Networking

One common advise that I have received from almost all my colleagues from the top B-schools is that Networking is very important and that I should network with everyone possible.

But Networking seems to have a slight negative connotation. I don't know if it is specific to culture, region or background. Generally we get to hear the "it doesn't work here" generalizations for almost anything new. But in my experience I have seen that though the differences are always there the commanilities are also there, may be hidden beneath. At the outset the differences will come out and show up but the commanilities are left to be discovered. This applies equally well to situations, locations, people and so on. Only thing that you need to consider is the packaging and the customization.

What I would like to highlight is that Networking is not about knowing people for your selfish motives. Instead it is to get connected with people and see how each of us can benefit from each other in a win-win way. Many times people ask you for a reference and you don't know enough people to really refer. You would be doing a great deal of help if you can supply leads to those who want. You can provide references without saying "don't tell them how you got this info" only if you are open, your intentions are transparent and if you are genuine.

Most of us would agree that helping others is a positive thing to do and you are reaching beyond the thinking me, mine and myself to help others. You just need to be thinking the same and you would know more and more people. If you are genuinely interested in helping people, just do that in a conscious way and that could lead to the development of a good network.

I have been using Linkedin and I did a search of all those from ISB and then sent out about 300 invites. About 50 have already accepted my invitation. It's useful to be in touh with others who have attended the same school and who knows when can you be of help to others and when you would be needing their help.

Today we had a meeting with Prof. Ramchandran as a part of the official mentoring program and it went off well. There were 10 of us and we spent about an hour discussing what all happened till now. It was a simple interaction session. These kind of initiatives defnitely bridge the gap between the Shool administration and students.

Finally we have got our Statistics midterm results and I did well. Now I am confident about the Term 1 final exams. Lots of other things are happening including the elections for GSB placom, SLC, OIC and so on. I think it's time to get back to studies.