Think About It...
Kunal Talgeri, who anchored the first, and now, the second edition of the
Outlook Business Executive Education special, had quite a few stories to tell me from his reporting travels. By far the most interesting was the one about Captain GR Gopinath. Apparently, the high-flying aviation entrepreneur was in the middle of an executive education programme when he launched Air Deccan in September 2003.
Captain Gopinath had signed up for the International Masters Program for Practicing Managers, offered by IIM, Bangalore, in mid-2003. The course had two strong points: it would be conducted across B-schools in five countries, and it offered him the exciting possibility of learning from his peers in Lufthansa, Fujitsu, Matsushita, British Airways and Motorola, who had also signed up.
But what was it that prompted him to sit in a classroom after so many years? Captain Gopinath gave Kunal a matter-of-fact reason: “I am not an MBA, but I knew I would be hiring MBAs. The course gave me exposure to the corporate world, which I didn’t have.” There’s a simple lesson to be learnt in Gopinath’s experience: it’s never too late to go back to school. On the contrary, doing so frequently in short bursts may soon become absolutely vital to keep your career moving.
Kunal has put together a brilliant package to get you started. He has been talking to the HR executives of over 30 top companies since he anchored the first edition of this special issue in March 2009. These interactions helped him zoom in on the institutes and on the 30 courses we have featured in this issue. You could be a CEO, a middle manager or someone just a few years into your career; you may be looking to do a full-time MBA or a part-time one; you may want to study in an Indian B-school or a foreign one; you may want to pursue a general management course or an industry-specific one… No matter what it is you’re looking for, you’ll find it in this issue. We hope it will make a big difference to your career.
On a slightly different note, the Nasscom India Leadership Forum will kick off next week. As Nasscom helps the IT industry find key answers, it is itself going through a profound transformation. The industry body now wants to befriend small IT companies, even as it continues to serve the larger ones. Don’t miss this story written by Associate Editor Nandita Datta.