Sharon Andrea Serrao

The most beautiful girl from my MBA Class at ISB is no more. I just can't ******* believe this! She was only 33.

This happened a few days back and I haven't come to terms with it. I don't think I ever will. I will stay affected by this for my entire life. For me, this is just an unfair act of... well, I am not sure if I can use the word God here. Does God really exist? If he does, then what explanation can he or she give me? I am not expecting any philosophical thoughts saying - it was her time and there were other plans for her. That's just BS.

I met Sharon first in 2006. I wasn't very close to her and all that. We were just good friends. I remember sitting in the hall area of my apartment, looking out the window and seeing her get in and out of the student village. There was something about her presence. Maybe it was how tall she was and how she'd stand out among everyone else. Maybe it was how she conducted herself - very simple and genuine. 

I still remember, we used to call her "model" all the time we met her on campus. She'd blush a bit and hush our comments. She was pure awesome. When I recall stuff about her, I remember her birthday party in 2007. I was doing work for the yearbook and it was almost 2am when I got back from the publisher. She was still awake and in party mood. Most of them had retired. She was thrilled to see me drop in. It was a quiet few minutes well spent.

I didn't see Sharon after graduation or I don't clearly remember if I did any time later. We were only in touch through Facebook. A few years later, she invited me for her wedding. I couldn't go. I should have. I didn't meet her when I was in Dubai for WCBU. Time just passed by.

And one ******* day, she's gone! Her life has been taken off the earth just like that. I heard she was at work and she had a cardiac arrest. Absolutely unannounced.
Why did this have to happen? What wrong did her 10-month old son do? To have such an awesome person stripped of his life.

I am in real pain. Its bottled up so much within me. I was sitting at the Immigration Office in Melbourne when I kept getting messages and I wanted to burst out crying. I was on the verge of a breakdown. I am gonna have to let this out somewhere somehow. 

Someone I saw pretty much every day of my academic year at ISB is just not there. This is not about being healthy or fit or doing regular medical check-ups and not being stressed at work. All that is still not happening with many of my other friends - most of them are unhealthy, unfit and stressed AND they are ******* alive!

Sharon, you were such a lovely person. Actually, you still are a lovely person. The "were' doesn't apply to you. Just because someone irrational decided to pluck you out, doesn't mean that you don't exist for me. I think about you and I always keep hearing your voice, the way you say "dude". When I meet your son (whenever that is), I will definitely tell him about you. He will be loved by all of us.

Update - some comments said I used swear words. So I have put a * instead. This is not a eulogy.

Camp 3 to Summit

We reached Camp 3 and there was some surprise for sure.

The environmentalist did not need aspirin. He actually needed the inhaler, but he managed to borrow one from some other team who decided to help (this happened on its own and was not part of the simulation).

The photographer and environmentalist were at critical health. Everyone else was at weak health. Satellite communication went for a toss. All weather predictions had to be done manually. Every team member had been given a set of data that could be used to calculate the weather range, windchill factor and windspeed. Based on this information, the team could decide whether to move to Camp 4 or stay put for another day.

The team got into action. All data was collected and using traditional temperature formulae and windchill tables, the weather forecasting was done. We found out that we risk a frost-bite within 5 minutes of ascent. That was the last thing we wanted.

The biggest decision was made. To stay back, stay alive and stay healthy.

The decision helped us. It was the 4th day and the sherpas delivered the oxygen cannisters. Our next job was to divide the oxygen cannisters among the team members. Health status has improved and everyone was good to climb. Weather was fantastic and there was no point in waiting. Again, everyone had relevant information on the oxygen cannisters. The number of cannisters were to be decided based on the hours taken to summit and back, from Camp 4, and the rate at which oxygen was being consumed by each person.

We did some calculations and then split the cannisters. As we were doing that, we also figured out that there was a cost associated to with the cannisters. So we were quite careful about allocating extra. We were also mindful about the weight that it would add to the backpack. This was a big mistake on our part.

None of us needed medicines. We put our footsteps forward. Camp 4 seemed to be a tough place. Icy winds and troubling temperatures. Health had come down. The environmentalist was not very sure now. He had an incentive to stay here and collect some browny points. So, he started suggesting us to think about leaving him at Camp 4. The leader was not too keen on doing that. The other question was to decide whether we need to administer medicine or not.

After prolonged discussions, we decided that if we were going to leave the environmentalist behind, then we will not give any medicine to him. Our other option was to give him the medicine and move to summit. The photographer was also weak and he needed aspirin too. We administered the medicine and decided to Summit.

The worst happened. The marathoner, environmentalist and physician could not summit and they were rescued.

Camp 1 and 2

After the brief was sent out, I had a break for close to 10 days. Our first meeting happened after I was back. Some groups had already finished the simulation by the time I was back.

Our first meeting was quite a breeze. We were at Base Camp. We sat through and introduced ourselves, stating what we look forward to during this simulation. As everyone was in great health, we decided to proceed to Camp 1. We reached the camp without any problem at all.

The next decision was to move to Camp 2. The photographer had some issues because he had an incentive to stay at Camp 1 for one extra day. None of the others had any motivation. There was a restriction to have only one rest day during the six day trip. The environmentalist wanted to spend an extra day at Camp 4. The leader wanted everyone to stick together. Seeing all this happening, the photographer decided to move to Camp 2. He thought that if things did not go well, he could stay in Camp 2 for an extra day and then get back to Camp 1; basically not summit at all.

Everyone ascended to Camp 2. This place was first sight of how things could go awry. Everyone's health had come down. The environmentalist was critical. Anyone could contract asthma or AMS. The physician did have the medical equipment (inhaler, aspirin, blood pressure monitor) to administer to one of the team members at a time. The important decision was to know what medicine to give and see how we can progress.

The photographer was in a fix. Now he had to decide. He was the only one who had a different motive - "Stay back". The discussion began. The leader was quite clear. He didnt want to keep anyone back. The overall team objectives were at stake. The photographer decided to take a call. If he didnt stay back, he would lose only 25% from his overall goals; but the team as a whole would achieve more, perhaps more than 30%. He decided to let go of his personal interest.

The team took a call to administer the aspirin to the environmentalist and move to Camp 3. The marathoner played the very important role of gauging the temperature at every stage. We were at Camp 3 now.

Mt Everest

Mt Everest is a simulation exercise that focuses mostly on team work, leadership, and conflict resolution. As part of the training program, its being administered here.

We have been divided into teams of 5. There is one leader. Every person on the team has a defined role to play.

The Team needs to progress from Base Camp to Summit. In between there are 3-4 camps to cross. Moving from one camp to another is a decision that the team needs to make. This decision could be based on individual interest, climatic conditions, individual health, availability of supplies, need to rescue etc.

Yesterday we got the first email about the simulation. Immediately one of the teams called for a meeting and I got to know about that. I had just logged into the system to see my role and my goals and within that short period of time, a team meeting had been called.

Anyways, the team met and this is what happened. As a given rule, everyone could access the system through the same password, which means, I could use my friend's email id and know what his role in the team is (which I think is a big flaw in the administration of the simulation). So, this team actually logged into the system for everyone on their team, copied all the details and sent out a single document containing all the information for each team member. Now, this means that every team member knows what the other's role in the group is. They also get to know more details about each role such as individual goals against group goals and scoring patterns for all the individual goals.

The simulation is rigged now. This will not give rise to any conflict as the leader knows what the other team members want and he will know what to answer without any reason for negotiation. The game will be staged rather than being simulated.

Now, the team says that they did this because they want to be the number one in this game; whatever it takes. 'What does that mean' when they were asked back. They said 'They would get points as a team and every individual would also get points'. So yes, now you got all the points that you need and you also won the first place. So What??

Nothing happens. This is an office and you don't get a performance bonus to win this game. This is just a simulation to know how teams work and how they resolve conflicts. If the most ideal and healthy situation was simulated, then  there is no need for a team. The leader can himself see everyone's strengths from the simulation screen and make a decision. HA HA HA

While I was writing this, I got an email from the organizer that its okay to share information (even with unique passwords, team members could still share information). The most important thing is if that can be converted into actions. Let's see what happens next.

Marketing

I came across this picture during my random images search in Google. It was a big surprise for me!

Although when you look close, this looks like a very bad job done out of Adobe Photoshop, but still, its something totally different and revolutionary.

DOVE - a very famous brand name among Indian households used to run this campaign in the UK where they employed non-ramp-walk models to promote their skin products. So these women who were part of the posters used to be a little on the plump side, nevertheless pretty.

Coming back to this - I am trying to figure out what was in this Brazilian Beer Maker's mind.

I mean, in one way, you could say that the company is trying to tell the world that they have a beer brand that even pregnant women can enjoy. Considering the fact that pregnant women have to keep themselves away from alcohol, which is sometimes a big sacrifice for a lot of women in the west.

A non alcoholic beer for pregnant women? Not just women, but I guess in some way, men as well (some men don't drink for the sake of their partners). OR, are they trying to pack this as a family drink?

On the other hand, aren't they subconsciously sending a disturbing message to the public?

I can also see a somewhat distorted "S", signifying surrogate advertising.

But I am still a bit confused. Do you readers have any MBA related thoughts on this?