Plerking.

The weather has been fantastic this past weekend, and it triggered a hope to start this post with a quote from a famous Johnson school Cornell EMBA love poem. Unfortunately, I doubt if there are any, atleast none that I know off. Well, I wonder why. With late nights spent discussing discounted cash flows and cracking several business strategy cases, you would think that can be good use of spare time. Jokes apart, you have really don't have the time in class or perhaps at the ebar in Palisades, for writing poems or candlelight dinners. Yet, amazingly, a few couples have formed during the program, and I know of at least two, across the '08 and '09 batches.

For the most part, in our hyper-social '09 world, only with time, do speed dial conversations get replaced by more normal interaction, where you can get to the bottom of people's personalities, not just their personas. These individual perspectives can be clarified as new groups are formed every semester, when we are given the opportunity to work closely with class mates as team/group mates. That is when 'the plerk' begins, a combination of play and work, and that, my friends, is the ultimate success in the business of just being you.

The next semester consists of the global international project, which is a key program deliverable. For this team based effort, we get to choose our own team mates, instead of school assigned teams. This choice compounds the fact that the learning experience will be a function of the team you choose or become part of. Ah yes, must remember opportunity costs not sunk costs!

During the past school weekend we had many prospective students sit in one of our strategy class sessions. In a brief hour, they obtained a fairly good exposure in business strategy fundamentals. It was interesting to see that these prospects seem to understand the emphasis of socializing in the Johnson school. I found a few of them deeply engaged in conversations with some of 09's, curious to have their questions answered, simply eager to discover more about the program. As I was talking to one visitor, I was thinking and telling myself, emm.. this was me, before I started the program. Looking back, with nearly a year completed, I know for a fact now that the Cornell Executive MBA program is definitely devoted to breaking you down (Oh yeah .. Corporate Finance:))and building you back up as a stronger person, with the academic mind rigorously renewed. At the same time, it is, has been and will be a memorable plerking experience for me.

I am a woman above anything else.

Time does fly and it seems like Easter was just yesterday. With only three more class weekends to wrap up the first year of business school, in some sense, I'm already missing it. Remembering all the stupendous moments over the year, the group telecons, the late nights, the breezy bites during break time, the ebar conversations, the scribbles on whiteboards, the skits, the presentations.. but amid the toil, there was definitely laughter. Oddly, I found that strangely do-able. Hey, if it isn't hurting, it isn't working!

I hope you had a fun filled weekend. This past weekend 'the gals' of our class decided to head out for a casual get together and dinner after class. Our evening at Nyack's cozy little restaurant (http://www.lanternausa.com) was timely. No particular reason for this celebrated night, then again since we are rational MBA students and being that we are also cool business women - we had to have a planfull approach to executing this event. Yup, emails back and forth, discussing possible restaurant choices, finalizing a meeting date, and other logistical coordination. In any case, it boiled down it being about us fabulous Cornell EMBA '09 women meeting up for dinner, and doing what they love to do when we had a few moments i.e. 'just chilling'.

I am proud to be part of a Cornell Executive MBA batch with the maximum number of female students in the program, ever. We have some really smart, dynamic and impressive woman executives in the '09 class. I am glad to know and to be acquainted with all 21 of them.

As a South Asian American woman, 'culture' is so very important and is very much part of my identity. I recall that the first lesson I learned as a South Asian woman in corporate America, is that I don't have to compromise my values, but I really must master how I articulate them. Why do I bring this up? Being a first generation Indian American woman - networking with women executives in the program, each from diverse professional, personal (some single, some married with no kids, some with kids) and cultural backgrounds, makes me rationalize and appreciate as to how we as real American women authentically engage in all facets of our lives and manage to do so, all while undergoing the program.

Women power is definitely to the fore today and is significantly embraced by the Cornell EMBA program.