A memorable classroom experience at IIM Trichy
Ropes were hanging from hostel buildings, bamboo sticks were carefully tied up in “A” shape, a domino effect arrangement was set in place, ropes lay around in perfect squares with blindfolds fallen around them, such was the scene in the campus of IIM Tiruchirappalli in the third day of our joining. Taking learning to the next level is what make IIM Tiruchirappalli stand out in the crowd. Following the conventional approach to teach students business value is what IIM Tiruchirappalli detests. Students learning values of leadership, team work, chain of commands, power of clear communication and various sacrosanct business values on their own through well planned outbound activities is what makes this institute great.
Let’s get into the memory of the class now. The day started with students asked to not come in formals but sportswear, pretty unconventional for a b-school. But the learning we were going to get was very much conventional and instead of listening to lectures about it we were going to feel it.
The first task in hand was to perform a wall rappelling. Mentioning you have acrophobia was not going to help you get out of this task. Conquer your fear was the usp of this activity. After the entire task was completed by everyone in the batch, then came the learnings that we felt. The first step is always the toughest, like in this case the step to let go of the rope and take the leap of faith, then what follows will always be either a great success or a failure to learn from. Life is like a ride down a wall in rappelling you can enjoy your descent down and have a remarkable memory while doing so or get scared and end the descend with the guilt of not enjoying the fear and pain. So enjoy your problems for in them lies one of the greatest learnings.
The next task was divided into teams and every team had to transport their members in an “A” shaped bamboo frame. A team member shall stand on the base of the A and his team shall pick up the “A” frame one leg at a time, all the while rest of the team holding the frame with ropes and trying to keep the frame upright. A task tough to understand and even tougher to perform. But after completing it all we were doing was congratulate each member for his work and effort and marvelling at the co-ordination in which we performed the task. Another classic example of teamwork learnt without the citation of case studies or example. It felt as if team work virtue got inculcated into us through this activity.
The next task again involved separation into teams and creating a structure for each group, which when collaborated from all groups would form a mega domino effect type arrangement and come falling down in perfect sync. Without even utterance of words from anyone, we felt how the chain of commands works in the corporate world. Success is never given if a particular team succeeds in the corporate, but success is attributed when the entire firm succeeds. It is a virtue again felt by us that success is not in a single person’s success but it is the success of the firm that makes every individual successful.
In the next task again we were divided into groups and blindfolded. While being blindfolded we were handed out ropes and asked to form a perfect square. First, there was a lot of commotions but slowly we started communicating better and finally when the blinds came off, there laid the most perfect square I had ever seen. Again the power of communicating ideas, instructions, and visions clearly was felt by us. Even after loads of communication classes, we wouldn’t have been able to learn the strength of good communication and coordination what we instantly learnt in a matter of few minutes to be felt for decades of experience to come ahead.
As we were returning to our rooms that day, we were not a bit tired, for we had learnt the most valuable lessons of life in a day in the most beautiful way possible. Not a word was uttered by any of the instructors or teachers but all the virtues of leadership, teamwork, chain of commands, the power of clear communication were truly felt by us. It was indeed a memorable classroom experience in IIM Tiruchirappalli.
Which ABG company would you want to work for and Why?
The Aditya Birla Group company that I would love to work for is Idea Cellular. Idea’s success story speaks a lot about the demeanour of the company, the ideals it values and the culture it promotes. Being an underdog during its entrance in the telecom sector, Idea managed to scale heights earlier though impossible and emerged as a leading telecom brand crushing many behemoths of the industry. From BATATA (Birla, AT&T,Tata) consortium to operating only under Birla was Idea’s biggest leap of faith into the unknown with major players of the industry backing out. Today Idea is one of the biggest and fastest growing brand the country and the world has ever seen. Its grit and determination for succeeding at any cost is what makes me want to work in Idea. Working among these great pioneers who toiled to make this newbie a veteran in a short span of time would indeed be an honour.
This article is written by Abhishek Sahu - Class of 2020.