Ananth Adiga from IIM Calcutta is one of India's Most Promising Incoming MBA Students 2022!
The following is Ananth's set of responses to a questionnaire floated amongst incoming MBA graduates to determine the top 50 Most Promising Incoming MBA students of 2022. Amongst the massive number of entries and responses being evaluated, Ananth's story and profile stood out. Here's his story in his words.
1. Tell us about a time when you messed up and what you learnt from the experience.
I was 14 years old and captaining my school in inter cricket games. We played well in the games in the first few games and quickly reached the semi-finals. During the semis, I lost the toss and chasing 190 in 30 overs, and we were the favourites. My performance was at the epitome during the tournament, and I was getting a lot of praise for my performance. We started well and needed around 20-25 runs in the last two overs with nine wickets remaining. But we started to crumble, and in a blink of an eye, I was facing the last ball with four fours to be; I could still feel the adrenaline rush, and I knew I would win the match, but unfortunately, I got out, and my whole world collapsed right in front of my eye. I knew I messed up and got a lot of hatred from everyone around me. It broke me from within; my self-confidence was down. Next year, I couldn't participate cause I was scared that I would mess it up, but I gave myself another year to overcome, and next year, I captioned my team. Years later, I realised I gave too much importance to winning when I was supposed to be enjoying it. I learned I could enjoy my game while being competitive; They can co-exist.
2. Tell us something about yourself that others may be surprised about.
I am a multi-lingual, played four sports at the state level, interned five times during my undergrad, have published an android app in the play store and authored 24 articles in WordPress and finally published two research papers at International publication, one of which was on Covid-19 where my model was able to detect the virus with 99% accuracy using deep learning.
3. What have been your two most significant successes in life? What did you learn from them?
Getting into IIM Calcutta and 5+ universities, including New York University, Purdue and Virginia University, has been my most significant success in life. I have realised that no matter what you lack or face, you can always overcome difficulties if you have the grit. Don't give up.
4. Professionally, what is your ideal image of yourself five years from now? Where do you see yourself?
I want to be a consultant, and I also wish to run my non-profit in the field of mental health. In the next five to ten years, I would like to eventually transform myself from a Junior Consultant to a principal to become a partner.
5. What is the one skill or characteristic you possess that you are most proud of, and why?
Perseverance. I am not the smartest person in the room but the most persevered person. If I don't know something, I will learn about it. I never give up, no matter how difficult things get.
6. In your opinion, what skills or qualities does a successful manager possess?
Empathy, patience, composure. A manager without empathy towards the team members can never be successful; patience and composure are fundamental to any manager and are add-ons.
7. Brief us about an ethical dilemma that you may have faced and how you resolved it.
I started an organisation called We are here to help, a non-profit organisation for mental health. A friend from school had called me and asked if I could provide him with a working certificate at my organisation. So this was an ethical dilemma for me because he was a very close friend of mine, and I didn't know if I would be able to turn him down. I took a day or two, and then I thought giving a certificate would be entirely wrong for my volunteers and my organisation. I know he's a very close friend of mine. However, still, it didn't feel right, so I finally spoke to him and told him about the difficulties concerning this scenario. I told him that if he could work for me for a month, I would be able to provide a certificate he rejected.
8. If you were the CEO of any company of your choosing, which company would you choose and what would your first action be as CEO?
When I look at Microsoft, I see their mission of becoming Carbon negative by 2030 and a billion-dollar investment as a climate fund. Sustainability intrigues me, but I realise there are other equally important things, such as education for children in African countries and upliftment of refugees in middle eastern countries who are going through Arab springs. So if I become Microsoft's CEO, I would change Microsoft's direction towards these kinds of problems with the help of technology.