Srinivas Venkataramanan_BLP022_Self Leadership_Oct 2012

15th October 2012

The class today started with an introduction of Upanishad which means student and teacher learning in the form of a dialog. We also discussed about an interesting program which comes on DD national, Upanishad Ganga. All though, I have not seen this program , after attending this class I am pretty keen on watching it

We were given a framework which involved a set of questions to determine our career path,

·         Define the frame by asking what the most important question to you is.

·         Collect meaningful and reliable information

·         Define several creative and doable alternatives

·         Define logic for evaluation which includes your risk and returns

·         Values and tradeoffs

·         Implementation

Then the entire class was involved in a few creative exercises. For eg, we were writing down various ways a pen and a holder can be used. This exercise really showed us ideas are born from out of the box thinking. After going through this 4 dimensions of creativity were explained which were

·         Ideation Fluency

·         Originality of thinking

·         Association thinking

·         Concord design

Then we were introduced to a new concept, Ladder of Influence. It explained to us how perceptions are created and also what is the real way of reaching at conclusions.

On the whole , this class had a huge impact on my thinking process and certainly I am hoping to use whatever I have learnt today in various decisions I am going to make in the future.

22nd October 2012

With the day being the 50^th anniversary of Sino – Indian war, it was apt that the class started with a discussion about the great sacrifices of Indian warriors to this country. An interesting quote which defined courage beautifully was shared,

“Courage is not the absence of fear , but to realize something else is more important than fear.”

We also did a group exercise, in each table we discussed a couple courageous acts which each one has done in his life. Discussion in our table was pretty interesting with diversity ranging from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.

Then we were introduced to a pretty interesting framework, Immunity framework. A framework which we can use to find out a few important habits which we want to change in ourselves and the ways to do the same.

This framework is the biggest take away for me from this class , and I really want to use this to change a few habits of mine which have been a hindrance to my growth .

Srinivas Venkataramanan_BLP022_Self Leadership_Sep 2012

Taking part in Chanakya business simulation game today was a great learning experience. But  the cruel part about good experiences are that they always come at an expense of something else . I had to miss one of the most important lectures scheduled for the week , Anil Sir’s Self Leadership class .

From my interaction with my class mates, today’s class was an interactive one where in 2 important topics were covered:

·         Emotional Intelligence

·         Appreciative Inquiry

I am particularly interested in getting to know about Appreciative inquiry, it sounds interesting as it speaks about identifying the positives in everyone and working on the same instead of finding weaknesses .

I am certainly looking forward to apply and learn this framework in any of my future endeavours at SOIL.

Srinivas Venkataramanan_BLP022_Self Leadership_Sep 2012

" A Sachin Tendulkar straight drive past the bowler, A Kamal Hassan master piece, Ilayaraja music , roadside food along with my college friends back home, one of my leggies spinning past the batsman" these are some of the simple things that define happiness to me in life. I read a wonderful line from Professor VS Mahesh’s book,"Rate busters and workaholics were the kind of terms used to control those who relapsed into the habit of enjoying what they were doing, for “enjoyment of work” was henceforth to be treated on par with drugs and alcohol, as a bad habit to get into". I also feel these words come into one's life only when we forget the things which give happiness. Not many are blessed with a job which gives him happiness too. So to find some time away from work for things which provide you happiness, doing which will relieve you out of the stress and pressure of the corporate world.

This is where SOIL stands out from other B schools in India. It’s not just about learning Finance, Marketing or HR, it’s also about understanding yourself better, finding out where your interests lie in,  managing your time, learning important values which will not just make you a good MBA graduate but also a true leader. SOIL also enables us to experience the happiness that lie in contributing to the society in the form of SIP.  Certainly we will pass out of SOIL as someone who knows himself better, and so will be in a position to create happiness for himself and others around him.

My way of looking at success is in terms of happiness. If I am happy at the end of the today and go to bed with a smile, I count it as a successful day. If successful days cover up the majority of my life’s pie, then I can term my life a grand success!

Srinivas_Venkataramanan_BLP022_Self Leadership_May 2012

As I was walking to college in the morning I had all sorts of assumptions and premonitions, my first session at SOIL being the “SELF LEADERSHIP” session by Anil Sachidev. But at that moment I did not know that this class would turn out to be an experience and not a lecture, and also did not expect to find Anil Sir as such a down to earth person. Now I can understand where these 5 pillars of SOIL come from.

It all began with a self introspection exercise where we were given a chance to pick out the sort of questions that would bring out the leader in us . By discussing it in group ,we also got to know various perspectives and also  realised that the kind of questions a person puts forward actually is a reflection of his character.

The topic that followed was probably the most interesting part of today’s session. It changed the way I look at myself as an individual. By going through the 6 layers of Inner Self, it made us realise that body and mind are mere instruments controlled by us.

Then we moved on to 3 important aspects of communication, Visual Communication, Listening and Communication through touch .These things were all not merely presented to us through slides, but we were actually made to practice these in groups through  various activities .We were also made to understand the importance of these aspects with examples of Top leaders who excel in these aspects.

Generally in a discussion ,I tend to over emphasize on my point of view which I realised through feedback  given by many of my friends and colleagues. I was already working on it over the past few months and today’s session further made me understand the fact that its not words alone that contribute to a discussion. I have not been the best of listeners, but its one area where I would want to improve on and see a huge change when I leave SOIL.

Overall, its been a great start to my journey at SOIL , and I am looking forward to the next one year  ,with an expectation that learning would be made an experience and not just mere lectures !!!!!!