CEOs learning

To start with, this is my second blog and I must say this is a hard earned one, unlike the first which I posted. Today is the 11^th of June and it has been two days since I came to pune to pursue my MBA from Symbiosis Institute of Management studies.

After a wonderful and tiring first day, it was time for us the MBA-1-A class to start wondering about some business activity we needed to do the next day. I remember cursing my roommate as he had to report on 9.30 and I had to report at 8.30.

The day started with jogs in the morning and after that we got ready for the Business activity Class. With no breakfast and just a Chocolate in stomach I was wondering what will it turn out to be. But once our Professor came in it was a something different. He gave us a nice insight on how CEOs are different from others guys.

Now started the activity at 9.30 am and all of us were thrilled about how the activity would go. Soon we were out of the campus looking for a lift from complete strangers with our BUDDY. Fortunately within minutes of getting out we got a nice chap who helped us get to Pune Central on his scooter. It was a very exciting ride. Soon we were out searching for another mode when a lady actually a very kind lady topped her car and went out of the way to help us reach CAMP: the ground zero of our day.

Once in the camp we started looking out for jobs in every possible shop, company, hotel, infact everything we could see. After half an hour of traveling, may be by 11 or so, we found a hotel called Mona Food our first employer in Pune and got a positive response or so we thought it was. But we were asked to wait for a while and we took a call that we should trust the manager and we waited, which got us in. Once in as Captains, me and my buddy Satyamvada, started exploring the hotel. It was a small hotel but it was first visit to the kitchen of a hotel which cannot be described in words(Whether or not it is positive statement is the work of readers imagination). Then I floated the question of SALARY and though reluctant , the manager agreed that he would give us 110 INR each for work till 4.

Soon came in the first customer and I was thrilled as I was going to be doing something which I never thought I would. It went through well and now I knew I was excellent at it. Although I remembered my canteen guy in the old company who once said “Salil tumhare equity se humara kam ganda hey” I had laughed then but now I knew what it is like having to stand for hours, serving delicious food without having to eat it was impossible for me. Soon a group of visitors came and left after devouring the delicious food. Both of us took the orders with a smile and the guests were surprised being served by good English speaking waiters. It was 2.30 and I found out interesting facts about the industry like a normal man eats 35 tonnes of food in his life and some relevant things like we should serve water before giving the menu cards and harder one like customers at times tend to get erratic in behavior for no reason. We did a good business in that five hours and the reward was good too. At the end of the day we got good food from the restaurant and the shortest pay raise in history around hundred percent in 5 hours. Now it was 4 and time to go; we rushed and found many of our batch mates doing the same rushing. So collectively we convinced an army truck driver to drop us at Pune station. We reached on time but the line for tickets could not get us on the platform. Again we met our batch mates and decided to go back and prepare the writeup since the meet was over..

One thing I noticed was that the hotelier literally knew every minute detail about his hotel and cared about it as his own child. This business activity I can say was my first step towards the corporate life and I learned one thing that you need to know your organization from the roots and treat it like your child. That is the best metaphor because a person, whoever it is, knows that he will give the best for his child more than anyone else.