FIVE Things Applicants should remember before Selecting Admissions Consultants for B-schools

Hi All,
I have been an MBA aspirant and have worked with a couple of consulting firms. To help fellow applicants (mainly Indian students), I am listing below some tips which you should make sure you sign-up with admissions consultants. Hope this will save some precious time and money from you.

My Brief Profile: GMAT-720. Indian IT Male Engineer, have done my engineering from a state-level third tier engineering college, have decent extra-curricular and moderate level achievements(compared to the applicants who applies to the top schools).


1. Get Your Profile assessed by at least 2-3 consulting firms-both Indian and foreign(if you are considering) and evaluate the common feedback and the mismatch between the feedback. Be RUDELY honest about yourself and try to talk to as many people as possible to assess your profile. If you are an Indian, you'll not be evaluated against other applicants, but rather against Indian applicants and that shots the competition to dizzying heights. Assess your profile and see what are the best schools you can get and any chances of financial aid.

2. Don't go with consultants who make LOFTY/ DREAMY promises. Even if you get in a top school, you'll have to compete against them. If you're not confident about that, better go in a school where you can shine more. Try to target realistic schools. While we all want to graduate from Harvards and Whartons of the world, we all can't. Please do remember this.

3. Do make sure that there's a failure clause, i.e. what happens if the promises made by consulting firm do not live up to their expectations. GO FOR MONEY RETURN GUARANTEE. When there is such kind of clause, the firm will painstakingly make sure to live up to their promises. Otherwise, the firms can slack-off and you'll lose your precious time and money. A lot of consultants offer money-back guarantee in India (at least), better go with them.

4. Don't rely ONLY on Online reviews: While reviews do help to make or break up your mind about a consulting firm, don't solely rely on them. My advise, make sure you painstakingly read any negative reviews  about that firm as that can be your case also. Reviews can be altered and can be forged also, so try and connect with some old student of theirs/anyone with some knowledge about the consultants to help you out.

5. Do Calculate Your ROI: Before spending money on any consultants or schools, do ensure what is your ROI. Don't chase lofty dreams and just spend your hard earned money on consultants and wrongly chosen schools.

Hope the above list helps. Do get in touch if you need more help. I'll be glad to help as much as I can.

Cheers..

Digvijay Anand :)

PS: You can like my profile and follow me on Google+ by clicking buttons just below my Pic on top left. You can find me on Facebook or Twitter (@Digvijay05) also. Do share, in comments, how you like my review.  

Movie Review: FURY (2014)

Movie: Fury

Cast:  Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman

Director: David Ayer

Review: As an eternal fan of Brad Pitt and War movies, I had to see this movie.

So there I was sitting in a dark theater to witness the saga of bravery and courage of five men, destined to work together to complete the mission assigned to them. The story takes you to midst of war-torn Germany where Allies have gained ground and are pushing back Germans to win and end the war.

There a warhorse army sergeant nick-named Wardaddy commands a Sherman tank and his five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Out-numbered, out-gunned, and with a soldier who was a typist, Wardaddy, his men and their tank named FURY, which had become their home,  face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts to survive another day to kill the enemy.

The flow of the story is quite smooth and there rarely is a dull moment. The cinematography, look and feel of this movie is similar to other Hollywood war classics. From the scene where Wardaddy cries quietly for dead soldiers after putting a brave face in front of others to the one where he pushes the young typist to shoot an enemy soldier to the one where he treats enemy women fairly, director David Ayer has been quite successful in depicting the horrors of the war and how such a bloody, senseless and prolonged conflict can negatively affect the psyche of the soldiers and civilians alike.

The movie draws to an end with Brad Pitt as Wardaddy emerging as a leader who leads by example and decides to face one of the deadliest platoons of Nazi Army (Not detailing much to save you from Spoilers).

This is one of the brilliant war movies I have seen and Brad Pitt, although has played much demanding roles, has performed in this role brilliantly. Also Shia LeBeouf , Logan Lerman and other cast members have performed in their roles brilliantly.

An inspirational and courageous story of men who shout “Best Job I’ve ever had.” when they see a swarm of enemy men approaching, filled with brilliant performances by Brad Pitt and other cast members, FURY is a great watch indeed.

Excellence Meter-- 3.5/5- A good watch.

Cheers..

Digvijay Anand :)

PS: You can like me and follow me on Google+ by clicking buttons just below my Pic on top left or mail me at digvijay005@gmail.com. You can find me on Facebook(digvijay005@gmail.com) and Twitter (@Digvijay05) also. Do share, in comments, how you like my review. 

Anatomy of a Good Speech.

A new blog entry.  A new avenue for me to share with you. I have been busy and have not been able to share my life here, but before the year ends, I want something to share with you.

This time I am not writing a review but taking liberty to share with you my experience. I have been part of Toastmasters since last 5 years and have learned important and invaluable lessons in  how to create an engaging speech.

So when a month back I was about to leave my previous organization, one of Club Executive Committee member came to me and requested to share my experience with a lot of newly joined members in writing a good speech.

Always eager to help, I agreed readily.

The result was a wonderfully engaging session in CSC Hyderabad Toastmasters titled “Anatomy of a Good Speech”.

I am sharing the videos of this session today with you. This session can help a Toastmaster or anyone alike who wants to write a good speech.

This time I want you to be Critical of me and this session and provide me feedback as to how I can improve and what else would you like to know in such session.

Click on the links below to see the whole session. Hope this will be helpful.

Introduction

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Cheers..!!

Digvijay Anand :)

Reviewed: Seven Secrets of Vishnu

Title:  Seven Secrets of Vishnu

Author: Devdutt Pattanaik

We always thing Mythology is nothing but stories for entertainment or to serve a divine purpose. Usually we take all these stories and anecdotes as a proof that divine exists and we should bow our head to the supreme God.

I am not going to go ahead and debate these beliefs, rather would like to draw attention to this wonderful book which elegantly shows how these stories, which we are hearing since childhood, are much more than what we understand. It clearly demonstrates how these stories have so many metamorphic messages and actually try to add to our wisdom.

These stories doesn't tell us what is right or wrong, rather everything is divine and part of the world around us. These are not meant to preach any religion but serve as a guide for an individual's behaviour in day to day life.

Seven secrets of Vishnu chronicles the seven Avatars/ Incarnations of Lord Vishnu on earth. It explains why a particular incarnation preceded other. It draws the attention of the reader to the anthropological and metaphysical meanings hidden in such stories. Each chapter entertains you while imparting timeless wisdom.

In a nutshell, the Seven secrets of Vishnu teaches us the lessons of how and why to balance everything in life, how and why to open our minds and life to let other people, other ideologies in and how and why to discard any old customs and rules in the new context.

This is one of the brilliant reads. I'll strongly believe that after reading this with an open mind any individual will benefit by gaining the wisdom that Devdutt Pattanaik has brought out for us.

Please don't think it is a "HINDU" book and tries to preach "HINDU" religion. The wisdom in this and Devdutt Pattanaik's other books is more than what our religions can teach us.

Closing of with few lines from this and other Devdutt Pattanaik's books, which have become my life mantra.

 "Within infinite myths, lies eternal Truth.

Who sees it all,

Varuna has a thousand eyes,

Indra , a hundred,

You and me ,only two."

Excellence Meter—  5 / 5 – Excellent Read

Cheers...

Digvijay Anand :)

PS: You can like me and follow me on Google+ by clicking buttons just below my Pic on top left or mail me at digvijay005@gmail.com. You can find me on Facebook(digvijay005@gmail.com) and Twitter (@Digvijay05) also. Do share, in comments, how you like my review. 

Reviewed--"The Secret Letters of the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari" by Robin Sharma

Title:  The Secret Letters of the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

Author: Robin Sharma

Aah…my sweet writing space… I've missed you. It’s been long I wrote about something. Well there are many reasons, but mainly didn't find something to write about. We all get sucked down by the whirlpool of problems in our lives, so did I.

Well, during this period I came across a beautiful book called “The Secret Letters of the Monk Who Sold his Ferrari” by Robin Sharma.  This is supposed to be a sequel to widely acclaimed “The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari”. I haven’t read the latter and was skeptical in reading the former one also as I used to think these are preachy kind of books.

But as it was lying on my table, I thought let’s give it a chance.  So I started reading it and was straight away thrown into the story of a man who has a conflicted life much like each one of us. He is unsatisfied by both his personal and professional life.  He is struggling to make amends and trying to collect the pieces of his life, which is falling apart.

Luckily, the monk who sold his Ferrari in first part turns out to be his distant cousin. The monk calls the man and asks him to help him collect some objects called “Talismans” from around the world from various people. In spite of being reluctant, he is cajoled to carry out the journey by his mother and the monk.  

The rest of the book is the journey describing his thoughts and experiences, the secret and magic behind the “Talismans” and very simple and profound lessons he learns on his way.

The beauty of this book lies in the fact that it is very concise and clear. Running for only about 150-160 pages, the book manages to teach us very simple lessons in a very easy way. There are no deep metaphysical analyses or any out of the world lessons. Just plain simple day to day philosophies, which can help live an enriched life.

All in all a Very good book.

Excellence Meter—3.5 / 5 – Very  Good Read.

Cheers...

Digvijay Anand :)

PS: You can like me and follow me on Google+ by clicking buttons just below my Pic on top left or mail me at digvijay005@gmail.com. You can find me on Facebook(digvijay005@gmail.com) and Twitter (@Digvijay05) also. Do share, in comments, how you like my review. 

Title:Asura-Tale of the vanquished.

Author: Anand Neelakantan

I have been feeling fortunate to have read some very profound and tasteful literature in past few months.  The fact that seventy-five percent of them were Indian makes me even happier.  

For the last couple of years, Mythology has caught my attention. Devdutt Patnaik, led the way for me by bringing very profound ideas and insights from the stories we already know and then I laid my hands on Amish’s Shiva Trilogy. After reading Shiva trilogy, I was quite mesmerized by the quite human side of the story and was convinced that it was difficult to top .

Then on my B’day, a dear friend gifted me—“Asura—Tale of the vanquished”, and it has forced me to change my opinion.

The book is about the Demon and Antagonist, Ravana, in the story of Ramayana, pleading to hear his side of the story. He justifies this by saying that world over only Victors are glorified and their story is told.  Victors are marked as torch-bearers of good, while losers are marked as harbingers of evil, but can we so simply declare one side good and other evil by simply knowing one side of story.

And then the story starts with 2 main characters-Ravana  and Bhadra. Ravana is a wretched poor, half Brahmin-half Asura teenager who dreams of becoming a king and achieve much more than he or anyone around him can imagine , while Bhadra is a poor farmer Asura, who loses his family in a raid by Devas and joins Ravana’s troops to avenge his family’s murder.

The story goes on explaining various happenings, how Ravana becomes king,  how he behaves, what circumstances led to war with Rama and what finally led to his fall.

Some of the highlights in this meticulously written epic are

n  The author has not tried to glorify Ravana or vilify Rama, but has shown how former was more human while latter tried more to be a god.

n  The author has stripped the epic of Ramayana of all magic, gods and divinity while bringing it down to a human level, explaining everything with logic and helping us connect more.

n  Rather than focusing on Gods and Demons, author has focused more on how a common man struggles no matter if it is the rule of a Ravana or the rule of a Rama. He underlines the ubiquitous fact again and again that between the whims and fancies of rulers, it is the common man who is grinded.

n  Story has been immaculately weaved and each event in original epic is described, although in different shade and light.

n  There’s only one downside to this book, the story becomes a little gloomy in the middle. (May be we are more accustomed to the magical good trumps evil version.)

The character of Ravana is quite believable. Author has shown all his strengths and vulnerabilities. He has shown his Demon (Rakshasa) side clarified that he was not a demon by default.  Ravana has been described as the man who dared, who dreamed to break away the social norms and achieve more than he was destined, who wanted to control his world, who was ready to fight and stake the future of his own race for his own vainglory.

We are no demons, but we are no Gods either. On a broader scale, we all might have different aspirations, but somewhere in the core we all want same. We all want to be the One who the world can admire and be the one how can enjoy luxuries in life. There’s a little bit of both in us and this book invokes this very feeling when you are done reading.

Excellence Meter—4.5/5 –Excellent Read.

Cheers.. ;)

Emoticons

PS: Not for those who strongly believe Ram was God and are not comfortable reading or hearing anything outside their religious realm.

PPS: You can like me and follow me on Google+ by clicking buttons just below my Pic on top left or mail me at digvijay005@gmail.com. You can find me on Facebook(digvijay005@gmail.com) and Twitter (@Digvijay05) also. Do share in comments how you like my review. 

Reviewed-- "Dhandha: How Gujaratis Do Business" by Ms. Shobha Bondre

We all love Gujaratis, sometimes for their sweetness, sometimes for their food, sometimes for their nature and sometimes for their culture. While different communities in India are famous for different reasons, Gujaratis are revered for their Sense of Business and Spirit of Entrepreneurship.

Saluting the spirit of making Big in this world and celebrating the immense will power of Gujaratis to succeed, comes a book called “Dhandha: How Gujaratis Do Business” , indeed very adroitly written by Ms.Shobha Bondre. 

This book is a collection of stories of five Gujaratis who have made big in this world, showing that although their area of success was different, the underlying spirit was same. From the story of a diamond merchant to the story of a hotelier couple, this book grips you and entertains you throughout with a very different kind of narrative. You feel like reading a fiction novel rather than a biography with all the twists and turns.

No mundane facts and figures or no boring details are featured in this book, rather the author has beautifully narrated the hardships these men and women went through before they were successful. The focus has been on the humane side of these persons which helps the reader to connect with the stories.

We all want to be successful and rich someday, doing what we love to do, but we all shy away from the effort that is required to achieve our dreams. So this book comes handy in highlighting the facts that one, nothing is impossible if you have decided to achieve a goal, two, you need a will of steel and third, you need to put in continuous and sincere efforts if you want to achieve something (In idiomatic way —You have to die, if you want to go to heaven).

Another aspect which I personally enjoyed reading was the fact that in almost all stories you’ll find the role  spouse, family, friends and community at large played to help the individual achieve his/her goals. It has been quite evident that without their support the individual might have failed in his/her venture. Also, you’ll observe that all successful Gujaratis are so connected to their roots and still love them and respect them, while leading a life of simplicity and not becoming haughty because of all the money and success.

All in all a very Enjoyable, Motivational and Entertaining read. We all can learn a thing or two from these inspiring stories. The fact that stories are not very long and the book itself is of manageable size, it makes a perfect read for anyone.  I would like to sincerely congratulate and laud the author of “Dhandha: How Gujaratis Do Business” for bringing out this beautiful and well researched piece of literary work.  Hats-off to Ms. Bondre and undying spirit of Entrepreneurship of Gujaratis. 

Verdict—I’m happily giving it 4 out of 5 Stars (4/5). Do read if you are looking for some motivation in life. This book indeed is a "Pocketful of Stars". 

                                            

                      ~~Perseverance indeed leads to  Excellence.~~

Cheerio :)

Emoticons

PS: You can like me and follow me on Google+ by clicking buttons just below my Pic on top left or mail me at digvijay005@gmail.com. You can find me on Facebook(digvijay005@gmail.com) and Twitter (@Digvijay05) also. Do share in comments how you like my review.