Conversation with an ISB Co 09 aspirant

I have received a mail from an ISB Co 09 aspirant and I thought it may be useful to others with similar queries to post his queries and my replies in this post. Here it is:

His mail
Hi Kiran,

I got your mail-id from your blog while searching information about ISB. In your blog you have posted the communication between you and another aspirant so I'm taking my chance to get some opinions from you for my case.

Background:
I'm a hard core IT professional with expertise in highly technical domain and excellent professional record although the academics can only be rated as "not so bad". Total experience is 6+ years and my job does make me feel great. I have twice declined to leadership roles as my inclination has been towards Subject Matter Expertise. I have not yet attempted taking GMAT.

Aspirations:
I want to now take off tangentially and aspire to learn and pursue Investment Banking.

Queries:
I know i'm thinking too radically but is it also irrational?
Does learning Business Administration essentially requires leadership skills?
Will my case stand a chance in ISB given i perform well in other requisites?
If I get an admission in ISB will my candidature be accepted in the industry (keeping in view the radical shift)?

Thanks a lot in advance
DG

My Response
Hi Deepak,

You are welcome to write to me but I may not be able to reply imediately as I would be busy in many things.

Let me try and reply your queries one-by-one

I know i'm thinking too radically but is it also irrational?
- According me and from what I have learned and seen, there is nothing called irrational idea as long as someone rational has come up
with it. So nothing to worry about your idea

Does learning Business Administration essentially requires leadership skills?
- Leadership is necessary to survive. I know there are many people who would choose a technical expertise role but leadership is not about leading others. Leadership is rather leading self in a disciplined and determined way. Dealing with people is something you cannot avoid forever. Business, Finance, Technology and all other things exist because of people and therefore there is no running away from people. MBA prepares you to handle all aspects of business and people management is increasingly becoming an important part apart from everything else. So if you are planning to do an MBA to get into Investment Banking, I would rather suggest you to explore other specialized courses before freezing on MBA. So my answer to your question is, Yes, you need leadership skills to learn Business Administration.

Will my case stand a chance in ISB given i perform well in other requisites?
I don't see any reason why you don't stand a chance of getting into ISB. Just work on every aspect carefully but try and understand why you declined the growth opportunities. You should have some good reason and it shouldn't conflict with the reason you want to get in to ISB. What I'm saying is, you should not be communicating that I want to get into ISB as I want to grow but I declined many growth offers earlier as I didn't want to take the head ache of managing other people. You see both the statements contadict each other and will question your rationale. Think about it.

If I get an admission in ISB will my candidature be accepted in the industry (keeping in view the radical shift)?
I don't know. I can't say. I have made multiple career shifts such as Engineering to Business Development to Behavioral Training Design and Delivery to Training Function Management and fianlly now I am at ISB trying to get in to Consulting. If there is a logical connection ad if the company that you want to get in sees greater value in you than others who also want to get in. It's a question of what you have to offer and how that firm values that. If they are in sync you are accepted. I woul suggest do the following to get a better understanding:
1. Define what is Investment Banking based on your understanding (Do a swot)
2. What does I Banking mean to you, I mean what would it give you (rewards)
3. What it may take from you (sacrifices)
4. What if something doesn't go as per plan (are you confident)
5. Finally speak to someone who is already in I Banking. I know only few who are in trading and banks but not in I banking, so I really don't have a clue. I suggest you speak to someone who is successful and someone who is not and see how do you see your chances. Remember it's you who have to go through the whole thing so you have to take a call.


I hope I answered your queries. Best of luck.

Regards