Nischal Singhal from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta is one of India's Most Promising Incoming MBA Students 2022!
The following is Nischal'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, Nischal's story and profile stood out. Here's his story in his words.
I'm Nischal. I come from Bangalore and have completed all my schooling here. I come from a doctor's family and this atmosphere got me interested in science. As I got more inclined toward mathematics, I decided to pursue engineering at IIT Madras. During this period I explored a lot of opportunities by participating in case competitions, sports, internships, etc. One of the major learning experiences was my time heading the alumni relations cell. I have also developed a passion for finance and understanding businesses which was my main motivation for doing an MBA. Apart from this, I'm a person with various interests, mainly - football, F1 and travelling.
Tell us more about your extracurricular achievements
I'm someone who tries to get involved in multiple extracurricular activities as I feel they add value to one's personality and give an escape from one's main pursuit. I have learned to play the keyboard for 3 years during my school and am an avid football fan since the age of 10 and also play regularly. I continued to play football during my undergrad participating in multiple intra-college competitions. Apart from this, I tried to widen my horizons during my time at IIT Madras. I have participated in multiple case study and analytics competitions, also winning a couple of them. An important extracurricular achievement is my tenure as the head of the Alumni Relations Cell where I led a 3-tier team of 17 members to organize events for the 50k+ alumni community of IIT Madras.
Tell us about a time when you messed up, and what you learnt from the experience?
I have been a part of various teams (sports and PoRs) and working with other individuals often provides the best lessons. One great learning was through football during 12th grade. I was an integral part of a team in a school competition and we had managed to reach the finals after a long time and through great efforts. As the final kicked away we played well, and I was happy with my initial performance, still, the score remained 0-0 till the closing stages. I was a defender in the team and in the dying stages scored my own goal which led to our loss leaving all of us and especially me (who is normally very demanding of everyone) feeling dejected. The obvious learning was that game is not over till the final whistle and one should never be complacent. But for me, there was a greater learning, after the game my teammates and friends comforted me and appreciated my efforts instead of blaming me for the loss. From this I learned the true strength of a team is the support and belief one has in each other, this enables every member to perform confidently and what enabled us to reach the finals in the first place and also make memories for a lifetime. I have kept this lesson in team spirit with me and it has helped me through the various PoRs at college and will be applicable even in my professional life.
Tell us something about yourself that others may be surprised to know about you.
One skill of mine that often surprises people is my ability to perform card tricks (magic). I got interested in it during my 1st year of college and kept devoting effort to practicing and learning tricks and have gotten quite good at it. I have performed tricks on multiple people in different settings and the sense of puzzlement and amazement on people's faces never seizes to excite me.
What have been your two biggest successes in life? What did you learn from them?
The most important success for me has been my academic achievements, especially cracking JEE and then CAT to secure admission into top institutes. All the while balancing other responsibilities and maintaining focus.Another success, though it might not seem clear, is managing myself during the COVID pandemic. I feel this event affected all of us in different ways and most have witnessed feeling down at some time. I too have had few opportunities lost and felt demotivated at times. But being able to pull up my socks, get physically fitter and prepare for my commitments(academics, PoRs, placements, CAT, etc) has been a big win for me personally. Also, the pandemic has taught me to be grateful and this experience will provide strength in the future.
Professionally, what is your ideal image of yourself five years from now? Where do you see yourself?
Through my experiences, I have grown to be passionate about the world of finance and understanding businesses. So naturally, I hope to work at a top firm in the financial sector in an investment banking role or the consulting sector, which in the first 5 years will enable me to apply my problem-solving and critical thinking skills while getting exposed to different industries/businesses and talented individuals. In the long term, I aim to progress further into a leadership/partner role.
What is the one skill or characteristic you possess that you are most proud of, and why?
The most essential skill in my life has been critical thinking. I'm able to structure a situation/problem well and can approach the process of solving it in an objective manner. This combined with my analytical mindset has been pivotal in my problem-solving ability. This has served me well during my internships and various case study competitions that I have participated in.
In your opinion, what skills or qualities does a successful manager possess?
My opinion of the skills of a successful manager has been formed through my experiences working in various teams, heading the Alumni Relations Cell, and through my internships. I feel the most important skills are- 1) Belief and motivation - it is absolutely pivotal that a manager believes in the abilities of each and every team member and motivates them to strive for excellence2) Communication - A skill that is absolutely important for any social setup and much more so in a team. A manager cannot get anything done unless he/she can properly communicate with team members. 3) Organization, planning, and flexibility - Managers need to have an understanding of the process and the ability to organize the team by showing leadership and assigning roles & responsibilities to each member. Also, a manager should be able to deal with unforeseen circumstances effectively.
Tell us about an ethical dilemma that you may have faced, and how you resolved it.
I'm an environmentally conscious person and take personal actions whenever possible. This commitment to climate action led to an ethical dilemma due to my diet. I enjoyed eating non-vegetarian food and was not aware of its environmental consequences as I believed that animals were separately bred for this and it had a limited effect on the overall environment. But when I learned about the water consumption, deforestation, and inhumane treatment of animals due to providing for a non-vegetarian diet I decided to make the switch to vegetarian. It took an effort on my part but I felt it was a sacrifice worth making. I'm proud of this choice and hope to take further personal and larger actions if possible in the future.
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?
I would like to be the CEO of Tata Motors. Being a part of the TATA umbrella it has a distinctive brand and is a leading player in the commercial and personal vehicle market. Tata motors has been a hugely successful brand for a decade even acquiring Jaguar and Range Rover but has suffered in the 2010s due to a lack of efficiency, focus, and failed car models. As the CEO, I would try to turn the corner for Tata Motors by being the first big movers in the Indian electric vehicle market, the company has recently started investing in the same. I would cut the non-performing models and focus the investments and research on well-placed vehicles in today's market and on EV technology. Tata Motors has the potential to provide the required big push to EVs in India and could reap great benefits and also enable transportation to be more eco-friendly. Although it must be approached with care as few manufacturers have rushed poor unsafe EV products to the market (Ola mobility) and as a CEO I will ensure quality and performance.
Any Other Comments Or Factors You Would Like To Highlight About Yourself?
I have listed a few more points about myself below:
1) In addition to the JEE advanced 2018 exam for engineering, I have also cleared the AIIMS exam 2018 for medicine
2) Few other hobbies of mine apart from the already listed are boxing and 10m rifle shooting
3) I have cleared CFA L1 and am a CFA L2 candidate