Underneath the Southern Cross I stand….!!!

Underneath the Southern Cross I stand….!!!

For people reading the above sentence for the first time, it surely does not make any sense. For starters, it is the victory song of the Australian cricket team, which goes something like this….

Underneath the Southern Cross I Stand

A sprig of wattle in my hand,

A native of my native land,

Australia you little beauty………..

Becoming a lecturer has expanded my horizons in that I have more time for myself. That has enabled me to gather a few thoughts. I also have been able to give my meandering thoughts a proper flow. Of the many things, recent happenings at a Management Fest called Mantra had me thinking like never before.

Now as a student, I was quite an out and out individual not caring a damn, even about my career and academics. I never bothered as to what sort of an impact my behavior would make on those people watching me. Judges, Lecturers, Recruiters, so on and so forth. Now that the ends have changed, I have been compelled to make a brutal introspection about my attitude. These days I am setting an example, maybe good or bad, while I never ever bothered to follow one. There has been a paradigm shift in the way I look at things.

People somehow get philosophical when ends change. I now have the responsibility of guiding a few young fellows along the right path and show them the way, whether they would even bother to listen to me or not. While you are doing that, there are a few words you say to the students and then think: Hell yeah!! Where did those syllables come from?

Mantra 08 was a unique experience. We had taken mostly the same set of students to Naissance, a bigger event with tougher competition, and with absolutely no scope for a win. Exposure was the main aim. With Mantra, the case was different. When a team is suddenly facing a realistic possibility of an unlikely result in their favor, two possible characters are displayed. The possibility is converted to victory, or the team buckles down for a defeat. The competitors, except one, were none too great, a fact proven beyond doubt when they opened their mouths during the valedictory. This team had a chance. They buckled under pressure with victory being inches away.

The secret behind a successful campaign, be it a fest or sport, lies in the preparation leading up to the event. A team starts jelling together during the preparations and finally hit the peak at the right time. The teams also have fun along the way and enjoy what it does. This team was never together from the start with an absolute lack of discipline. Too many practice hours were spent away in needless gossip and every possible excuse given for participants being late.

The coordinator of this team was Shafiulla K M, a second year student with a bit of talent than others and a genuine drive to try and do something new. His mate Dilip, a multi talented chap coupled with a thinking brain, was an asset to this team. These guys made a great combo and decided to tackle the marketing event to which they were best equipped. They complemented each other well in presentations and thus had a very good chance. The opportunity was squandered through sheer overconfidence in answering a question that had negative markings. If the question had been left unanswered, they would have been through, but nevertheless they got it wrong and were knocked out of the event in the first round.

The HR event was an event which beckoned us to win. Mohammed Sameer Ahmed, a second semester lad was a straightforward, hassles free person, key traits to tackle HR issues. Darshan, his mate, was a chap with similar traits, but with complicated thinking, which would result in their downfall. They sailed through their first three rounds which required them to take part in a GD, Interview, do a collage on women empowerment with the aid of magazine cutouts. In the final round, they were required to make a presentation with the help of the collage they had prepared. The crowd was encouraged to post queries on the presenter. Seeing these two fellows come over to make their presentation, even the small crowd present sensed a kill. Their body language displayed a negativity like the one displayed by a weakened deer amongst a herd about to be caught by a menacing tiger. A start with a defining punch line was followed up with utter silence and disbelief. Probing questions were responded with stunned silence. Such was the state that the judge himself had to answer a couple of queries from the audience.

There was no clue about the Operations round to both the participants, Lokesh Kiran and Vishu Kumar. The homework was simply not being done. When there are no clues regarding an event, an extensive search over the internet is done followed by consulting people who have either conducted or participated in such events. Under preparation meant that this event was approached with hopes of a miracle or a stroke of luck to get them through. Needless to say that they were eliminated after the first round

Same can be said of Finance as well, Bharath Simha and Divyashree confessed to being under prepared and did not understand some of the questions on advanced finance. That they are still in first year and yet to see specialized Finance cannot be taken as an excuse.

The Business Plan was an event of mixed emotions for me, frustration due to a lack of communication between Rashmi and Mohammed Suheel Zameer. The most important part of a Business Plan, i.e., the executive summary being completely forgotten despite a printed document given containing guidelines on Business Plan writing added to the frustration. Rashmi had her own disappointment as I did not consider a Business Plan formulated through her efforts spreading over a sleepless night. I could not consider her plan as it was not communicated to me at the right time and was told only after the original plan had been submitted. This was followed by a glimmer of hope as, against all odds; the faulty plan had been accepted for the final round. A desperate attempt was made to convert this hope into a victory, but at the end of the day we were fighting a losing battle.

Business quiz was also a first round exit with Bhagath and Shafiulla going in under prepared as well.

If at all a performance captured my imagination, it was from Suma, our Best Manager participants. She showed sheer grittiness and stubbornness through ten rounds of physical stress, case studies and role plays. She displayed an attitude befitting a manager. But even she fell at the final hurdle. She needs to hone her skills on performing at crunch situations though.

We slogged three days of practice in getting an Ice Breaker to perfection. The performance at the Ice Breaker was extremely good and exceeded our expectations. It was inconsequential in the end as the prize to that event was dubiously scrapped raising suspicions of dirty work behind. Nevertheless, the performance showed what could be achieved through rigorous practice and dedication.

The detailed account given above might make you wonder if I am firing all guns at my students, I admit that even my attitude as a faculty was more student like during the fest. Even though I was there at the venue, my presence was pretty useless in that I had nothing much to offer them apart from encouragement.

Much criticism has followed since the day the fest ended with the participants returning with sad faces to the class today. The once cheerful and all-smiles faces have been replaced with gloominess and melancholy. Probably the criticism by us was just too much to cop.

But they are my students and I care for them a lot. I want them to undergo a kind of learning that is unique and help them in their overall development. I want to be there for them whenever they feel like they want me, if at all they want me.

I congratulate them for putting up a brave fight despite the odds. As the someone said: I like the winning, I don't mind losing, but most of all I like to play!! I see an enthusiasm as they get ready for Verve 2008.

I yearn for the day when they would work as a team, disciplined and dedicated, filled with joy and fun and I can sing along with them these incredible lines, as the Australian cricket team does after each victory with winning being a common practice……..

Underneath the Southern Cross I Stand

A sprig of wattle in my hand,

A native of my native land,

Mahajanas, the class of 2009 you little beauty…..!!!!!

PS: Lyrics of the song has been edited to suit the flow of thought