Is work-life balance a myth? Is there any merit in debating the rewards of 'money vs job satisfaction'? Where lies the corporate warrior's destination: India or abroad? Such questions and more were tackled with gusto by Rajiv Maliwal, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Sabre Investment, and distinguished alumnus of IIMB, at 'AlumniConnect@Singapore' on August 24, 2013.
The students of IIMB's one-year full time Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management (EPGP) organized the event at the National University of Singapore, where they are currently pursuing the international immersion module.
When Mr Maliwal asked the EPGP program participants what was uppermost on their minds, some spoke of the dilemmas that come with having to make choices between 'corporate or entrepreneurship', 'India or abroad', 'what we do and what we want' and 'stay in the same job line or switch'.
He observed that "No premium is given, in India, for entrepreneurship unless one is successful. There is a need for the ecosystem to be developed for entrepreneurship to bloom," he said, advising students to develop the virtues of patience and perseverance - traits, which, according to him, are vital in entrepreneurs.
To choose between working in India or abroad, Mr Maliwal suggested that one should play to his or her strengths. "If one understands the ecosystem in India, has a good professional network and is equipped with skills suited for India, then one should work in India," he said.
On 'money vs job satisfaction', he declared that in his opinion it was job satisfaction that scored high. "The quality of work, a good boss and a stimulating work environment matter rather than a large pay packet alone," he said.
"How we deal with failure is more important than how we deal with success. Enjoy your success but focus on your failures," he said, emphasizing the importance of developing the art of delegation, where one needs to focus on skills that bring value.
The second session of the day was a panel discussion with a few distinguished alumni of IIMB. Venkatraman Sheshashayee, CEO of Jaya group; Renuka Vaidyanathan, Entrepreneur; V S Hariharan, Co-founder of Third wave power; Anand Rao, Director of Galvantrix; and Abhijit Patwardhan, General Manager, Lexmark International, spoke about their journey after IIMB, highlighting the successes, failures and lessons that they learned along the way.
In the final session of the day, the EPGP class was divided into 12 groups of 5 each with the panellists and other alumni assigned as mentors. The session saw a spirited and satisfying interaction between IIMB's EPGP students and the alumni, who spoke of the need to plan in life, build relationships, maintain work-life balance, cultivate interests outside work and re-invent oneself.
Is work-life balance a myth? Is there any merit in debating the rewards of 'money vs job satisfaction'? Where lies the corporate warrior's destination: India or abroad? Such questions and more were tackled with gusto by Rajiv Maliwal, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Sabre Investment, and distinguished alumnus of IIMB, at 'AlumniConnect@Singapore' on August 24, 2013.
The students of IIMB's one-year full time Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management (EPGP) organized the event at the National University of Singapore, where they are currently pursuing the international immersion module.
When Mr Maliwal asked the EPGP program participants what was uppermost on their minds, some spoke of the dilemmas that come with having to make choices between 'corporate or entrepreneurship', 'India or abroad', 'what we do and what we want' and 'stay in the same job line or switch'.
He observed that "No premium is given, in India, for entrepreneurship unless one is successful. There is a need for the ecosystem to be developed for entrepreneurship to bloom," he said, advising students to develop the virtues of patience and perseverance - traits, which, according to him, are vital in entrepreneurs.
To choose between working in India or abroad, Mr Maliwal suggested that one should play to his or her strengths. "If one understands the ecosystem in India, has a good professional network and is equipped with skills suited for India, then one should work in India," he said.
On 'money vs job satisfaction', he declared that in his opinion it was job satisfaction that scored high. "The quality of work, a good boss and a stimulating work environment matter rather than a large pay packet alone," he said.
"How we deal with failure is more important than how we deal with success. Enjoy your success but focus on your failures," he said, emphasizing the importance of developing the art of delegation, where one needs to focus on skills that bring value.
The second session of the day was a panel discussion with a few distinguished alumni of IIMB. Venkatraman Sheshashayee, CEO of Jaya group; Renuka Vaidyanathan, Entrepreneur; V S Hariharan, Co-founder of Third wave power; Anand Rao, Director of Galvantrix; and Abhijit Patwardhan, General Manager, Lexmark International, spoke about their journey after IIMB, highlighting the successes, failures and lessons that they learned along the way.
In the final session of the day, the EPGP class was divided into 12 groups of 5 each with the panellists and other alumni assigned as mentors. The session saw a spirited and satisfying interaction between IIMB's EPGP students and the alumni, who spoke of the need to plan in life, build relationships, maintain work-life balance, cultivate interests outside work and re-invent oneself.