I Travelled To Four Different Countries In Europe Without A Mobile Network Plan - Arumuga Vinayagam InsideIIM’s Best 50

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Name an instance where you wanted something and went out of your comfort zone to achieve it OR Tell us the biggest risk you have taken so far in your life.

"If quitting job and travelling 3000+ km to a faraway land to meet new faces, language and culture for an MBA weren’t big enough, my study abroad program is one that tops my list of ‘out of comfort zone’ things I have ever done. I almost dropped the idea of going to Paris when my friends backed out. However, I decided to go through with this experience on my own. I chose to fly all alone from Chennai to Paris without a mobile network plan despite being my first ever abroad trip. However, I made my hotel reservations in 4 different countries before entering Europe. It did not matter to me that all 4 countries spoke a different language, for I didn’t know any of them. It was a mix of trust in me and the people in general that made me take this risk, which was all worthwhile in the end."

When was the last time someone relied on you? OR What did you do which was purely for someone else - a truly selfless act.

"Like Joey from FRIENDS says ‘selfless good deeds don’t exist’. However, there are instances where one does something that benefits others more than self. That being said, the closest I could associate myself in a similar situation was to teach a young girl who happens to be a family friend of mine, to crack B.Com entrance examinations. I learnt more than I did when I wrote my CAT exam because I knew I couldn’t afford to falter on this when someone totally trusts me. With exams around the corner, I am more excited to see her perform well."

Tell us about a time when you disagreed with an opinion/idea/decision. What did you do about it?

"There are plenty of such examples when I worked with my team on corporate competitions during my MBA. We purposely chose a team where people don’t agree to ideas unless they are really convinced. It has occurred in the past that 3 out of 4 agree on something and the odd one out changes the fate once again. When I don’t agree with some idea, I would like to give some time to myself to think if the idea could work in the remotest way possible as proposed by someone. After having all loops covered, I would try to explain why that might not be the best idea. It is completely fine to disagree as long as the final outcome is based on logical explanations."

What is the one thing you can claim to have some level of expertise or depth of knowledge in - it could be anything - a subject, a sport, a hobby, a venture, an initiative which has led you to do deep work in that field?

"Thanks to my professional experience, working with ‘Microsoft Excel’ has been my forte. It might seem trivial, but those who have worked with the same would never underestimate the power of this tool. It has definitely helped me grow faster at work and needless to comment on the edge it gave me during an MBA course. The best part about Excel is that you could customize everything based on your need. We don’t need reports to comment on how little we use of how much it could offer to us. It makes me curious every time I apply a formula and waits for the output."

If 10 Million Dollars (approximately INR 75 Crores) is given to you to use it any way you deem fit what would you do with this corpus?

"To be honest, it would definitely start with ‘shopping, travelling’ which are on my to-do list, although that is going to consume very little of what’s in hand. It goes without saying that the remaining money would be invested. But where would I invest? The idea is not to put all eggs in one basket. I would divide the corpus into 3 or 4 parts and invest in ‘the need of the hour’ inventions from different industries such as pharma, technology etc. The business model is to be dynamic enough that lets me shift as time changes. While making more money is important, doing what is meaningful to me and society takes the upper hand."