25 Mar 2010 My Essays for the ISB Application
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Just came across the essays I had put in for my ISB applications. Thought I’d share them here:

The ISB culture stresses on a diverse mix of students; life at the ISB is a unique experience for the students. How will your candidature contribute to this culture at the ISB?  (300 words max)

My experience ranging from architectural design to project management and design coordination would help to bring in a different viewpoint to a class that normally has a majority of engineers and commerce graduates. Furthermore my experience in the construction field has trained me to devise and implement creative strategies to overcome problems.  Additionally working with international clients over the past few years has allowed me to understand the European and American mindset and their attention to detail.

I would also bring in my experience as an entrepreneur where I established my own project management consultancy with a major international bank as my client handling multiple projects in India and abroad. The experience gained in training and handling a small staff while ensuring that the client remains satisfied is invaluable.

My expertise being project scheduling – where I plan and track the construction sequence involving hundreds of activities and dozens of agencies – has led me to develop a keen sense of detail while keeping the big picture in mind. I am able to prioritise others’ activities, planning for them to ensure that the project is delivered on time. Also I regularly handle cost plans, budgets, run-rate analyses and have a working knowledge of project finance. Furthermore working simultaneously on multiple projects has developed an inherent sense of time-management that allows me to handle all my responsibilities as well as take time out for my family and my varied hobbies.

My hobbies range from photography to origami to programming. Furthermore I take part in various sports including karate, gymnastics, trekking, rock-climbing, paragliding, etc.

My diverse experience and numerous hobbies would bring in diversity to the ISB culture all the while ensuring that I fit-in without any problems.

A million dollars or knighthood: what would you choose and why? (300 words max)

Neither – a million dollars may allow me to retire in my hometown, a knighthood may make me famous and lead to further money-making avenues – but both would take the life out of living. The challenge of achieving something with your own hard work would be gone and anything I would do would not have the urgency or the drive that I have now.

A knighthood or a million dollars now would be pointless and counter-productive. Both options would lead to a lethargy that would halt or at the least inhibit any further personal development and would lead to stagnation. They also may lead to a drastic change in lifestyle which would – in itself – not be sustainable and may leave me “in a soup” in the future. Thus even though the world would see success – there would be actually be a failure – an internal failure to grow further; to develop.

I may accept one or both later on in life – but only as a culmination of my life-work – at a time in life when priorities may change to substitute personal growth with security and relaxation. However at this stage in my career a sense of complete security such as would be provided by any of these options would be ultimately harmful.

You have a new manager who has just joined your organisation. As a part of the handover, the outgoing manager is describing each person reporting to him. How do you think the outgoing manager will describe you to the incoming manager?  (300 words max)

“Dushyant is a sincere and helpful person.  He’s always one of the first to volunteer and carries his responsibilities well. He is eager to learn and would go out of his way to help out if he can. Good at preparing and handling presentations – he can put forward his views in a convincing manner. However he is not a “yes-man” and stands up to his viewpoint. Also he works at problems in a logical manner and has the ability to think out-of-the-box to arrive at solutions that are often not obvious.

Last year we had to lift these chillers weighing 6 tons each to the terrace – however due to the layout of the building and its surroundings, lifting them using a crane was near about impossible; and we spent days trying to find cranes which would be able to lift them – till Dushyant came up with the idea of installing a hoist on the terrace. Very simple – very easy – but none of us saw it!

In addition to this he’s also been known to work extremely long hours if required and is also able to handle emergencies without panic.

He grasps new concepts easily and is a whiz at computers. He can handle most software as well as hardware problems and has been keeping the office machines in good shape ever since.”

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2 Responses

  1. Interesting!!! the Hosit idea reminds me of amsterdam where in a number of house built in later part of 18th century and earlier part of 19th century have very small doors. The unique point of such architecture is that the rooms above have big windows and every house has a strong metal hook which acts as a pulley to pull furniture. Even till date they are being used!!!!

  2. 2
    Richa Aggarwal 

    Hi Dushyant,

    I Went through your essays and found very much impressive and to the point.
    I am an Architect with 6 Years of experience . I am planning for an ISB coming year.
    It would be great to get guidance from you as you are an architect.
    Do you think pursuing the PGP course will help me enhance my role as a consultant? Is it a good option for an architect to study management at this stage? What are the opportunities for this kind of profile?

    Awaiting your response

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