own yet although my wife and I hope to have kids soon. I’m born and raised in Ottawa, Canada; a place that I love and I hope to live there again one day down the road. I come from a close-knit family with a strong background in academics (both parents are PhDs).

I like to describe myself as a hard worker, and a team player with a good understanding of my strengths and development areas. People often describe me as being very goal-oriented in nature. Throughout my life I’ve always had a very clear idea of what I’ve wanted to accomplish and where I’ve wanted to go, and I put a lot of pressure on myself to follow-through. Going to b-school was one of those life goals, and I’m proud that I’ve gotten myself here to Ivey after a stringent application filtration process.

I’ve had three idols throughout my life that have dramatically shaped and influenced my morals, values, and thought process: my mother, Bono (rock star/social activist), and Wayne Gretzky (hockey legend).

My mother is an incredible women; she’s an executive at the Department of Foreign Affairs (Canadian Federal Government) and somehow was able to lead a hugely successful career while raising four kids. I think of her as the super mom. She’s a selfless nurturer and giver to all, and a woman that would rather give you her five minutes of personal time than take rest. Not only did she manage to successfully raise four kids and a run a household while juggling a travel schedule that had her out of the country 50% of the time, but she somehow managed to take me to all my 6AM Saturday hockey practices while I was growing up. She has advanced in her career and is one of only a small number of visible minority women in her generation to have reached the executive ranks in the Federal Government. I’ve grown up watching her work ethic and commitment to the family, and I’d like to think that I’ve gotten that from her. I respect her, and we are alike in so many ways; that’s probably why we argue and disagree so much!

Bono, a rock star from the band U2, has also been a long-standing idol of mine. It’s not just because I’m a huge fan of the band’s music, but it’s more about what he stands for and what is possible if you put your mind to it. Bono is a part-time social activist bringing visibility to the key issues facing third world nations in Africa. He’s changing the world in some ways by spreading awareness of the AIDS, debt and the Malaria pandemics facing these countries. His strategic use of his celebrity, network, and influence allow him to execute on his mandate, and there is a lot to learn from him on these aspects. He does all of this while being a successful husband and a father, and while being one of the biggest rock stars in the world. His words are melodic, his charisma is contagious, and his passion is inspirational to me.

Wayne Gretzky is another hero of mine. He’s an example of what hard work, intelligence, and confidence can allow you to achieve. Wayne Gretzky was never the biggest, fastest, or toughest person on the ice, but he used the eyes on the back of his head to outsmart everyone else and arguably became the most successful hockey player in history (I say ‘arguably’ but I truly don’t believe there is any debate here ;). Wayne Gretzky has inspired me throughout my life to work hard, to use my intelligence, and to be confident.

I’ve spent the last five years working at Nortel, one of the world’s leading telecommunications company’s, and have loved every minute of it. My last couple of roles at Nortel heightened my interest in wanting to develop my business acumen skill set particularly in the areas of decision making, finance, and effective leadership. Furthermore, it heightened my awareness of the power of networking, and the importance of extending one’s ability to leverage and influence others. In my last role at Nortel before leaving for b-school, I was given a team leader opportunity and failed at it. This failure took a large toll on my confidence, but it turned out to be a good reality check for me; it shed some light on some of the areas that I needed to improve upon. It was at that point that I realized that an MBA would be useful to me. In addition, earlier during the year I was unsuccessful at landing a Product Manager role because the competition all had MBAs. Based on some of my discussions with Nortel leaders, mentors, and MBA grads; going to a prominent, well-recognized b-school appeared to be the best way to accomplish my professional objectives. I applied and successfully achieved admission to the Richard Ivey School of Business and have loved every minute of it. What an incredible experience it has been thus far!

Hopefully by now you’ve got an idea of who I am, what I’m about, and why I’m doing an MBA. I look forward to sharing my b-school adventures with you all in the coming months.

Until next time…

Sacha Gera

Top Ten Things I've Learned in the Ivey MBA

Wow; it’s been a tough week. Lots of ups and downs but I feel like things are moving in the right direction. I’ve been looking for a boost lately…anything to lift my spirits and get me kick-started and energized again. I think I’ve got that finally; partly from my wife and partly from school. Geeta (my wife) really has a way of understanding me and I feel like she’s filled in the void that I’ve been feeling lately; she always knows what I need. I got my marks back for Module 2A today. I was quite sure that this term was not nearly as good as the last, especially in Strategy and in Accounting. To my surprise I did far better in all subjects and I’m very happy about the results. I feel more confident about my multi-tasking abilities and my ability to be productive even when faced with a shortage of time.

On a side note; Hurricane Ike blew through Texas on the weekend. I always wanted to be a meteorologist and I enjoy tracking weather and hurricanes as one of many of my weird hobbies. I feel for all the families that were affected by the storm, but I must admit that I’m always wowed by the power and strange beauty of these storms. I thought I’d enclose a radar picture of Ike slamming into the Texas coast line….I think it’s a fascinating picture; a balance of beauty and destruction.

I promised in my last entry that this one would be about the top ten things I’ve learned in the MBA thus far. I hope it’s helpful especially for all of you incoming students who have started reading my blog. Here it is.

Top Ten Things I’ve Learned ~Advice for Incoming MBAs

Sacha Gera, MBA Candidate (May, 2009)

#1: Take a chance; put yourself out there

You’ll learn more if you take chances. Put your hand up during class even when you’re unsure of how ridiculous your answer will sound; chances are that 1/3rd of the class is thinking the same thing! Don’t worry about your ego being bruised; a wrong answer is just as valuable as a right one and you’ll earn participation points for it too! In fact wrong answers often earn higher participation points then right answers. Furthermore, your colleagues and your professors will respect you for taking chances. MBAs graduates are often successful because they take chances and are not afraid to go against the grain in the board room; test drive this philosophy in the classroom!

#2: Make it collaborative, not competitive

In a class full of type A leaders, it is all too easy to fall into the trap of being competitive with one another and to lose sight of the long term picture. The power of an MBA often surfaces many years down the road when you are more likely to leverage your network. Too often, students take a short term view with the goal of out doing their colleagues for that first post-MBA job that everyone wants. Competition will always be a part of the MBA experience and you will compete for jobs, but do your best to promote a collaborative environment where helping each other is a common practice. It’s surprising how helpful my class colleagues have been, and I’m finding that the more we help each other the more that behaviour gets encouraged.

#3: It’s a marathon not a race!

The one year Ivey MBA program can get intense at times to say the least. Burning out is a constant risk that we face especially at the start of the program when we are learning the ropes with respect to how to study and manage our time, and during recruitment season. Be sure to pace yourself and to give yourself a break once in a while. Although it is tough to avoid, don’t worry so much about how many hours your colleagues are putting in; concentrate on being yourself (the same person that got you into this great school).

#4: Alumni power

You hear about the power of the Ivey alumni, but you won’t know it until you try it. As an MBA student you’ve got access to a database of 20 000+ Ivey HBA and MBA alumni, which is hugely powerful! The database allows you to search out contacts by industry, location, and company. In my experience, there appears to be a strong Ivey culture instilled in all graduates whereby Ivey alumni make great efforts to help current students and promote the Ivey brand. Reach out to the alumni and you may surprise yourself on how helpful they can be in guiding you and helping you with your job search.

#5: Staying healthy takes effort

Expect to have tough weeks with little sleep, and expect to get stressed at times. I’ve seen many of my fellow students adapt to the MBA life in both positive and negative ways. I’ve found that getting a good amount of sleep and exercising regularly are keys to staying healthy both from a mental and physical perspective. Leading a healthy lifestyle will help you keep your immune system up at those critical times. Remember that there will be times when you can’t physically do all the required work; know when to draw the line and call it quits.

#6: Remember the importance of networking and socializing

Expect to make 70 new friends instantly when you join the MBA program. Your classmates will form the basis of your professional network for years to come. Developing relationships and bonds with your classmates is important, and making the effort to attend MBA outings will help you achieve that. Don’t expect to attend all the events, and don’t feel pressure to go to them all. Pick and choose based on your schedule. If you’ve got a spouse or partner in town, be sure to bring them out and have them join the Ivey Circle (social group for spouses and partners); make them apart of the Ivey MBA experience!

#7: It’s a work hard play hard environment

Expect to work hard, but also take comfort in knowing that there is time to relax, socialize, and visit friends and family even in a one year program! I thought I was going to be pigeon-holed for the year, but surprisingly I find the time to take the stress off. Often times I find myself needing a break during the middle of an intense week, and I’ve learned to create time for myself even when it appears to be a bad idea. It’s important to work hard, but equally important to take time for yourself when you need it.

#8: The power of diversity

Coming into a classroom of accountants, engineers, doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs and others is stimulating to say the least. Coming into a classroom with students from all over the world is even that much more stimulating. As we discuss and debate a case in the classroom, expect to hear many different and diverse perspectives on issues. Have an open mind to what others are saying. Listen hard and you’ll find yourself learning from your peers and thinking in new and unique ways.

#9: You can lead without being the leader

We are all effective leaders; it’s why we were selected to be here in this program. We are all eager to lead in some capacity or another. Learning to lead without necessarily being the leader is a very powerful concept. Challenge yourself to figure out how you can help your peers and make a positive impact in the class. Be there for your colleagues when they need you most, and share your talents and gifts; doing so will earn you respect and increase your influence in the classroom.

#10: Represent the Ivey brand

We all represent the Ivey brand, and we’ve all invested in it heavily. It’s important to represent the Ivey brand externally and internally at all times through the good times and the bad. Expect there to be hiccups, but they will be far outweighed by the positives of the program. Negativity is contagious but so is positivity; so make a conscious effort to be positive and to be an Ivey ambassador at all times!

September is here.

In my last posting I mentioned that I would talk about my key learning’s thus far; I’ve decided to delay that blog entry for a couple of weeks. We have a week off in September for recruiting activities and I think I’ll have more time to think through what I want to say for that entry.

I’ve just started my first elective cycle here at Ivey. I am taking negotiations and competition. It’s really refreshing taking electives. I definitely needed a break from the quantitative stuff, especially after taking accounting and finance. I’m particularly enjoying negotiations. Who knew that negotiation was part art and part science? Each class involves a one on one negotiation with a colleague from the class. The idea is to try out new negotiation tactics and strategies from the night’s assigned readings + the class discussions. There always is a winner and a loser in each of these negotiation sessions. In my last session, a colleague of mine (who happens to be part of my learning team), ripped me pretty good. The funny thing is that I walked out of that negotiation thinking that I did well. I guess he got the best of me and made feel good about it too; a true negotiation master. I guess the fact that he has a background in sales and marketing doesn’t hurt either ;) As part of the course we had to write a reflection paper on that particular negotiation. You can imagine how much fun I had writing about how I got ripped off. I tend to be a competitive person in general, but I realized that I have a harder time being shrewd when I happen to be friends or like the person I’m dealing with… Kudos to my negotiating mate!

Today was a really tough day and I find myself at a low point. This program and this experience have brought many new challenges and learning’s; some as a direct result of the program, some as a result of moving to a new location, some as a result of unexpected changes on the home front, and some because I let myself wander a bit too far. Today was yet another day in my march toward getting a grip on things and I find myself continually forcing myself to make the tough decisions that are right for me professionally and personally. I guess some days are better then others and today wasn’t a good one. I’m a bit down at the moment; probably a bit tired, and feeling a bit vulnerable. I went for a long run/walk today…the perfect cure for a shitty day. I think I need a break and some time for myself; I’m looking forward to the week off in September. I plan to go home and spend some time with my wife, my family and friends, while also using the time to catch up with colleagues at Nortel. I’ve scheduled a number of meetings with former mentors, colleagues, and peers. A very prominent Nortel executive has agreed to meet with me to discuss my post-MBA plans…keep you posted.

On a side note, I recently decided to entertain the idea of interviewing for jobs outside of Nortel. I recently had an interview with a prominent company for a product management position; a dream job and one that was totally in line with my post-MBA goals. I didn’t make it through to the next round of interviews for that job and I was a bit surprised. More then anything I was disappointed and it hit me harder then I thought it would. I’m sure that’s contributing to the downer day I’m having. Never fear; tomorrow is a new day and I won’t let myself stay down very long.

The new U2 album is delayed! It was supposed to be out on Nov 18th but has been pushed to early 2009. Why am I mentioning this?....because I’m a U2 fanatic of course. These days I’ve been listening to a fair amount of U2, as well as the new Cold Play album, and Arcade Fire…it gets me through those tough and busy days!

The Clapping Class

I’m 1/3 done; Holy S**T! Time is flying and within 8 short months I’ll be tagging three very expensive, but invaluable letters to my name ;) I’m feeling more confident then ever that the program is providing me with the skills and network that I need to achieve my post-MBA goals, and I’m going to ensure that I’m working my ass off to make it happen. Remember; things don’t necessarily fall in your lap during an MBA program…you’ve got to make things happen! That said I’ve definitely lost a fair amount of hair during the first bit of the program, which really sucks….guys are conscious about their receding hair lines and I’m no different. I also find myself rapidly turning grey; I seem to be getting more comments then ever on how my hair is turning grey….at first it was cool because I felt wiser and more mature but now I think I’m just starting to look older? Did I mention that I noticed a couple of greys in my beard and on my chest? Yes.. the stress and pressure of this program definitely have effects on us students…. when we first started the program there were likely only 2 or 3 regular smokers; now at break times there appears to be 10 to 15 (no I'm not one of them)! Remember to keep up the exercise during the program; I don’t think I would have gotten here thus far without staying healthy and active. I seem to get my stress relieve, second wind, and adrenalin rush from running at the end of a long day of classes…

Thought I’d share my top MBA phrases and words that I’ve picked up from the first 1/3 of the program: ‘culture’, ‘holistic’, ‘burning-platform’, ‘urgency’, ‘communities of passion’, ‘vision’, and the one I seem to be saying all the time ‘apparently’.

So how did exams go you ask? They went as well as they could under the circumstances. I’ve had a lot on my plate and a lack of time. I’m happy with my finance exam, not very happy with accounting, and luke warm about strategy.

I’ve been overwhelmed by some of the response I’ve had lately from readers of my blog. I had no idea that people were actually reading this blog and it’s nice to receive emails and questions about the program from them. Originally, this blog was meant to be an open, public diary for my former work colleagues, friends, and peers that were curious as to what a realistic MBA experience is all about from a personal, and professional perspective. I didn’t refrain from sharing personal details, despite some of them being overly-personal. I now feel a bit of restrain from being as personal as I’ve been in the past, however I also believe that I’m not being true to myself or to anyone else if I don’t show that personal perspective.

Recruiting season has set in for the iBankers and consultants of the class; you can feel the competition heating up. Our class social coordinators have done a wonderful job in ensuring that the class continues to get out socially and relieve themselves of the day to day MBA and recruitment stress. All in all I must say that I’m delightfully surprised at how well the class continues to get along despite the increasing job competition, and despite the so-called ‘honeymoon’ period being over. Some groups of people tend to click more naturally then others; in our class’ case the Ivey admissions teams definitely hit the mark with selecting a compatible and diverse bunch…we jive, we have each other’s backs, and we are united. For example, every single time one our classmate’s make an announcement or a presentation the entire class provides a standing ovation or a loud applause for that person. We love encouraging each other and driving each other with positive reinforcement. Its gotten to the point where it’s almost amusing; our class just itches to applaud for each other… hence I now refer to our class as “the clapping class.”

On a secondary note, I honestly think that they are a few people in this class that will surely emerge as superstars within 5-10 years; after a few months you get a good sense of the gifts/talents that are hidden within each student …but there are a few that standout like sore thumbs. There is some incredible talent in the class and I find myself learning from their diversity and their gifts every day. I’m excited about re-visiting this blog entry a few years down the road to see if my prediction holds true. In the mean time I’m going to let my intellectual curiosity wander some more and to be as open as possible to continue absorbing from my mates.


Recently, our class president raised a very important topic to the class; the importance of not spreading ‘negativity.’ In my experience, negativity is contagious. It’s a cancer that spreads rapidly. Our strategy professor likes to call such things ‘viral.’ I think that name is appropriate. Day in and day I’m making more of effort to become a positive person. I believe in forceful optimism. I consider myself to be an eternal optimist but I’m human and I like to b**tch about things like everyone else. When others start to complain, under the right circumstance I’ll join in. Over the last year at Nortel, a work place that has its fair share of negativity (for obvious reasons), I’ve witnessed the power of negativity and what it can do in a work place….it spreads. I’ve also witnessed that being positive can encourage others and provide them with the inspiration to want to do their best. That’s who I want to be and who I strive to be.

Geeta and I were in Ottawa twice in August for two different weddings. Weddings seem to be seasonal in the East Indian community (my background)…they all seem to be in the July/August time frame. We had four weddings to attend in August but picked two. One by best friend’s got married last weekend. It was really nice to see how happy he is, and for whatever reason it made me appreciate how lucky I’ve been to have married my best friend. These days with life being so busy and all, I seem to take things for granted. I sometimes forget how good I’ve got things. Not too long ago, I decided to make some changes by spending more time at home, and by reducing the number of MBA social outings I attend. I think these changes have been positive, but I also realize that there is no substitute for time which will always be lacking throughout this program. For those entering into a one year program with partners, remember that you’re going to have to work that much harder to keep things good on the home front; you’ve got to treat this experience as a partnership! Also remember that you’re going to go through many ups and downs, but that you’ve got to take life day by day and find common ground.

My former director (bosses boss) at Nortel accepted a job in Turkey. I can’t say that I was surprised, but it made me think about the prospects of working somewhere international. I think that getting international experience would be an incredible experience and perhaps the timing is better then ever to go for it?

So what are my top learnings from the program thus far? I think that’s the topic of my next blog…stay tuned.

Until next time….which will hopefully be sooner then last time ;)

sorry for the delay in posting

I'm in the midst of stuying for Module 2A finals and I'm getting rocked from excessive fatigue ;) Yes its a work-hard play-hard atmosphere, but at the moment there's no play. I've never been in a situation where I could honestly say that I didn't have the time to prepare for an exam to the extent that I wished; I can now say that this is the case. I'm playing catch up and I find myself in uncharted territory....a perfect recipe for some additional, unrequired stress. I can't say that its all because of school. The truth is that I've had a really busy extracurricular, and personal schedule over the last month which has taken away from my studying time. I just got back to London after attending one of my best friend's wedding in Ottawa. I was one of his two bestmen and hence I felt that it was important for me to put that ahead of studying for finals this weekend....by the way the speech went well. In a previous blog entry, I mentioned that I was having writer's block with respect to writing his speech; well one day about a week ago I was able to write his speech in 15 mins!....talk about having a good writing day ;) When it rains it pours.

I've gots lots to talk about and lots to update on....I'll get to it with a blog entry this Labour Day weekend. Wish me luck!

I'm Loving It!

Can you believe it: I’ve completed a quarter of an MBA degree already ;) Time is flying by, and I am truly loving the Ivey MBA experience. In all honesty I think the program has been excellent thus far and I think that most of my colleagues would agree with me. The learning materials are relevant and applicable in the real world, my peers are awesome (I feel like I’ve made 70 good friends), career management has been very helpful and is living up to their reputation, and the alumni network appears to be as strong as ever. What more could I have asked for?

I recently got back from Industry Week; a week off from class where the class was put up in the Hilton Hotel in downtown Toronto and given an opportunity to meet with industry, alumni, and recruiters. It was truly a great experience and a fantastic way to weigh one’s options with respect to potential career paths and target companies. In particular, I found it useful because I was able to eliminate a number of career paths that I had been contemplating. When I came into the MBA program, I was focussed on going back to the telecom industry in the capacity of general management, or product management. Early on in the MBA, I got caught up with the management consulting and iBanking (investment banking) crowd. It is difficult to stay focussed on your career goals when you are being wined and dined and lured in by the consulting and iBanking companies. It also doesn’t help when 60-75% of the class is talking the iBanking and consulting talk day in day out, with its promise of big money + bonuses etc. Well I’m off that diverted track and I came back from Toronto more focussed then ever. I feel that I’ve cleared mind with respect to my career path: I think I’m sticking to my initial objectives and will follow my passions in Telecom (remember Sacha that the intersection point between your passions and strengths will lead to success --> I live by this!). Of course there are a few exceptions; I am considering technology consulting as a potential post-MBA path. This type of consulting is somewhat different then management consulting and is somewhat appealing (more research required). At this point, my first preference would be to go back to Nortel if the offer and opportunity is right and fits my goals. I feel very loyal to the company, but I also realize that expanding my breadth of experience beyond Nortel is equally important at this stage of my career. At the end of the day I will need to pay the MBA bills and a good offer would likely sway me. I hope Nortel comes through for me because I want to give back and be apart of that turnaround story.

One of the interesting positive points that I’ve come to like about Ivey is how they are very quick to respond to student concerns. There are no doubts that the one year program is still in transition phase, however I would argue that most of the knots have been ironed out and any glitches in the one year program have been fairly minor thus far. About a month ago, the new acting dean came to our class and asked for the student’s feedback. All concerns were recorded and many were fixed immediately. For example, one student complained that some of the study rooms lacked a white board; within a week all study rooms that were lacking one were fitted with white boards. I guess that’s what you’d expect from a top b-school. I know I was impressed!

I recently applied and was chosen to be one of three ambassador senators for the Ivey MBA School. I’m excited about the opportunity. People who know me well know that I like to sell and promote things that I believe in. I believe in knowledge sharing and collaboration and I spread this wherever I go. I believe in Nortel and I promote the company wherever possible. I believe in Ivey, and you better bet that I’m going to do my best to do a good job as an ambassador for the program.

Speaking of Nortel, I am thrilled to announce that Lauren Flaherty (CMO of Nortel) and one of Canada’s 100 most powerful women (as per a recent award), has agreed to visit Ivey and deliver a talk on leadership and Nortel. I wanted to specially thank a particular reader of my blog who happens to work for Lauren and who endorsed my cause and invitation: Thank you! I can’t wait for Lauren to come down. I really believe that it will help change the perception of Nortel on campus and will help build the Ivey/Nortel relationship. In the mean time I’ve been in touch with the University Relations Prime at Nortel to help rejuvenate the Ivey/Nortel recruiting relationship; keep you posted on that. I believe that Ivey has some of the brightest business minds in the country, and I believe that Nortel should be taking advantage of this. I hope that Lauren’s visit and a potential rejuvenation of the Ivey/Nortel relationship will spark interest in Nortel amongst the students and vice-versa.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend a “dress for success” event that was put on by the Ivey Career Management folks at a high-end clothing store here in London. I learned a few nifty fashion tips. Here are some of my takeaways (which will be handy for the upcoming recruiting season): match you belt with your shoes, one should have at least four suits (black, navy, grey, and one other colour), one should have about 15 dress shirts (really??), brown shoes go with navy and gray suits while black shoes go with a black suit, there are many different tie knots, dry cleaning reduces the life of you attire by 50%, and never button up the bottom button of your suit (leave open). I’ll leave it at that. Did I mention that the store was selling $3k boss blazers! Maybe one day ;)

I just got back from a 4 day long weekend in Ottawa where my whole family spent the weekend together. My sister and her family came up from California, while my brother and his kids came up from Texas. Of course my parents, in laws, and other brother and his family were present too (all live in O-town aka Ottawa). The 22 of us had a blast; I love family reunions! We attended a wedding of a close family friend, and partied it up for 4 straight days (mix of wedding parties, clubbing, and outdoor activities including fishing!). I arrived back to London late on Tuesday night feeling like I needed a vacation from the vacation. Well, I’m in one piece but I’m still paying the price for a crazy, fun, sleepless weekend. I’ve been exhausted all week and haven’t been participating much in class. In addition, I seem to be falling behind a bit on the accounting and finance class material. I need to catch up on some sleep this weekend…What’s new? The good news is that it seems like most of the class is in the same boat ;) I'll catch up on sleep after hitting the barking frog (night club frequented by all Ivey MBA students) tomorrow night with my mates

In my last entry, I briefly discussed how I was feeling a lot of anxiety lately and was not always thinking straight + losing concentration etc etc. Well I’ve had enough of that #!#@# and I’ve decided to get a grip on myself. I'm feeling a lot better over the last couple of weeks, and I’m getting back to normal. I’m spending more time with Geeta (my wife) which is really helping me + I’m exercising regularly + I’m learning to take life day by day + I’m doing away with things that are dragging me down + trying to keep life as simple as possible: Keep you posted on my progress.

Until next time…

Sacha