This is a true story - IIM Bangalore was conducting a 45 day residential workshop for corporates. The participants had about 10-15 years of average work ex and had been nominated by their respective companies for this fully paid programme. The Dean of IIMB walks into the classroom, the 50 odd participants, all middle and senior management corporates, rise up to greet him. Corporates? Big MNC hotshots?, the Dean remarks. The class grins in unison. Yes, we are hotshots. How many of you folks are MBAs already?, asks the Dean. Everyone raises his hands except for one gentleman. How many of you folks are NOT MBAs already?, asks the Dean. The lone gentleman sheepishly raises his hand, feeling awkward to be the only non-MBA in a class full of MBAs, like the only goat in the among a pride of lions. You, the Dean points out, are the only one who dared to enter this class without an MBA degree. Yes Sir, the non-MBA guy feels himself turning red, all eyes on him, feeling just a slight bit of embarassment for being just an engineer. So, we only have 2 options now. The first option, is to ask you to leave the class and let the others continue. The second option is to teach you what the other guys already know so that you are at the same level as everyone else. I am sure you would prefer the second option. So here goes, the Dean picks up the marker and proceeds towards the whiteboard. The Dean writes on the board in big bold letters - *** PROFIT = REVENUE - COST *** The Dean - So, do you know what this means? Can you explain it to the class? The non-MBA guy - Profit equals revenue minus cost. Thats all. The Dean - No No, I mean you need to elaborate it a bit more based on your many years of work experience. The non-MBA guy - Profits can increase by either increasing the revenue or by reducing the cost or both. The Dean - How do you increase revenues? The non-MBA guy - Better products, better pricing, better marketing. The Dean - How do you decrease costs? The non-MBA guy - Better processes, more efficient supply chains, elimination of wastage. The Dean smiles, walks back to the board and wipes off the writing with a duster. Then turns back to address the class. There, now he is at par with all of you. We can begin the class, the Dean remarks. (The non-MBA guy is currently working as a Director in one of the worlds largest computer companies)
Posted on: Sun, 25 May 2014 10:45:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015