Winning is a habit, Practice it. - Anurag Mohota, PGDM Class of 2011, IIM Indore -Interviewed by Serena Kallian

Firstly tell us a bit about yourself, Anurag. What is your educational background? When (and why) did the MBA decision come about?
I am pursuing a PGDM from IIM Indore. I have completed my graduation with a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from VNIT, Nagpur. I am very passionate about sports. I have represented India in Bridge at the 1st World Mind Sports Games (WMSG), Beijing, October 2008. I have been selected for the World Junior Bridge Championship, Philadelphia, USA, 2010 (Juniors in Bridge is Under-26). I am also a state level Table Tennis player (Maharashtra), and a district winner in various other sports like Badminton, Chess and Swimming. I have an excellent logical and analytical ability which has been developed significantly through Bridge. I am very good at planning and strategizing. I learn quickly and effectively from my mistakes and others experience. I have this risk taking ability and fetish for numbers and statistics which I have developed through my interest in Casino and Card games. The MBA decision came about after the 2nd year of my engineering when I completed my summer project in the industry. Looking at the prospects after an MBA, I decided that a MBA can widen the career options for me. It would transform my personality and get me ready to step into the corporate world.

You have an excellent sports background especially in bridge and have represented India in international competitions. Did you not contemplate a career in sports?
I have always dreamt of being famous in sports or in business. Although I am very passionate about sports, I have always taken sports as a recreation activity. My focus has been to excel in whichever field I step into. Bridge, being a mind game or a “mind blowing game” as I call it, does provide opportunities in terms of sponsorships in India and abroad. But, looking at the overall development and infrastructure of sports in India, the encouragement and enthusiasm seems low on the part of upcoming players. The future of even a prodigy does not seem too bright with exceptions in a few sports like cricket. This is and has been hampering the huge potential of sports in our country in a great manner. When Abhinav Bindra won a Olympic gold medal, his father explicitly mentioned to the media that the infrastructure for shooting in our country is not up to the mark and he invested a lot of money from his pocket to make his son reach such a level. What I want to point out is that there is unbelievable amount of untapped talent for sports in India.

What are your long term aspirations and how do you see the MBA degree helping you achieve the same?
I would like to be an entrepreneur. My family is in textile business of spinning and weaving. I would like to diversify this business and be one of the leading industrialists in India. I have been deeply inspired by L.N.Mittal. I would like to be an acquisition mastermind like him, picking up manufacturing units and transforming them into profitable ventures. An MBA would help me develop the set of management skills required to help me achieve this goal. The different functions of an MBA like HR, Finance, Marketing, Operations, etc would all be necessary to become a successful industrialist.

When it came to preparations for the CAT, your academics and sports, how did you manage to strike the right balance between all these areas, especially in terms of time management?
Engineering courses by design have this extra time that can be utilized for various activities of academic learning, extra-curriculars and recreation. Spending time on socializing, networking is unavoidable under most circumstances. Here, striking the right balance is the key to success.
Effective planning of my time was essential during the CAT period. I planned the 7th semester courses (through electives) in such a way that the academic workload was minimized. Since the international Bridge event was scheduled for Oct 3-18, 2008 and my CAT was scheduled on Nov 16, 2008 with end term exams starting a week after CAT, I planned my CAT preparation to finish by September end so that the work does not pile up when CAT approaches. It took extra effort on my part to complete the CAT preparation part by the expected deadline since everybody around me had not accelerated their preparation at that point of time.

What was the biggest hurdle in your CAT preparation and how did you overcome that?
Being a good Bridge player, DI section was never a problem for me. Rather, I had an excellent speed and accuracy in it. I was also good at quantitative ability. But, my problem section had always been Verbal ability. In verbal, the biggest issue was that in general, my accuracy was around 60%. I believed a lot in high number of attempts rather than relying on accuracy. So, I had developed a good speed in all sections by policies like “give no more than 2 minutes to any question”, “read all questions and leave those which you think are tough”. So, on CAT day, when I saw 40 questions in verbal and 25 each in QA and DI, I calculated the number of questions that I need to attempt with 50% accuracy to be on safer side and still clear the expected cut off of little more than 1/4th of the marks allotted to that section. This came to 35 questions with +4, -1 marking. This worked very well for me and I attempted 36 with 17 corrects and 19 wrongs on that day. Others who had issues in verbal and relied on accuracy either could not clear that sectional cut off or could not manage a high percentile overall.

Tell us about your GD-PI experience at IIM Indore. How exactly did it go? What do you think were the factors that impressed the panel in your favour?
The GD was a case study on workaholics. We had to complete a one page write up of our analysis on the topic before starting the GD for 20 minutes on it. The panel had 2 members. The GD went very smooth as everyone was willing to give others a chance to speak due to ample time. The interview started with Bridge. The panel went into minute details about the Beijing event which I answered to their utmost satisfaction. This brought a smile on their faces. Next, they asked in detail about my final year project. After being satisfied and happy about it, they moved on to current affairs. They asked about the problems India is facing and ways to solve them, etc. The factor which probably impressed the panel and resulted in my conversion was that my profile was very different from other applicants. Taking me would add diversity to the batch which is very important for the best learning during an MBA course.

Did you appear for the final rounds of selection at any other Institute? How was your experience in each of those?
I appeared for the interviews of IIM(A) and IIM(K) as well. I got a 99.87 percentile in CAT. Individual percentiles and scores were 68, 99.94%ile in QA, 48, 99.23%ile in DI, 49, 95.22%ile in VA. I had calls from IIM (A), (I) , and (K). I missed out on IIM(C) call by 2 marks in verbal ability section (their VA cut off was 51, IIM(A)’s VA cut off was 47). The selection criteria and weights allotted by each institute is different and independent.
In the selection procedure, IIM(A) had an essay and then an interview. But the system this year at IIM(A) was heavily biased towards good performers in 10th and 12th. An individual with 80-80 or 90-70 range percentages in 10th,12th could not have converted IIM(A) call due to this. Even though the interview went really well, I did not convert the IIM(A) call. The IIM(K) process had a GD followed by an interview. The GD went well, but the interview was totally technical and did not go as per my expectations. I had low hopes of conversion but still managed to get a wait list in the selection process. Overall, I enjoyed both the processes and learnt a lot from my mistakes and others experience in each of them.

What are the most important lessons that you have drawn, and would like to share with our readers, from all your admissions experiences at the MBA entrance level?
1. To get an admission into an IIM or any top MBA college, you need a very high percentile. Merely clearing cut offs may not be good enough unless you have an excellent CV and interview skills which is a rare combination. The greater your score, the better are your chances. For this, you need to perform well in all the sections and get above 96%ile in each of them.
2. To achive point 1 you need to know that CAT has two parts, a) problem solving b) strategy. You need to excel in 1.5 out of these 2 and you will crack CAT. Either you have an excellent problem solving skills and decent strategy or you have a decent problem solving skills which most people have and out of the box strategies. What I want to stress upon here is that any person with normal problem solving skills can crack CAT if he develops his own set of strategies to a great extent, like I did. These are the most important lessons that I have drawn from my CAT preparation.

What was the initial experience at IIM I like? Did you find what you expected? Was it difficult to adjust to the rigour of the programme?
The initial experience was awesome; IIM Indore is the place to be. IIM(I) was buzzing with activity from Day 1. We had a busy and hectic schedule from the start. The professors were really great. The teaching style was case based and we had tried and tested cases for practically all subjects. The location of the campus is on a hillock which seems very beautiful and the buildings look as if we have come to a resort. The weather and atmosphere of peace in the campus increased my admiration for IIM(I). The sporting activities started in week 2 with a competition between PGP1 and PGP2 participants in all sports.
We have also had an array of guest lectures called “Journey of Excellence” wherein eminent speakers from the industry came to guide and inspire us. They gave a direction to each one of us, asked us to assume the role of future leaders and achieve great things in our career. IIM I was giving me all that I had desired from an MBA programme. I have now got accustomed to the rigour of the programme. It took a few days to get used to the transformation from an engineer’s last minute or delayed completion habit to an JIT (Just in Time) habit needed for an MBA. There was a cut throat competition for everything from sports to academics to extra-curricular activities, etc due the huge talent pool that had arrived from the rigorous process. The process of selection to the IIMs, especially IIM(I) is so refined that the participants selected come from a diverse background and have the capability to adjust to tough situations. As I was a product of that process, I could adjust to this new environment comfortably.

What would you like to tell all MBA aspirants who probably yearn to be in your shoes? Anything that they need to know and be prepared for when it comes to an MBA programme?
Dedication, Passion and Hard work are the most important values that will help you excel in any field. Winning is a habit, Practice it. Have clarity of thought in terms of what you are and what you want to be. If you have a clear goal in mind based on your interests, MBA will have significant value addition to your personality. So, give time to yourself and introspect.