A tryst with higher mortals

Prof. Sunil Handa visited the IIMK campus last week. Kumar Vivek, PGP 11, reports:

He mesmerizes you the very first time. Sixty minutes – and it’s enough for him to convince a packed IIM Kozhikode classroom that servitude is the worst nightmare which can happen in the career of an IIM graduate.

Sunil Handa, the 53-something pioneer of Laboratory in Entrepreneurial Motivation (LEM) and a visiting faculty across IIMs puts himself at ease with students from the very beginning – communicating in “their” language! Shattering all myths about the “riskiness” of entrepreneurial ventures and “cushiness” of fixed-income jobs, his arguments flawlessly describle the limited growth potential in an employee setup. Coming from a man who has experimented with 7 businesses after graduating from an IIM in 1979, the realities of the corporate world and its ‘job’ nature embed themselves on the minds of every listener. “Each one of you has the capabilities to make it big” – his advice reverberates with numerous live examples of his students in his rich teaching career, spanning a little over one and half decades.

“Be an employer – Be the Superman!” is the theme of a poster he circulates. Augmenting the effect is his “box-theory” – you cannot be contented when you are “contained” – whether its salary growth, career growth, or service to the nation; to be effective requires being on your own.

Discussing the importance of an MBA curriculum, he repeatedly drives his point of how the course structure and case discussions can shape the entire personality of the participants and the students should, well, study! Further, to top everything, his motto is - giving back to the society. Millions of dollars of his personal wealth were contributed to Eklavya, the educational foundation he established. The man, with his uncanny ability to connect, is not only a teacher but an amazing inspiration.

Life is short, “Ab nahin to kab?”!! – If not now, then when?

Prof Sunil Handa also spent 3 days with the senior students, 3 days packed with intense intellectual stimulation and inspiring anecdotes. We hope to see many more visits from you, Sir.


Update: Prof Sunil Handa mailed in the LEM slogan, that he had not discussed so far but planned to bring up in his next visit. In his own words: "It's a bit of funny hindi-english mix, basically says there is no tomorrow, there is no yesterday, there is only HERE and NOW :

not to kab, not to tab, but to ab,

not to kahan, not to wahan, but to yahan!!