It’s getting late, but I can’t seem to sleep. I’ve become a party animal lately and my coffee, tea, and alcohol consumption is up….Very “un-Sacha-like.” I’m getting used to 5 or 6 hours of sleep per night now and my body still seems to function fine. It’s still not quite as bad as it was during my Engineering undergrad when I probably averaged 4 hours of sleep per night for 4 years. I guess the difference this time around is the fact that 40% of this program and the after-hour events are about networking, socializing, and team work. I realize more then ever the power of networking, and how it contributes to your ability to leverage and influence others. What’s best about it that I’m making lots of really great friends along the way; everyday is so much fun.
Geeta (my wife) has been in Ottawa for over a week now. She lost her job this week as a result of company restructuring. It has caused a significant amount of stress on the both of us considering that I’m on unpaid leave for a year and I’ve got a $70k tuition bill to pay. Add in some personal obstacles we’re dealing with at the moment, and you’ve got a pretty difficult situation. Although I’m stressed, I must say that I’m quite impressed with how we’re handling it. A year ago I especially would be panicking. Now, I’m just taking it day by day. I guess we’ve done ok from a contingency planning perspective and I’m not too stressed financially. On a bright note, I truly believe that this could be a blessing in disguise for Geeta. She’s been wanting out of tech for a long time and was wanting to career switch after I was done with my MBA. I think this is a perfect opportunity for her to take some time off, reflect on her interests, passions, and figure out where she’s heading. I want her to find something that she is passionate about even if it means less $$ and a bit of sacrificing on our quality of life. The truth is that she hasn’t been enjoying her career for quite some time. I hope she’ll make the best of this time and find her calling. I can’t help but recall Michael Clemmen’s recent keynote talk and how he mentioned that “genius comes from adversity.” I know that Geeta has hit a low point but I believe that her genius will come out in due time, and I will be there to support her as she has been there for me.
I feel like I’m going through so much change right now. It’s weird. My brother keeps making fun of me around how I am doing things backwards in life. Although I deny it, upon additional thought I think he’s right. Let me explain: I never partied during my undergrad studies. I was a serious student striving toward my career and personal goals. I didn’t adapt to change well and stayed within my comfort zone. As an example, I never bothered to try to make many new friends (besides the ones I carried from childhood), and I never let myself relax and let loose. Furthermore, I never lived outside of Ottawa. I stayed in Ottawa to attend Carleton University during my Engineering days. It now seems that it’s all coming undone. I feel younger, looser, and I’m even enjoying the club scene for the first time in my life. I feel more confident reaching out to others and making new friends. I’m having so much fun and its all happening very fast. I really wonder if I missed out on a part of my life when I was growing up? I think I was too mature for my age during my late teen years and early twenties, and perhaps I’m making up for a bit of it now? I guess this is stuff that people do when they go to college and university for the first time around. I seem to be doing it during Master’s program…hence my brother says I’m doing it backwards ;) Not sure if this will last for me, but I’m having fun and enjoying the experience. Did I mention that I’m exercising more frequently then I have in the last 3 years? Yes, I’ve finally got a good balance in my life and I hope it lasts!
Ok…time to prep for tomorrow’s day and get some zzzzzzzz’s.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
School is in full swing....
School is in full swing and I love it. I knew that going back to school this time around would be fun, but I never imagined that I’d become so comfortable with it so soon. I guess the difference this time around is that I actually want to learn, in comparison to my undergrad studies when I had no choice but to be there.
What do I love about this program: 1.The people are really awesome and easy to bond with; we learn so much from each other’s experiences, 2. The Professors are as passionate and energetic as they come, and 3. The keynote speakers offer an incredibly diverse set of experiences and pieces of advice. Did I mention that the city is starting to feel like home? I never thought that I would adapt to another city so quickly, but I am. I’m really starting to feel the itch to go international when I’m done with my studies here in London.
Last week, we were really lucky to have a caste of incredible key note speakers. We had Don Mcdougal, former President of Labatt Breweries, and one of the members that brought the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team to Toronto in the 70’s. Did I mention that he also helped start Brian Mulroney’s (Former Canadian PM) career! One thing that he mentioned that really stuck with me was the fact that good leaders often have a knack of being able to “skilfully manipulate the emotions of others to achieve objectives.” Very true in my opinion!
We also had the pleasure of hosting Bell Mobility President, Wade Oosterman, and Ron Wolf, CEO of ICORR Properties. The two of them delivered a very interesting debate on why corporations shouldn’t be responsible for donating to charities, and how that the onus should be on the shareholder instead. To make a long story short; the idea is that a corporation should focus on delivering increased cash flows and bottom line (i.e. profitability), and hence contribute to a higher stock price which in turn allows the stock holder to decide on how they spend their return on investment. This would be in opposition to the company spending $$ from their bottom line and taking away a portion of these profits from shareholder returns as a result of that money being donated. I’m not sure that I agree with the philosophy, but it was a very interesting class debate that got very emotional for some. One student, who felt very passionately about giving to African Aid organizations, told the Bell Mobility CEO that he should perhaps get rid of the “beaver” commercials and all the money they spend on those advertisements and give it charity. The CEO actually received that well and then took a poll to see how many in the class liked the “beaver” character on the t.v. commercials. Other takeaways: “don’t’ kid yourself, company’s are all about making profit. When they do good things, its likely because they have self-interest from a $$ perspective.” The two speakers also spent a significant amount of time on the importance of integrity and ethics.
Later in the week we heard from Paul Atkinson of Casero. I don’t remember too much from his talk except for one quote: “Don’t be a PITA; pain in the ass.” We had Nadir Mohammad, COO of Rogers Wireless. He talked to us about the successes and growth at Rogers, where the company is going, and how it’s like to work for Ted Rogers (one of Canada’s richest). He told some great stories on how Ted Rogers hired him and had him over to his house to pressure him into signing the contract to join Rogers.
That brings me to the final two speakers. I saved the best for last. We had the head of one of NASA’s prominent divisions (can’t remember his name), and Mike “Pinball” Clemens (former Canadian Football League legend and current CEO of the Toronto Argonauts sports franchise). Both were incredible speakers that have so much passion for what they do. I realize how important it is to be passionate about what you do; money isn’t everything. Where your passions and strengths intersect is where you hit the “sweet spot” and get your career best, as Mike Clemens mentioned. “Genius comes from adversity,” another great quote from the CFL legend. He was probably amongst the top three speakers I’ve ever seen….unbelievable energy that he seems to turn on at the flick of a switch. What I found very interesting about Clemnens was the fact that he was psyching himself out before his talk and during his introduction to get himself going. It was almost like he was preparing for game day. The head of NASA took us through the Columbia shuttle disaster and walked us through the roles, responsibilities, and functionality of a shuttle launch….really awesome stuff for the techno geeks in the class including myself!
Did I mention that I had a career meltdown early last week? Yup…I temporarily lost sight of my goals and why I came to business school (i.e. to be a Product Manager in a Telecom company). Thank god I have an amazing wife that keeps me grounded. She got me focussed again after a 2 hour walk. I found myself jumping on the management consulting, and Investment banking bandwagon like 90% of the students….all I could see was $$ as I talk to all the other students about these typical post-MBA career paths. There seems to be this perception in business schools that the students that fail to land a prominent iBanking (investment banking) or management consulting job are failures….i.e. weren’t good enough to get in. I’m pretty sure I’m not interested in either career paths…I love telecom too much. I’ll guarantee you that I won’t be a failure though. …remember Sacha…where your passions and strengths intersect you will achieve your career best and $$ will follow! I had to put that down in writing for me to look at time to time.
Geeta (my wife) is back in Ottawa this week. We drove up last Friday for the long weekend. She’s been teleworking (working from home here in London) and has been quite lonely with the lack of interaction (i.e. people deprived). I think Ottawa will be a refreshing change for her since she’ll be going into work….. although there seems to be another round of layoffs happening in IT at Nortel this week….not sure if she’ll make it through this time and I’m a bit stressed about our financials. I do know that it if the worst does happen….I really want her to find a job or career that she is passionate about….so important!
Until next time…
What do I love about this program: 1.The people are really awesome and easy to bond with; we learn so much from each other’s experiences, 2. The Professors are as passionate and energetic as they come, and 3. The keynote speakers offer an incredibly diverse set of experiences and pieces of advice. Did I mention that the city is starting to feel like home? I never thought that I would adapt to another city so quickly, but I am. I’m really starting to feel the itch to go international when I’m done with my studies here in London.
Last week, we were really lucky to have a caste of incredible key note speakers. We had Don Mcdougal, former President of Labatt Breweries, and one of the members that brought the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team to Toronto in the 70’s. Did I mention that he also helped start Brian Mulroney’s (Former Canadian PM) career! One thing that he mentioned that really stuck with me was the fact that good leaders often have a knack of being able to “skilfully manipulate the emotions of others to achieve objectives.” Very true in my opinion!
We also had the pleasure of hosting Bell Mobility President, Wade Oosterman, and Ron Wolf, CEO of ICORR Properties. The two of them delivered a very interesting debate on why corporations shouldn’t be responsible for donating to charities, and how that the onus should be on the shareholder instead. To make a long story short; the idea is that a corporation should focus on delivering increased cash flows and bottom line (i.e. profitability), and hence contribute to a higher stock price which in turn allows the stock holder to decide on how they spend their return on investment. This would be in opposition to the company spending $$ from their bottom line and taking away a portion of these profits from shareholder returns as a result of that money being donated. I’m not sure that I agree with the philosophy, but it was a very interesting class debate that got very emotional for some. One student, who felt very passionately about giving to African Aid organizations, told the Bell Mobility CEO that he should perhaps get rid of the “beaver” commercials and all the money they spend on those advertisements and give it charity. The CEO actually received that well and then took a poll to see how many in the class liked the “beaver” character on the t.v. commercials. Other takeaways: “don’t’ kid yourself, company’s are all about making profit. When they do good things, its likely because they have self-interest from a $$ perspective.” The two speakers also spent a significant amount of time on the importance of integrity and ethics.
Later in the week we heard from Paul Atkinson of Casero. I don’t remember too much from his talk except for one quote: “Don’t be a PITA; pain in the ass.” We had Nadir Mohammad, COO of Rogers Wireless. He talked to us about the successes and growth at Rogers, where the company is going, and how it’s like to work for Ted Rogers (one of Canada’s richest). He told some great stories on how Ted Rogers hired him and had him over to his house to pressure him into signing the contract to join Rogers.
That brings me to the final two speakers. I saved the best for last. We had the head of one of NASA’s prominent divisions (can’t remember his name), and Mike “Pinball” Clemens (former Canadian Football League legend and current CEO of the Toronto Argonauts sports franchise). Both were incredible speakers that have so much passion for what they do. I realize how important it is to be passionate about what you do; money isn’t everything. Where your passions and strengths intersect is where you hit the “sweet spot” and get your career best, as Mike Clemens mentioned. “Genius comes from adversity,” another great quote from the CFL legend. He was probably amongst the top three speakers I’ve ever seen….unbelievable energy that he seems to turn on at the flick of a switch. What I found very interesting about Clemnens was the fact that he was psyching himself out before his talk and during his introduction to get himself going. It was almost like he was preparing for game day. The head of NASA took us through the Columbia shuttle disaster and walked us through the roles, responsibilities, and functionality of a shuttle launch….really awesome stuff for the techno geeks in the class including myself!
Did I mention that I had a career meltdown early last week? Yup…I temporarily lost sight of my goals and why I came to business school (i.e. to be a Product Manager in a Telecom company). Thank god I have an amazing wife that keeps me grounded. She got me focussed again after a 2 hour walk. I found myself jumping on the management consulting, and Investment banking bandwagon like 90% of the students….all I could see was $$ as I talk to all the other students about these typical post-MBA career paths. There seems to be this perception in business schools that the students that fail to land a prominent iBanking (investment banking) or management consulting job are failures….i.e. weren’t good enough to get in. I’m pretty sure I’m not interested in either career paths…I love telecom too much. I’ll guarantee you that I won’t be a failure though. …remember Sacha…where your passions and strengths intersect you will achieve your career best and $$ will follow! I had to put that down in writing for me to look at time to time.
Geeta (my wife) is back in Ottawa this week. We drove up last Friday for the long weekend. She’s been teleworking (working from home here in London) and has been quite lonely with the lack of interaction (i.e. people deprived). I think Ottawa will be a refreshing change for her since she’ll be going into work….. although there seems to be another round of layoffs happening in IT at Nortel this week….not sure if she’ll make it through this time and I’m a bit stressed about our financials. I do know that it if the worst does happen….I really want her to find a job or career that she is passionate about….so important!
Until next time…
Sunday, May 4, 2008
First Impressions....
The first week of school is completed….I think I’m finally starting to breathe again! I’m writing from my apartment’s terrace perched 19 floors above London’s central business district. I have no immediate homework due so I am as relaxed as can be. The weather has really taken a turn for the better. We had four straight days of rain and I think it was making me depressed throughout the week. I couldn’t help thinking of how much I loved living in Ottawa. On a side note, did you know that Ottawa-Gatineau was rated the best place in Canada to live by Money Sense magazine this week? Check it out: http://list.canadianbusiness.com/rankings/bestplacestolive/2008/prosperity/Default.aspx?sp2=1&d1=a&sc1=6&sub=n1&df=bestcities .
Days 1 through 3 (i.e. Monday-Wednesday) of class were simply overwhelming; after a few days of brutal statistics, regression analysis, and MS Excel training I was consistently questioning myself why I decided to do this, and why I was subjecting myself to school pressures from hell. Picking up the books after 8 hours of intense class was really difficult. I felt sick to my stomach on Monday and Tuesday evening. I felt like curling up in a ball and admitting defeat. I guess the fact that I was really sick all week didn’t help. I picked up a nasty case of Bronchitis that really made me feel like shit (by the way I’m on antibiotics now and they are working…thank the lord ;)).
Anyhow, I had a really hard time sacrificing my personal time to study this week, but there was no choice…3 assignments and two tests in the first four days…ouch! I know the professors were setting an example and toying with us to get us back into study mode…well it worked. Interestingly enough, the light bulb (i.e. my brain) went on somewhere on day 4 (Thursday), and I finally understood the big picture on what we had set out to learn this week. What’s scary about the whole thing was the fact that everything I learned this week was immensely applicable to my job at Nortel. What a weird and unexpected surprise; actually learning something useful and applicable in school…I think I’m going to like this program.
Another big surprise this week was how quickly the class has bonded. I already know that I’ve made life-long friends. It feels kind of weird. I’m not sure if every class feels that way every year, but this class has got chemistry and everyone is just so diverse and friendly. I guess we all have a few things in common: 1. We’re all new to the town, and are going through the same hardships, and 2. We are all executive wannabe’s with stratospheric aspirations. I must admit that being in a class room of 70 Type A personalities is a bit intimidating and competitive; imagine being in a room where everyone is an eager-beaver trying to make the first impression. I caught myself sitting back on the first two days, overwhelmed by how smart everyone was, and being extraordinarily silent….on day 3 through 5 I tried to make more of impression and I think I’m starting to find my place. What is neat about the class is that it’s so diverse; the power of diversity is really starting to become apparent. I like being surrounded by people who have different backgrounds (i.e. not all engineers or high tech folks). There are lawyers, doctors, engineers, bankers, energy folks, non-profit social workers, and entrepreneurs all under one roof…pretty amazing experience.
The first thing people generally ask you when you meet them here is 1. Where are you from?, and 2. Where do you work? When I respond that I work at Nortel, it’s amazing to see how negative peoples’ reactions are….” that company is still around?”, “that damn share price…when is going up?” It’s really starting to become annoying….especially because I still believe in the company so much. I guess I was a bit surprised at how emotional people get towards Nortel. I never realized how many people were invested in it during the boom and the bust. I guess I sympathize with them, but I like to look toward the future and not the past.
I guess I’ve written a bit much for this entry…. Did I mention London is really starting to grow on me? More on that next time.
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