From EQ To Smart Choices, How IIMA Students Are Told To Walk The Talk
If IIMA has maintained its undisputed leadership in management education in the country, its vision and values also get reflected in its choice of chief guests to address the graduating students at its convocations.Former SBI Chairperson, Arundhati Bhattacharya, told the class of 2016: “There are things beyond an IQ. People who top academic classes don’t necessarily talk as leaders. The people who talk as leaders are those who are able to develop their emotional quotient and also their spiritual quotient… The moment you stop learning, your brain is like a knife – it will get blunt..”
In his 2023 chief guest address, Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy recounted the life lessons that he said had helped him found the company. He said: “I wish to share with you what I have learnt in this extraordinary journey and what has made Infosys unique.
a) A culture of meritocracy and values should determine the mindset of a company;
b) The best management guru is market competition;
c) The most powerful instrument of a leader is leadership by example;
d) A confident leader hires people smarter than himself or herself;
e) Performance leads to recognition. Recognition leads to respect. Respect leads to power;
f) Free cashflow is the best index of the success of a company;
g) Success is half due to performance and half due to luck. So, we must be humble;
h) The softest pillow is a clear conscience. Therefore, when in doubt, disclose.”
A number of chief guests, through the years, have told the graduating students about the importance of smart and appropriate choices.
Nyka Founder Falguni Nayar said in 2022: “Whether it’s the road less travelled or not, take the path that ‘you’ want to take. What works for someone else may not necessarily be the right choice for you. I saw that with my batchmate Harsha Bhogle and he never regretted it. For me personally, I can assure you that in 2012 when I decided to take the plunge into entrepreneurship and told people that I wanted to quit investment banking and start a beauty focussed startup, it was no one’s dream but mine and mine alone”.
BCG India Chairman Janmejaya Kumar Sinha, in 2018, shared a quote with the students: “Destiny is no matter of chance, it is a matter of choice”. He then shared his learnings:
“a) Whatever you do, do with full commitment;
b) Build on your strengths;
c) Develop empathy;
d) Keep your friends;
e) Contain stress in your journey.”
In her address as the chief guest at 2017 convocation then Axis Bank MD-CEO Shikha Sharma said: “The choices you make will define what you become”.
She added the choice of a life partner was as important. “When faced with the moral dilemma of everyday, what do you choose to do? You can take the short cut… (However,) every time you decide to take the harder but more principled path, you will add one more brick to the foundation of your character,” she added.
In her 2016 address, Bhattacharya also said: “Stay grounded; cultivate your listening skills; walk the talk. And, one must be good in communication”.
(Second of a Series. For Part One, see below:
https://www.businessworld.in/article/integrative-intelligence-thoughtful-choices-the-buzzwords-at-iim-a-iim-b-convocations-604834
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