Seasons Greetings!

This morning I woke up feeling a little festive and right then it dawned on me to update my final blog entry for 2007.

Yes its official -the first semester is finally over with only 3 more to go! Since the close of this first term, the last couple of weeks felt very different. I was and I am actually missing business school and those bi-weekly conference calls with my team mates. We were truly a fun team and it was a great working with Alex,Michele,Ryan and Vinu. I say Cheers! Team 13 - to splendid times and some amazing laughs.

The break commenced with the school hosting its annual holiday party early this month, at the Cornell Club (www.cornellclubnyc.com). Students appeared to share a sense of relief without the commitments of quizzes or exams to think about, atleast in the very near term. The party was organized "just right", and another after party at a quaint Scottish bar a few blocks away. It was indeed a good occasion to socialize, unwind and get set for the holidays.

Did I mention unwind? Since the last school weekend, I've been boxing on, working on high priority job related year-end deliverables, spending quality time with friends and family, catching up on that important reading, responding to emails from a few prospective students, and crossing off my to-do list, one at a time. I did squeeze in 'important reading' right? By the time classes begin again in January, we have just about 800 pages of prep reading to be done for the upcoming Economics course. Not forgetting the additional but required prep work for Cost Accounting, Operations and Negotiation classes as well. 'Tis the season to definitely start honing those speed-reading skills !

Will sign off for the year, wishing you a fantastic 2008 ahead. Do hope to make the best of it.

A metric for success.

Getting to know your fellow students is a critical component of the Cornell EMBA experience. Social events throughout the year give you the opportunity to network and interact with your classmates. Good networks are very intentional, as strategic relationships are built from there. For me, spending time with classmates is a social lube. It also helps detox those academic worries, and several other lingering what-ifs.

At Palisades, the infamous 'e-bar' is a chill out zone, where we chit-chat, revive and refresh our brains that tend to get quasi fried by the end of a Saturday study and/or review session. Some hit the gym for that much needed workout, or play table tennis or basketball or if you were me -rush to the indoor pool for a quick swim. The '08s sometimes host a few Saturday night parties which are a whole lot of fun. The '09s also religiously schedule frequent wine tasting sessions on Saturday evenings, facilitating sociability to again thrive.

Now, this may come as a shock, but here in the Ivy League depths of Cornell, is an amazing football team. Last month, I had the opportunity to attend my first ever Cornell vs. Princeton football game and tailgate party. Attended the event with a lot of enthusiasm, in spite of the lousy weather. Came out to support our team, be amongst friends, and meet alumni who were also there to cheer us on. Unfortunately, it was not our night and Big Red was defeated by three points (34-31). Even though our team was not victorious, the experience was just fully worth!

Early this month we had our annual Open House for Partners Weekend, for partners of first-year students. In talking to my non single classmates, I understand that this event did add value to their EMBA experience, as it provided partners with a pretty cool insight and understanding of the overall program. This Open House for Partners serves both as their introduction to the program, and is a way for them to gain an interesting perspective on what exactly do their partners actually do during class weekends.

Getting social can be understatement. There are those broadly compelling times when you may choose to skip social opportunities for study (or that deserved sleep) and vice versa. At the same instance, rest assured, there will always be this anticipated need for some 'mandatory fun'.


Note: I understand from the admissions office that the link to this blog has been shared with prospective students recently. So if you are prospective student and like to contact me to discuss topics covered so far or even going forward, feel free me to email me dsk223@cornell.edu.

The past is but the past of a beginning.

After my deadly cup of masala chai,I feel I must accelerate my reader's insight into the program. So let's rewind back, to some of my academic highlights from the period July through September, and go where 65 Cornell '09 students have possibly gone before...

My first visit (ever) to Ithaca this July was extremely eventful and indeed most enlightening. I vividly recall the sheer excitement of going back to school coupled with the strange fear of the unknown. The biggest comfort was this distinct 'we are all-in-this-together' attitude amongst classmates. All of us were back to a school environment after a long stint with this exquisite quest for knowledge, and where 'homework' takes on a whole new meaning. In Ithaca, we spent a fair bit of time in outdoor education exercises and intensive indoor business simulation tasks. The ability to work successfully in teams and with people, with whom you have never interacted or worked with before, was an unforgettable journey. Best of all, I came away with a strong awareness of time-based competition, individual behaviors and teaming up.

In retrospect, that first week was fairly soft compared to what will inevitably follow during the next couple of months at Palisades. Statistics and MLO(Managing and Leading in Organizations) the first two courses, were simply amazing. Professor Beta Mannix classes caused me to see organization leadership and management in an entirely new light. Her impeccable knowledge and sharp professional preparedness, urges students to fully engage, stay motivated and effectively extend their contribution to the course. In Professor David Statistics course, even classmates with PhD's in Mathematics, could not escape but discover a whole new world of "Juranograms" and his 'isms' that are not 'mutually exclusive'. Professor Juran's powerful interactive teaching style coupled with his humor, made the 'pain of statistics' totally enjoyable and memorable.

Working with assigned teams on group projects is an essential characteristic of this Cornell program. I think that this methodology has a number of benefits - it's more than just dividing work into pieces to make efficient use of time; it's about leveraging each team member's individual expertise. As new areas are learnt, you become equipped to challenge those beliefs that some of the 'experts' in the group may have had. All things being equal and they never are, this makes group assignments a whole lot of 'fun'.

It's just really exhilarating to be given access to abundant knowledge and more so,when you take the time to capitalize on it. "There is something that is much more scarce, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability." With the learning's gained so far, I am glad that I have brought new creativity in my direct contributions at work. The first part of this semester has been a humbling experience for me and continues to inspire my career goals and dreams.

The best is yet to be!

Introduction - Intuition is always in vogue.

Hard to imagine that in just a little over a month's time, will be the close of my first semester. Perfect timing for my attempt ever at blogging!

Holding down a full-time job and attending business school while making time for family and friends can be daunting for even the most adept schedule-jugglers. Welcome to my world of juggling, as I share with you a practical insight into the program.

My decision to join this MBA program, was driven by many considerations. A key factor for me was its robust curriculum and breadth of academic content in the general management space. I value the school's legendary scope of academic interests. However, my candid discussions with current and past students about the program, and my positive experience dealing with the admissions staff during the pre-application process, simply 'felt' that the program was the right 'fit' for me. It is this human element that I sense even during the program, has been extremely effective in surviving my academic journey so far.

I am finding that my business school experience over past few months has been more than just what I learn in the classroom. I am learning a lot from my class mates, especially my team mates who are just a very smart group of people. In turn I am learning about myself too. Ask yourself whether you can imagine being part of a program that (in our class) managed to attract 65 highly talented and motivated people, at various professional levels and from diverse industries. A sample industry representation in my batch includes,financial services, technology, education, consulting, pharma, healthcare, real estate, manufacturing, retail and non profit. Ask yourself whether this incredible diversity might just give you a snapshot of life beyond your current boundaries, and hopefully, beyond your current comfort zone.Personally, the program is helping me harness my intuition, embracing diversity, thereby creating a platform for business success. I do believe in intuition - that feeling you have about something or someone, without knowing quite why. The difference is that now, with the exposure gained since the commencement of this program, I am gradually and slowly learning to apply my intuition with a powerful academic edge. It is helping me to not only use the skills of logical reasoning, but more aptly put - it is further enabling me to rely on my own 'inner knowing'.

This is just an introduction- more to come soon!

Meet Dina Keswani

Seeing my parents succeed in life through various trials and tribulations has taught me that reality is truly what you make of it. My street smart attitude therefore developed towards work and life in general, is what has got me this far in my career and my professional accomplishments. This has particularly equipped me to be an effective professional, having gained over a decade of business experience while employed with companies like NIIT, MphasiS (an EDS company), IBM, Accenture, and presently American Express. I have worked with both functional and matrix type organizations, at various levels, specializing in diverse capacities and functions namely sales/management, IT consulting, business process operations, and general management. This fruitful exposure both in the United States and in India included collaborating with teams in these countries, as well as project teams in Slovakia, Germany and the United Kingdom. My degree in Economics, from the Stella Maris College, Chennai India, provided me a good backbone as I made my way up in the corporate world. Gradually I developed an increased need, respect and motivation to absorb and apply fundamental yet critical business perspectives, in my everyday work. My academic accomplishments with Cornell University’s ILR Off Campus school, made me even more keen to expand my scholastic potential and in particular - the Cornell Executive MBA program.Studying at Cornell will mark yet another new beginning to reflect on the past, contemplate the present and to dream of the Ivy future. I am indeed fortunate to be given an opportunity to share my insights and experience with the Cornell’s Executive MBA program.