Competitive spirit in the air aids us win

Nabankur Ray | PGP 2015-17 | IIM Raipur

Life in a b-school is challenging. By saying this I dont mean you dont have fun or
that you dont have fun. I have had more fun at IIM Raipur than anywhere else. I
wont disclose all of it because I guess you need to wait for your forbidden fruit.
Experience is what stays when everything else fades away and I want the readers to
have a first-hand experience of things. All I would say is the experience will be
sweet. Anyways, coming back to the challenges you might face in one of the best
b-schools of the country are the need to outperform your own self numerous times
and stand up to your own expectations. With the best of peers under one roof, your
day to day interactions will mostly be extremely engrossing and enlightening. If
team-building, meeting deadlines & managing time are your strengths, they are
likely to be your adages over peers. The adages come from your PODs (point of
differences) from others but there is one POP (point of parity) that is desired in all
the students, and that is Focus.
Of all the skills you need in most of the best b-schools in the country is the ability to
focus on certain things and let certain other things pass by. While attempting CAT
you prioritized which questions to attempt first and which to leave. Similarly, with a
plethora of options open to you in a top notch b-school like IIM Raipur, you need to
gain diversified knowledge while maintaining focus on one particular aspect. It
differs from person to person. You can be a master of many trades too. But, what I
have generally seen here is that certain people focus on making networks, certain
people on skills to build their entrepreneurship ventures, some play different sports
all day while my prime focus is on competitions. Being a marketing enthusiast I took
the first few months to gain as much exposure as possible. Clubs and committees,
faculty members, knowledge sessions and highly engrossing chat sessions with
peers and seniors gave me a widespread vision about what is needed to stand out.
There are people who believe participation is important, but I dont stand on the
same boat as they. What do we participate for? To Win, isnt it? Then, why settle
for less? But, had winning been so easy, everyone would win. Why do some win
while some dont? Why do some people win even with fewer efforts while others
work tremendously hard but dont manage to do the same? The answer lies in
understanding what is expected out of you and not just do your best. There is a
difference between doing the right things and doing things right. The second is what
this place has helped me master. Only thing you need to posses is a open mind to
absorb all the knowledge coming your way and then, obviously you all posses the
brains to churn it out and process the data to emit excellent results.
The interactions with quality people at IIM Raipur for sure helped me decipher the
winning strategy. I have led 4 different teams here and we have a 100% record as of
date. Out of hundreds of applicants who participated in those competitions we made
it to the finals of all the competitions we participated in where competition came

from all the prestigious b-schools of the country like IIM ABCLKI, XLRI, SP Jain, XIMB,
MICA, NITIE, IITs and more. Be it the flagship marketing event at IIM Indore where
Team case-busters won 1st runner up position or the Pan India print ad competition
by XIMB in association with Skoda in which we won the 1 st runner up position or The
Business Strategy Simulation game of XIMB, IIM Raipur was able to establish its
mark always. As I am writing this article today, I am waiting for a result from the
case-study round of the flagship marketing event of IIM Calcutta. It gives me
immense pride to disclose the fact that IIM Raipur has 2 teams in the Top 40 out of
700 teams that participated for this competition. Definitely, its our True Blood. You
might wonder that what has the institution to do with the success of the students in
the competitions. Its more of personal skills that make you better than the rest but
trust me, the rigorous presentations sessions along with the constant knowledge
sessions by the interest groups didnt just enhance our knowledge but also added to
our confidence level. Public speaking is not everyones forte but IIM Raipur gives
special attention to this. And, when I say special, I mean really special. Every other
day, students present on some or the other topic. Be it the interest groups or
faculties, everyone adds to the input. Also, when you talk to the best brains of the
country and gain varied perspectives about the same problem statement you come
up with more innovative solutions. The cases discussed in classes will add on to the
perspectives and you will have a real life understanding about solutions which when
implemented the right way are assured of giving you an edge over others and the
students of IIM Raipur have been proving it time and again. And its not just about
my team but also about all the other teams from PGP 2015-17 batch who won at
IMT Ghaziabad, ISB Hyderabad, XLRI, IIM Indore and made it to the finals at IIM
Ahmedabad, who believe that the air at IIM Raipur has a competitive spirit in it and
it aids our performance when we step out.