Issue 2| December 22, 2014

XLRI PGDM(GM) Newsletter

GLIMPSE
ALUMNI HOMECOMING
They came, we embraced and they
were mesmerized. On 8th Nov, 2014,
XLRI opened its gates with lan to
h o s t i t s s i g n a t u r e A l u m n i
Homecoming event. What ensued
was a flurry of esteemed alumnae
descending on this serene campus.
Their faces beamed with
exuberance, though a shade of
nostalgia prevailed as well. May be
they were trying to trudge back in
memory and to relive the sublime
moments spent here. However, as
reality struck back, it was time to get
on with the event. Alumni
Homecoming, as coined by one of
our esteemed alumni himself, is an
event to applaud the tireless
commitments that these people
have displayed in building the society
and their own alma mater. It is an
occasion to celebrate the true XL
spirit.
Time has flown by. So much has
changed. Their looks, their receding
hairlines, their waistlines and their
addresses too. Yet it was the
indomitable spirit of XLERs that
ensured a gathering of illustrious
alumnae from different walks of life.
The event commenced with a
welcome speech by Prof. Sharad
Sharin, Chairperson Alumni
Committee, followed by a
presentation and short movie on
XLRI. Then the alums proceeded for
the much-anticipated event, Panel
discussions on selected topics. The

e v e n t l i v e d u p b e yo n d o u r
expectations with the alums bringing
their rich experience and knowledge
to the fore. The day ended with an
award ceremony organized for
appreciating the guests for their
distinguished work and unparalleled
achievements.
The next morning, it was time for a
rendezvous with students of PGDM
(GM) over a Jalpaan. The GMPians
left no stone unturned in hosting
their eminent seniors with the most
delectable breakfast on offer. The
interactions were thought provoking
with exchange of experiences of
people from diverse industry
backgrounds. The witty replies to
questions put forth by the students
simply left them in awe of the alums.
Moreover, the alums were wheedled
in to share their moments of choice

during their years of stay in the

campus. The experiences shared
were truly exhilarating. The
animated GMP bunch did their bit,
by entertaining the guests with a
series of melodies and their own
peculiar moments. Before the
engrossed audience could realize,
the hour-long session had whisked
away. As the function was about to
draw its curtains, GMPians made
their best possible attempt to get
snap with the industry stalwarts. It
would have been a reverberation of
their dreams for being part of the
most celebrated corporate
community.

The Team from XLRI PGDM-General

Management Program were the runners
up in a highly competitive "Beyond the
Case" competition held at "Confluence"
the Annual Management Symposium of
Indian Institute of Management
Ahmedabad (IIMA) on 29th November,
2014.
Congratulations Team!! (PhaniKiranDesu,
SaloniNagpal, Shishir Pandey and
SravanthVobbilireddy)

Interview with Rajeev Sharma

1. What is your view on the future growth prospects for the Indian IT industry in the next 5 to 10
years?
Future is bright. Indian companies will have to develop new products/services. Success is infectious. It takes only a
couple of great success stories to start a race to develop new products and services. Case in point is Zoho, Tringme, etc.
Even existing companies will not suffer if they are sure of what they are doing. Old service providers will continue to
have revenues coming in from those services but the valuation of these companies/service arms in the stock market
will suffer.

2. Do you think India can transform itself from a low cost services player to a high end product
developer?
It is possible. Decision making needs to be shifted towards the frontline. Old mind-set of command and control, in
traditional form, will not work for very long.

3. What is your view on IT companies separating their product arm from their parent company?
It makes lot of sense because it demands a different kind of management style.

4. What do you think about the future of pure play Indian IT firms and MNCs in India? Which of
the two do you think will have the edge?
MNCs have an edge because of their work practices. Indian companies have copied the externally visible things but
have not been able to internalize the work practices. Additionally, as long as Indian companies are targeting foreign
markets where these MNCs are already entrenched they cannot defeat them in a head-on fight.

5. What should MBA's do to keep abreast with SMAC and IOT?

Learn new technologies. It is not that difficult.

Divine Grace
Ananya Das

The gorgeous signature of immortal power, molded into divine grace by

mortal hands standing still...
The larger than life picture marking the onset of the grandiose festivity.
Bowing don, modern man surrenders his modern ways to the now
transformed painted earth - he walks over underneath his trendy shoes.
Dressed in his best to fit the occasion coupled with uncleansed soul and
inattentive devotion- humanity poses.
Spilling out their secret desires, their plotting and deceiving minds praying to
a disgraceful suburban doll maker's clay on hay.
Chemically beautified flowers from polluted gardens -adding colour,
processed lamps- burning bright, underneath the vibrant shades of the
synthetic canopy.
Witnessing this deception; the deity signs...powerlessly she stares...
As she, the heavenly grace degrades into rotting hay and slimy clay she fears
to be reformed for this artificial race

Book Review-Things a Little Bird Told Me

- Peeyush
Autobiographies/Biographies are an
integral part of my reading appetite,
since they give an intimate account
into the lives of the people whom I
look up to. The latest one, which felt
like a fresh breeze and provided
oodles of inspiration was, Twitter's
co-founder Biz Stone's memoir Things a Little Bird Told Me:
Confessions of the Creative Mind. I
would suggest to Google his name;
the guy is quite accomplished (in my
own humble view).
The book opens with an interesting
story about how Biz's one man
company- Genius labs was acquired
by Google along with Blogger. He
then takes us through his childhood
days where his family subsisted on
food stamps. The unusual bend of his
mind is evident in the numerous
instances that he recollects from his
formative years. The incident where
he talks about a game called
'Lacrosse' is particularly insightful in
context to his problem solving
approach. One trait that stands out
amongst all the stories, is his
inherent inquisitiveness with a bias
towards action, to satiate it through
myriad creative expressions.
A common characteristic that I have
noticed time and again amongst
entrepreneurs of his league, to

which Biz is no exception, is the

ability to take disproportionate risk
and to keep ideas at the forefront;
rather than the associated rewards
(money, stock options or fame). He
has demonstrated this multiple
times in his career right from quitting
college to work as a designer; from
leaving Google (with 2 years of
options left to vest) to work on a
start-up called Odeo; to finally
conceptualizing Twitter with Jack
Dorsey (the other founder) in a
hackathon event. One of the core
lessons that Biz gives for
entrepreneurship, is to put one's

head into ideas, that truly matter to

one's core self; else the level of
commitment and required focus
never comes through.
A major part of the book has been
dedicated to his journey and
evolution along with Twitter right
from the conceptualization stage to
coming up with the first working
model. He brilliantly canvasses the
manner in which Twitter was
popularized in the South by
Southwest Interactive (SXSW)
conference which served as the
starting point for its steep upward
climb. It's a wonderful lesson on how
to have an impactful advertising
campaign on a shoestring budget. He
also lays bare, the difficulties of
running an online service bursting
with users. He chronicles numerous
instances where the service had
crashed, along with the efforts that
went into restoring it back.
Biz has a deeply held belief of
keeping human beings at the centre
of any technological progress. It
stems from his view that technology
is ultimately made useful, only if it
has a salutary effect on the lives of
people. He enlists numerous
instances where he leveraged the
power and reach of Twitter to this

solving, creative genius and empathy.

What he doesn't mention explicitly is his
immanent restlessness that makes him
move from one venture to another. He
also has this amazing gift of visualizing
the future of the technology especially
in the area of the Internet. To close my
panegyric, I would urge you to read this
book. I hope it inspires you as well!!

effect. He also briefly touches upon

some of the political issues that crop
up in almost all of the start-ups
funded by Venture Capital. The book
closes with him quitting Twitter to
find his own start-up named Jelly. In
the end, he leaves us with a message
worth reflecting upon.
To me, Biz comes across as a person
with an innate ability for problem

Pigeons
Dominic

Pigeon's pigeon's pigeons!!!! Are they

birds of menace or birds of peace?
With constant chattering and cooing
on rooftops and ledges, we could call
them anything but birds of peace.
Frankly speaking more than 80% of the
people think they are pests and do
nothing but create a nuisance and dirty
the place. I have many friends who
constantly worry about losing their
undergarments and at the beautiful
and colorful designs that pigeons make
on their vehicles parked below, the
best part is the look on their face when
they find their seats and mirrors dirty.
No wonder people hate them!! But, I
am among that other 20% of people
who tolerate or even appreciate the
way they are.
There are hundreds of breeds of
pigeons, each one of them from
different parts of the worlds. Few of
them are named after the regions they
come from and few others are with
fancy and trendy names. There are

many pigeon enthusiasts who devote a

great deal of time in caring, nurturing,
breeding and training these birds,
some as a small business, other for
competitions. In fact I myself was into
training of these magnificent
creatures. These amazing birds have
taught me a lot in life. There were times
when I used to spend days together
taking leave from work, training and
talking to these lovely fur balls,
disregarding any human company.
In all probability, the infamous French
Kiss could have originated from these
passionate lovebirds? In this beautiful
campus of ours, I am sure that there is
no dearth of spotting these exciting
moments, if you ever get a chance in
this busy MBA life, just stop and
observe the way a male pigeon
impresses a female one and the
passionate caressing that goes on, till
the female partner feels she is ready. A
perfect example of how we humans do

it (you know what I mean!!) This is just

one small instance of the many things
that these amazing creatures are
capable of.
Being a son of a veterinarian, I have had
the privilege of being surrounded by a
variety of birds and animals. Be it a
peacock or a deer, I loved being in their
company. I have had my share of good
and bad times but the best moments
were those, when I could restore to
good health or save one of these. And
the attachment they have after such an
act of compassion is breathtaking,
especially from a bird. If one needs a
lesson on loyalty and pristine love,
these are the perfect teachers to learn
from and no human could ever replace
them.