Suddenly I snap out of my daze as one of my classmates is explaining about how HUL handles its operations cycle. I realize that the last word I had heard was GE, and it strikes me that I am in induction and I had dozed off. Five minutes ago I was listening intently to the work flow at GE and the products it offers. When I think of it, this has happened very often, one minute I am listening to an analysis of a topic and the next second I am being shaken to consciousness by a friend.
I questioned myself. Have I lost my drive to develop, has my dedication level nosedived since the first day of induction? After a few seconds of thought I answer my own question; NO! Being a part of a team and improving as a group has always been and will be a priority for me and it is just the exhaustion of the process that is getting to me. The first day when our team was grouped together randomly I am sure we were all quite apprehensive about whether we would gel together. But I now know that with every late night task that we did, may it be a financial analysis or a social cause video, our doubts started fading away. By the end of the program we worked with such rapport that it felt like we have worked together for ages. Being a part of such a great group was only one of the “side effects” of the induction process.
Another part of the induction that is embedded in my memory is the criticism from both ends - seniors and juniors. On various instances I remember cursing the day I joined the MBA program, the rigorous induction process had literally cut me off from the world. Even as a working professional I never had any trouble balancing my work and personal life which is why the sudden plunge into the extremely rigorous process felt like a head dive into ice cold water. As the process moved along I realized that, like a real life plunge into ice cold water, the program had jolted me out of my inertia. It helped me push my limits, realize what is expected from an MBA graduate and how every sleepless night I have spent had led to a deepening and widening of my knowledge pool.
The ups and downs in the induction made me feel like I was riding an emotional roller coaster. Moments of carefree fun with the batch in the few minutes of breaks given, the happiness of sleeping for an hour after a day of hard work merged with the dejection of not being able to match up to the standards of DMS, the panic of finishing tasks, facing competitions drove me into a frenzy. Even then I am of the firm belief that one fine day when I will be reminiscing about my MBA life, the first memory that would strike my mind would be that of induction. I am sure the bitter sweet memories of induction are the ones, which not just me but the whole batch will remember and cherish forever.
----------
About the Author:
Komali Kandlakunta
MBA Batch of 2016-18