Author: alearningaday

I am happy to share that I will be heading to the Kellogg school of management this fall to pursue my MBA. The MBA application process is long and painful and it is not something you get through with a lot of help. It is also not for everyone and I’d definitely not recommend doing it because everyone else you know is. It’s a huge commitment (2 years) and, depending on your point view, a huge expense/investment.

I went through a lot of soul searching myself and spoke to a few people, failed in my first attempt, did some more soul searching and spoke to many more people before it worked out this time. It could just as easily not have worked out. That said, I do know that I had a much better process the second time around. Even with that, it had its lows and I’m glad it worked out. There’s tons of logistical “big rocks” that need to line up for it all to work out but that’s part of the process. I’m not celebrating too hard – the big idea is to have a positive impact on the world and this feels like a step in the right direction. I intend to make full use of the privilege and make the most of it. The rest is gravy.

I didn’t want to do a generic post on how to go about the application process as it is a very personal thing. So, if you need some help to think through it, I’d be happy to help (in full confidentiality). Alternatively, if you’ve made up your mind and need help thinking through the process, I’d be happy to help with that too. There are many components of the process – the GMAT, choosing schools to apply to, building up your profile, writing essays, preparing your resume, preparing for interviews, etc. I am good at some parts of the process and can help. For the other parts, I’ll connect you to others who can help.

Traditionally, the “offer of help” posts have revolved around reviewing resumes and helping you think through specific problems where an external point of view may help. That offer still stands. I’ve met some wonderful people (readers and friends of readers) through these posts and I’m hoping to meet a few more of you this time.

*Update: Sorry I forgot the “call-to-action.” Please just email me on rohan at rohanrajiv dot com to get in touch.

We all know how important it is to be smart. But, what we don’t think about enough is about the importance of working on the right opportunities.

All opportunities are not equal. If we aren’t working on the right opportunities, we’ll rarely get a shot at accomplishing something meaningful. We all hear of the “high visibility” projects in big companies, the start-up that is just exploding and on it’s way to changing the world – do you think the folks in there are much smarter than you? In the conventional sense, heck no! In the “finding the right opportunity” sense, probably.

So, how do you jump on the right train, or “rocket-ship” in Sheryl Sandberg’s words? I can’t say much having never done it myself. But, my guess is that they were fantastic at building relationships and thus heard of great new opportunities, were always open to the next big thing (Sandberg’s willingness to jump from Google to Facebook is commendable), and willing to fail.

And, I think it all starts by internalizing the learning – after a point, it matters less how smart you are and matters a lot more which train you are on.

You generally have one of these in limited supply. While we are students, we have money in short supply but an abundance of time. This reverses once we start working – suddenly time becomes a bigger problem than money.

Constraints never go away. We just need to stop viewing them as constraints and start thinking of them as forces that help us prioritize better. Yes, we’d generally like more time/money travel, hang out, and have fun but these constraints make sure we focus on getting what we need rather than getting what we want.

We do hear of folks who use lack of time as an excuse to not live happy lives. That’s bullshit in my opinion. Giving someone who moans about a lack of time more time will never solve the problem. As the quote goes, if you want something done, give it to a busy person.

Constraints are good. They help us live better lives. We just have to use them well.

We were on a break a few days ago and visited a hill station. During our 2 nights at the hill station, we stayed in an inn of sorts that had many very handsome dogs. They looked like crosses between a pure bred Alsation and multiple street dogs. This post is about the dog that hung out near where we stayed. He (I think it was a he) became an instant hit. Here’s why –

1. He always wagged his tail. You were never left with doubts about it’s intent. He always wanted you to know that he was friendly.

2. He never came to you if he sensed fear. There were a few in our group who weren’t comfortable with a dog hanging around them. So, he just didn’t go close to them. He was willing to spend time with you if you were willing to spend time with him.

3. He never overdid the affection. No jumping, licking or annoyances. It feels like he’s learnt from experience and was very civil throughout.

4. He always went away to spend time by himself after an extended period hanging around us. The introvert in me appreciated that.

5. He was willing to get out of his comfort zone. This was best demonstrated when we went out on a walk one night. Once we were out of the boundary of the inn, the dog began showing serious hesitation. We figured it was well outside his territory. But, he came with us anyway. 5 minutes later, he stopped again for a good minute seriously considering if he should join us. Eventually, he did. We appreciated his company and it’s always nice to have a guard dog around.

We only spent 2 days with this dog and fell completely in love with him. He was always positive in his intent, understood people and seemed to have learned from previous reactions to his behaviour, was comfortable spending time with himself, and was willing to step outside his comfort zone.

I guess there are a few lessons to learn from that.

“Houston, we have a problem.”

versus

“Hey, I think we have a problem here. I’m going to try and fix it. I’d love your help too.”

It’s not just about the words. It’s about the mind set. We either walk into organizations, relationships, and groups as either renters or as owners.

And, as always, we choose.

Telling a person you know someone else who looks just like them feels like a great conversation starter. But it isn’t. We know there are 6 other people on the planet who look like us but we pride ourselves in being unique. And we’d actually would prefer to hear that there’s no one like us.

So, how does that work when dealing with customers? When it comes to complex issues that need trust (e.g. legal advice, admissions advice), telling them you’ve dealt with “people like you” is a great way to build trust. But, as you go to the higher end of the service spectrum, it comes down to showing you understand the base rate but thrive in the uniqueness.

Yes, when considering a million people at once, we are all largely similar and our behaviour can be predicted pretty accurately. But, marketers have nothing to gain by telling people that. And, if you are in conversation with someone who looks familiar, neither do you. :-)

We deliver value when a product becomes an experience. Taking your iPhone out of it’s cover is not about the phone – it’s about the experience. It isn’t just about the packaging, the wait for the phone, or even the phone itself – the experience is more than a sum of the parts. And the best service experiences are frictionless.

To illustrate, Resorts A and B charge about the same amount for a night’s stay. Both resorts are up-scale. When you check into resort A, they take orders for all your meals for the day and you pay for them at checkout. No worrying about signing bills, no calling room service, and no contact required – just go ahead and enjoy the experience.

Contrast this to resort B – every morning at breakfast, you are reminded that while breakfast is free, a cup of coffee is not. The cup of coffee costs $3.50. Instant friction. Would a guest staying mind if $3.50 was pre-included in the bill? Absolutely not. But, somehow, resort B decided it was in its best interest to remind guests about the cost of a cup of coffee. I’m sure they had their reasons and I just hope they were good. At least for me, it was an instant turn off.

Approaching pricing from a cost plus margin lens blinds us to the customer’s need to experience what we offer. It’s not about the money. It’s about the surprise and delight. It’s not about the number. It’s about the feeling. The moment we make our product or service an experience, we deliver value.

I was driving around in a rented car today. I’ve done this few times before in different places and the one learning that stays consistent across is that it takes a day’s worth of driving to get used to a place’s road rules and quirks.

So, as was customary on a 1st day, I paused as I was getting into a freeway unsure as to which direction the GPS was pointing to. In that moment when I slowed down, I could see the driver in the car behind me raise her hands up in frustration mentally asking me to get on with it. A similar gesture happened as I was wondering whether I could take a U turn elsewhere and looking for a sign – only this time the driver behind honked loud and hard to ensure I got the message.

In both these cases, I thought – “Jesus guys, give me a break. I’m still trying to figure it out. How about considering that I might be here on my first day? Where’s my newbie allowance?”

That’s when I was reminded of the fact that I have probably not been considerate myself when faced with such situations. Whether it’s a sarcastic thought, comment if action at some frustration at some unknown person, I’m sure I’ve been inconsiderate to someone in their first day or attempt. I guess we all get caught up in our lives so much that we forget these things. And I guess that’s the beauty of such experiences that have you start all over again. You learn what it is to be a well intentioned but probably error prone newbie. You learn to empathize and make promises that you’ll remember to be balanced in your reactions next time.

That’s at least what I’m promising to myself. I’m sure I’ll struggle with this as I’m a fairly impatient person by nature but life is more about the balancing than being balanced. And now that I’ve written about it here, I intend to work hard on the balancing.

When you first start learning a new skill, a lot of the actual execution is forced. Your coach shows you the recommended way of doing it and you work towards copying it. Over time, however, you learn to develop your own style. You make the switch from forced to natural.

This switch takes time though. If you attempt to find your natural style too quickly, it doesn’t really work – forced execution of the right way to do something is important. That said, having a forced style for too long kills it as well.

This concept came alive in my mind when I thought of my attempts at public speaking. When I started public speaking, I tried very hard to be many things – forceful, funny, inspirational, loud, and impactful. A couple of these attempts worked but most didn’t – yet, this was an important part of the training. Forcing these different personas and styles helped me understand what worked and what didn’t. I’ll never sign up to be the funny guy now – that’s not me. I also know you can’t force inspiration and impact. You just have to stand there, put yourself out there, and just be. If you are inspired yourself, it will show. No need to force it – perfection is overrated while being yourself definitely isn’t.

I was reminded of this shift as I was re-learning swimming. I needed to remind myself to get rid of my not-so-good self-taught “natural” style and force the correct style. I am still going through the process – swimming still feels a bit forced as I seek to make the right way subconscious. But, I’ve learnt to accept this tension between forced and natural – it’s part of a good process… and I’ve learnt to appreciate the importance of a good process more than ever these days.