A list of books every aspiring manager planning to pursue an MBA program must read

After teaching at some of India’s most respected Business schools for the past nine years I pondered over how students at the Post Graduate Level in management can prepare for classes at a B School.

What would be an ideal pre preparation between the time a student gets an acceptance letter from a School to the day classes start. I have over the years observed certain systematic deficiencies in our college Education which reduces the student’s ability to absorb the often complex and counter intuitive concepts Discussed in the MBA Class.

Students use a computer to socialize, send and receive emails and many of them are overwhelmed when required to submit online application or book tickets online. In short Internet use is limited to “fun” activities. Internet use for information gathering, data mining and research skills is the first area to prepare if you want to Excel at case analysis given by your professor. The trick is “Less is more”. Do not blindly download entire articles and submit it as assignments, it is plagiarism and any good school will “reward “your effort with an “F” grade. Being stupid is better than being a cheat. Use Internet for downloading data E.g.: The five year annual P&L, BS can be downloaded from moneycontrol.com, the analysis has to be yours. Some of the best sources for data are Mckinsey, HBR, Price Water House Coopers, BCG, Accenture, E&Y research reports. Their in-depth research and authoritative reports allow you to quickly grasp maximum information in minimum time on diverse topics.

The Second area students are very weak in is crunching numbers on a spreadsheet. Remember an MBA is a program Designed for people with a minimum of three to five years work experience. People with such experience usually have spent considerable time using spreadsheets and can participate in a case discussion by crunching vast volumes of number of a spreadsheet. Example: – In the undergrad level the teacher spends one hr preparing one year P&L and BS, at the MBA Level a 10 yr P&L B/S, Cash Flow and analysis are all squeezed into one hr, naturally the teacher will not use “Chalk and talk”, he will Crunch the number real time in front of the class using an excel spreadsheet, if you are not aware of spreadsheets then one Limb of MBA is closed to you, Finance. Now your options are to go for a Marketing Major or HR major and if your school offers the International Business or General Management. Excel for Dummies is a good book to teach yourself MS Excel.

As a student of MBA you will be required to work on projects in Teams, team is not a group of friends. A team is a diverse set of Individuals with mutually exclusive but collectively exhaustive skill set. You need all kinds of people in the team, Right brainers Left brainers, creative and calculative, cunning and calm. To know how to be a part of effective team and to manage a team a good Book is The McKinsey Mind: Understanding and Implementing the Problem-Solving Tools and Management Techniques of the World’s Top Strategic Consulting Firm By Ethan Rasiel , Ph.D., Paul N. Friga.

 

MBA’s need to have problem solving skills, structured thinking skills, Data analysis skills a very good book to acquire almost three years work like experience in these areas which consulting firms value is in addition to Mckinsey Mind is The McKinsey Way by Ethan Rasiel.

A good way to prepare for your life at a Good B School is to get a quick pre cursor on the subjects in the course curriculum. Here we would Recommend two books, the first is The 10-day MBA: A Step-by-step Guide to Mastering the Skills Taught in  Top Business Schools by Steven Silbiger.

The second book is What the Best MBAs Know. Published by Tata Mc Graw-Hill and edited by Peter Navarro This book has contributions from some of the top Professors from schools like Salon, Kellog, Wharton, Stanford among others. It is a very concentrated material in diverse areas like strategy to Organizational Behavior.

At the core of an MBA course like Strategy, from strategy flows Marketing, finance , Human Resources, Systems, International Business and all other subjects which tells you how to develop a enduring competitive advantage. A good place to learn the core or all MBA subject is Strategy Create and Implement the Best Strategy for your Business Published by Harvard Business Essentials. We must warn you that this material is a very concentrated discussion on Strategy and for those who have read 10 Day MBA it is likely to be Smooth sailing.

The next book on our list is more like a companion for your MBA is The Portable MBA by Nitin Nohria Part I is an encyclopedia of major business topics covering accounting, finance, marketing, manufacturing, economics, international business, management, and strategy. Part II contains sources of information.  For those of who are Hindi film buffs In Kal ho na Ho the leading lady Priety Zinta who pursues an MBA in the movie carries this book around. Use it , will do wonder’s for you.

The next book we believe is only for the graduates from the Harvard Business School because only they have been taught at the school to understand What they Don’t Teach you at Harvard Business School. As for the rest of us we will do well to first learn what they teach at Harvard and then go on to this book. Written by Mark H. McCormack this is a timeless classic for managers.

The last book we recommend is a Wall Street Journal and New York Times Bestseller. On the cover is a comment by the legendary Warren Buffett who says “No other management book will ever be needed” and we can’t agree more. So without much further ado here is our top pick for the must read book for Aspiring managers, Managers and basically everyone who aspires to run a business “ Winning” by Jack Welch and Suzy Welch.

We hope that by using the three months window between receiving the acceptance letter and the start of classes wisely by reading these books you will be battle ready to face the barrage of knowledge and negotiate the mine filed called MBA. Welcome to the 2 BEST Worst years of your life the boot camp called Masters of Business Administration.

This article is presented by Prof. Kiran Bindu, Director – International Program at ISBR Business School sharing his wide experience of 15 years in the field of Management Training & Development.

He has been associated with many top business schools and had a deep study over the individual’s interest and features of various MBA Colleges across India having summarized in brief, for easy understanding of the reader to make a right decision while opting MBA in India.

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Choice of MBA in India

MBA – Master of Business Administration has become a basic program for an individual in current era to climb in his/her career ladder.

The need to do MBA might come through any route, some of the basic reason why an average individual intend to choose MBA Programs as their career option could be to:

• Learn cross domain best practices
• Climb through Career ladder
• Encapsulate Business tactics
• Mode to pursue degree of Higher Standards like PhD
• Placement Opportunity

For every individual in Asia, MBA in India provides a right combination of Theoretical, Practical & Self Assessing approaches which are rightly required to groom one to be a better individual.

MBA in India has opened opportunities for many foreign Educational institutes across world to collaborate with Indian institutes or start their own educational institutes here.

Recently, followed by US President Barack Obama visit to India, many educational institutes across globe had visited a summit named Indo-Global Educational Summit held at Hyderabad, framing an atmosphere to share their ideas between various educational institutes, following which these institute had strong interactions with some of the prominent colleges in India.

Like MBA they are various equivalent programs conducted in India namely PGDM, PGP, PGDBA etc.

MBA in India are offered through various modes like full time, part time, distance, executive, correspondence, online etc.

Choosing right MBA for an individual is a tough call, depends on various factors like Work Experience, Work Culture, Knowledge Spectrum etc.

In India most of the MBA are associated with universities controlled under an approval body like UGC, AICTE etc. UGC stands for University Grant Commission while AICTE stands for All India Council of Technical Education. These committees monitors all MBA programs and MBA equivalent programs like PGDM, PGDBA etc. to maintain the standards of education in terms of:

• Quality of Faculty
• Basic amenities
• Course Structure Standards
• Examination Standards
• Operational Transparency
• Many more….

All these measure controls the nature and quality of MBA Program delivered in India. For right choice of MBA in India, one need to look at features like approvals, faculty expertise, Course Structure, Specialization offered, infrastructure, Cells and Club activities, institutes code rules which moderate disciplinary aspect of a college etc.

Apart from MBA degree current market require an individual to pursue other value added certificate programs which reduces the company’s burden over training an employee before joining.

Some of the popular value added programs are:

• Capstone Business Simulation
• SAP Training
• ERP Certification
• Six Sigma Certification Programs
• Certification in Foreign Languages like French, German, Advance English etc.
• Advance Accounting Software like Microsoft Accounting Software, Tally, Shoppers etc.
• IFRS Certification
• CIMA Certification
• Many More…

All these value added program position an individual at par from basic degree holder having gained the broader bandwidth than others.

Author has been associated with many top business schools and had a deep study over the individual’s interest and features of various MBA Colleges across India having summarized in brief, for easy understanding of the reader to make a right decision while opting MBA in India.

Guidelines to Join Top MBA Colleges in India

Management has become a core integral part of any organization; indeed an important factor in ones career ladder. A decision to choose MBA Colleges in India not only depends on ones bachelor degree but also on their work culture.

It is not mandatory to write any entrance exam to join a good MBA College but rather having a good score in graduation matters a lot.

In India there are various surveys being conducted to showcase MBA colleges ranking which really creates lots of confusion and misleads many individuals from choosing the right college. A proper general survey is needed with all MBA colleges of India listed and also providing factor of survey, based on which it is evaluated for higher clarity.

An Individual can follow below postulates to rightly identify the Best MBA Colleges in India:

1. Choose a location where companies of your choice are located. For example, Bangalore is known as Silicon Valley, a fastest growing city in India. Even President of USA had recently commented over its progress and President of France had admired with his recent visit.
2. Find the Hubs of Companies where you can identify most of companies in and around. For example, In Bangalore we have Electronic City, EGL, Manyata Tech Park, White Field and many more.
3. Once you have identified your desired location find MBA Colleges in and around.

 

An MBA Colleges should have following qualities to be graded well in an individual’s scale:

 

1. Should be among AICTE Approved Colleges of your desired location let say AICTE Approved Colleges in Bangalore, Because AICTE Approval is a standardized approval committee with desire to provide right Post graduation colleges to pursue post graduation Programs.
2. Visit the College Website to check their AICTE Approval Letter for better transparency. This will not only help candidate to rightly identify their MBA Colleges but also pursue easy educational loan facilities.
3. Pay Personal Visit to shortlisted MBA colleges and meet Student currently studying there to know about their Cell and Club Activities, Faculties, Placements, Infrastructure etc.
4. Modern College requires MBA College which can provide infrastructure of Global Standards which will intern train them for industry ready to face the cutting throat competition.
5. Identify MBA College’s admission procedure and Scholarship provisions if any. Apply for MBA Scholarship it will extends a great financial support for you and your family and build your competitive skill.
6. Visit college Hostel which will reveal the standard of College. A Hostel with more the facilities increase the comfort of any student which intern motivates them to demand the same from society when they complete their studies and increase their standards of living. A proper hostel should neither be too close to the city nor far away, should be strategically located to provide a safe and secured study atmosphere.

The author has been associated with many top business schools and conducted a great survey over the Educational Market, analyzing many MBA colleges in Bangalore & MBA colleges in Chennai and identifying their utility factor, for increased student’s satisfaction level over delivery of quality education.

Exploring the World of Human Energy

We are surrounded by a subtle energy-filled world that affects our physical health, mind, emotions, creativity and spirituality. All life forms, including humans, are surrounded by bio-energy fields. And it is through these fields that we interact on a subtle level with each other, with all other living things, and with the Earth itself.
Energy forms the whole body and that the sources so required consist of four – Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual. It is only by dealing with each part of the whole within the whole, that we can have vital and energetic health.

 

Energy affects every aspect of our lives. The amount of physical energy we have affects our health, vitality, and our ability to handle stress. Our emotional energy affects our moods and the ability to experience feelings alone and with others. The condition of our mental energy affects our ability to think and communicate clearly, as well as our ability to make decisions. And our spiritual energy affects our ability to love, to find meaning, fulfillment in our lives, to motivate and inspire others.

 

These facts are very interesting because these are certain things we know but don’t often think about. With the help of a video of Tony Schwatrz’s lecture on “Learning at Google”, things held much more clarity. Tony in his words said “You could be a great man and it may or may not have any impact on which you can be a great leader. But you can’t be a great leader if you are not a great human being.”

 

A fabulous remark by Tony. It did sound more specific when we use our energy with integrity, it quite naturally leads us to extending our sensitivity and respect to each other; energy is real. Tony made it clear that human beings demand so much with high level of expectation which in turn increases the capacity of one to meet with the demand. For all this, right proportion of energy is required.

 

Energy is inside every individual which can be renewed via intervention. The mind cannot do multiple tasks, when focused on one subject matter the performance done is much more better than handling too many in one go. Ms.Uma also gave her best views on certain strategies which when well worked upon helps you to balance the energy so required.

 

Energy-Increasing Strategies

 

With these points in mind, there were several strategies identified to raise the level of energy:

 

Increase one’s Aspiration

 

Energy is a product of one’s will. One of the most powerful also accomplished, then that surge of energy will sustain itself for ways to generate will is by having an aspiration for something substantial or important to come about. Therefore, if one lacks energy, it is worthwhile to consider some important goals to be accomplished. If one is serious about it coming about, he/she will be energized to no end.

 

Make the Full, Persevering Effort

 

Normally, it is believed that energy is finite. For example, if we have to do a work, our energies will be reduced commensurate to the effort. And yet there is another perspective. If we make a full, all out effort in that endeavor, we will tap into a wellspring of energy we never thought you had.

 

Prioritize

 

Sometimes we try to do too many things in life. That lack of focus in turn saps our will, which depletes our energies. However, if we focus on several things that are truly important, casting the extraneous or secondary items aside, we not only concentrate our will, producing a surge of energy, but we tend to accomplish so much more. In addition, just by taking that tact, we can attract sudden good fortune. Therefore, it is good to take an inventory of the things we do, and cut back on those that are extraneous and secondary. Not only will we be more productive, but energy will continually surge from within.

 

Maintain Positive Attitudes; Overcome Negative Ones

 

It is always best to have a positive attitude in life. It not only helps us maintain a high energy level, but it invariably attracts positive conditions. On the other hand, a negative attitude will have the opposite effect. Worry, anxiety, fear, anger, depression, restlessness, rebelliousness, impatience, unwillingness, etc. not only deplete energies, but attract negative circumstance from the world around us. Therefore, it is best periodically our psychological state to see what we are thinking and feeling. If it is positive, then better to keep it up! However, if our attitudes are negative, we need to stop it in its tracks. Not only will fresh energies well up inside us, but positive conditions will quickly present themselves from out of nowhere.

 

Hold Back an Opinion

 

What applies to a negative attitude also applies to an opinion. It is also an energy depleter. What is an opinion? It is a view of things that we tend to assert — whether it is true or not. It is simply a thought and feeling that we are overly attached to, and are therefore more than happy to express in conversation. Though it is emotionally stimulating and satisfying to verbalize such opinions, our energy level tends to quickly fall off as a result.

 

Speak Less, Speak Softly

 

Related to opinions, one of the most powerful ways to generate more energy is to simply speak less. Instead of verbalizing everything that is on our mind, we need to hold back those thoughts, and energy will surge within us. Likewise, if instead of speaking loudly and boisterously, we express ourself in a low, soft voice, it will have a similar effect. This is the case because speech originates in our life center. When we speak too much or too loudly, we deplete the vital energies that originate there. Doing the opposite will not only restore or heighten our energy, but will attract positive conditions from life.

 

Shift Your Focus to Others

 

One of the most powerful ways to increase our energy is to shift your focus from our own interests and concerns to those of others. Not only will movements of selflessness, self-givingness, goodness, goodwill, and generosity generate a sense of peace within, and balance and amplifying your energies, but positive conditions will suddenly present themselves. There is no faster way to refresh our energies than by shifting from self-absorption in one’s own self-interest to self-givingness towards others.

 

To conclude, an important take-away :

“If we want to feel truly alive and open to life’s opportunities we need to look carefully at our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. We need to identify our shortcomings and make those changes we need so that we are truly vibrating at the highest level and enjoying life to the fullest.”

 

This article is excerpt from a seminar given by Ms. Uma Narayan, Senior Associate, Learning and Development, Asia-Pacific Region, Ford Motors India Ltd, Chennai onWorld of Human Energy, held at ISBR Business School one of the top business schools offering MBA in India.