A day in the life of LIFE

You are on the 56 th floor of a skyscraper in the heart of New York city, smoking Cuban cigars, and even as the ash carelessly drops on the ultra expensive Arabian carpets you check your blackberry (the futuristic edition of this smart gadget that only Ethan Hunt owns) which flickers with yet another notification for you to turn savior in the big bad world of management!

Well, if you were nearly as lost in your imagination as the adventurist in Jumanji, I would not blame you for the same. For, this is how a typical HBR case introduces the plot of sorts to its readers.

I've believed that there are two reasons for this - First, the case makes the reader believe he is the one and only available "Management Crime Buster" who is as qualified as Clark Kent (aka Superman) to solve the world's problems. Second,it is something like what Bollywood does to you - relates to your suppressed dreams and ambitions so greatly that it makes you believe that someday, even the surreal will come true!

The case then has a quick footnote on the authors who’ve worked on the case. While the first name that strikes you would invariably be the who’s who of the industry, you would find the unrecognizable names of a few research assistants who would otherwise have put in all the background research and efforts in making it possible.
Another intriguing fact about HBRs is that you will more often than not find a Sahay, Shanmugam or Parthasarathy as one of the authors and in case Parthasarathy has been unwell Yuan Hi would have been the substitute.

And with HBR, comes voluminous data. After a loooooong description of the company background (it is often it rumored that the company executives learn a lot about their own company after reading the HBR case based on the same). A few ensuing lines from the case could go something like this:
“While the company XYZ had consolitaded 47% of the market nationally, its international market cap was 23.67% of the total pie*” The * would eventually translate in fine writing at the bottom of the page as “This case was prepared in the period when the world was America and America was the world! Well, with a minuscule contribution from the insignificant communists…. Hail American Imperialism”

Then the case moves on to the actual facts and mindboggling ones at that, intertwined in the labyrinthine pathways of complicated language usage – so much so that the user needs to visit Oxford to get the import of every single meaning. (Incidentally, the British also apparently had made some contribution to the world at large? ). And the complicated language is often supported by several exhibits that equal the number of elements in the periodic table of elements we study in Chemistry!

And the HBR is as brilliant at creating sequels to the case as were the writers of Hercule Poirot’s mysteries. You often have a part A and part B to most cases that claim to give you insights into the “big” picture which otherwise could only have been obtained by watching “Saas Bahu” soaps and "Shivaji Satham in C.I.D." on Indian television.

HBR gloats about its relevance to modern day business by describing the “class” associated with historical cases – hence the mode of discussion in today’s context often becomes what should the company not have done what it did end up doing, but then again that is based on current facts and not those mentioned in the case. Here lies the dichotomy of most HBR cases.

Finally, the HBR leaves you at crossroads saying Scenario 1 for the business is good if the protagonist likes spending a vacation in the Swiss Alps, scenario 2 is good if he wants to follow up the business deal with authentic French wine, and option 3 is equally valid if he wanted to catch up with his Asian classmate (in the name of diversity) at B School for a quick post dinner discussion.What you would do when you are spoilt for choices is the “Million Dollar question”, speaking of which, the best part about HBR cases is that the price tag associated with each case can support my daily consumption of Masala Dosas for the next 6 months.
Maybe that’s what they refer to, when they say “From the horse’s mouth!”

But with the recent down turn and the recession in the west, I foresee more and more HBR cases coming out with the introductory storyline as under:

You are on the 56 th floor of a skyscraper in the heart of Navi Mumbai, smoking Vardaan Beedis(the eco friendly and human friendly ones), and even as ash (humari Aishwarya!) carelessly drops on the ultra expensive carpets (manufactured in Kashmir ) you check your blackberry (the futuristic edition of this smart gadget that only Elangovan Venkataramana Subramaniam Aiyar owns) which flickers with yet another notification for you to turn savior in the big bad world of capitalistic (read American) management!

Well, from Cincinatito Chandni Chowk, we’ve indeed come a long way.. Jai Ho!

Caveat Reador: Reader Beware!

1)Sincere apologies for the heavy English – I did not like it either
2)HBR stands for Harbhard Bijnezz Rebhiew and not what is otherwise popularly circulated
3)I might have been extreme in my stance on the issue, but I guess HBR is nearly as overwhelming if not greater for most first time readers
4)Finally, I personally have nothing against Capitalism. Just that it was needed to support the blog post

She is the best; was their claim,
Not just them; but huge was her hall of fame;
You have to listen, with glee they exclaimed!
I thus set out to ascertain the veracity of the same.

With great poise sat she, in front of the grand piano,
This was just the beginning of the music to follow;
As she rehearsed the notes of her melody,
This was the perfect precursor to the ensuing symphony.

What followed was the magic of the performance,
One of the finest that I’ve witnessed in existence;
As her nimble fingers caressed the zebra keys,
The sound of music filled the void of peace...

And with her singing, erupted the audience around,
Who later were silenced as they sat spell bound;
The freshness of the music and the life in her voice,
Stole the show without any surprise!

And as she arose to acknowledge the thunderous applause,
The epitome of humility felt overawed;
But she had beaten many a maestro at their own game,
She was better than the best in her rise to fame.

“A brilliant performance : My Oh My!
True to the spirit of : awesome music can get you high!
May the music of life be with you for long,
For, you are indeed the Nightingale of IIM Shillong...”


P.S. - More on the Piano Lady (title inspired by Billy Joel's Piano Man) can be found here . The link is 7 years old though. will update more as I find them.