Diary of a Rural Manager!

79th Week@XIMB - 9th December to 15th December, 2012 9th December - There was an interesting collaboration that XIMB has had with the University of Minnesota this trimester. We had (almost) simultaneous courses running on "Social entrepreneurship" (XIMB) and UMN-Acara's "Design for Sustainable Development" ( syllabus ). Nine students of SE paired with four teams of UMN and after initial facilitation from both sides the students have been working on joint problems with regular discussions over skype. The teams had their live presentations on Dec 7th which was conducted on an open platform with students here able to add and listen to their counterparts. This low (no) cost experiment has happened with good learning on both sides. While positioning some of the advantages of XIMB, the noteworthy was the ability of RM students to be more awake when Americans are! The manner in which successive batches of RM students have participated and created a conducive e...

78th Week@XIMB - 2nd December to 8th December, 2012 2nd December - I was back in Bhubaneswar from Raipur. I was rejected in Manipal Process after playing simulation game round. People don't remember why they even join this course. 3rd December - Its Institute day i.e. Holiday. Fr. Paul Fernandes, S.J., Ph.D is appointed as the Director of XIMB by its Board of Governors with effect from December 4, 2012. 4th December - I wasted another precious day of my life. 5th December - In a closed and localized market, increased productivity only resulted in surplus goods and falling prices. That may happen to Amul and directly affect to the prices paid to producers. Indian government must start exporting milk and milk products to avoid such condition. And we are also self sufficient in milk production. 6th December - I qualified for the written test but rejected again in interview. I observed that beyond a solid knowledge of subject, it is temperament in stressful situatio...

77th Week@XIMB - 25th November to 1st December, 2012 25th November - I was busy in preparing CV for off campus. I attended last three lectures of CRM. 26th November - IRP meeting is going on. I need to acknowledge their past errors in order to avoid them in the future. I will be more regular in updating my seniors. I Couldn't attend a talk on PDS due to excessive drinking at night. This the lowest point of the college life. As they say, familiarity breeds contempt. There are amazing speakers who have worked and achieved fame across various sectors give talks every other day at XIMB. I could have attended if I wanted to. When it becomes a daily occurrence, one start to take it for granted. Don’t. If one want to be great, one has got to learn what’s made great people great. That was their sheer consistency to learn with limited opportunities. 27th November - KM quiz was over today. I loved and hate the feeling of being pushed to the wall. Without that one never apprecia...

76th Week@XIMB - 18th November to 24th November, 2012 18th November - Immersion course of Agri Branding was in full flow. We covered - 4. Steps in brand decision process 5. Types of decision processes 6. Modifying the brand decision process to create Brand "A product can be quickly outdated, but a successful brand is timeless." - Stephen King 19th November - Played Beer Game. I have successfully completed online course of Principles of E-Government issued by 'United Nations Public Administration Network ( UNPAN )'. E-Government Index of India is 0.383 in comparison to average score of 0.497. 20th November - Strategic quiz. 21st November - We learned about competitive advantage of nations over other. Mr.R.S.Sodhi, MD, GCMMF (AMUL) delivered a talk on Synchronizing Management Theories with Business Practices I visited to warehouse of CWC office for SCM presentation. 22nd November - The poor attendance in CEO talks in-spite of the multitude of...

75th Week@XIMB - 11th November to 17th November, 2012 11th November - I recalled a good session on role, commonalities and differences between Entrepreneur and Manager given by EDI Director Dinesh Awasthi. One is the creator of the organization while managers join the organization. Entrepreneur is looking for future plans and involved in creative destruction while Manager looks for past achievement and maintaining status quo. In the end, its the basic difference between puppet and puppeteer between them. It's not the critic who counts, nor the observer who watches from a safe distance. Wealth is created only by doers in the arena who are marred with dirt, dust, blood, and sweat. These are producers who strike out on their own, who know high highs and low lows, great devotions, an who overextend themselves for worthwhile causes. Without exception, they fail more than they succeed and appreciate this reality even before venturing out on their own. But when these producers of we...