So, here we were - myself, Andres, Perla and Sunil - trying to master the art of punting. It looked very easy from outside but, to be honest, those 80 minutes were a lot of hardwork for all us. Below, some shots!
Sunday 26 August 2007
Punting in Oxford
This is a very famous sport in Oxford and Cambridge. Before coming to Oxford, I had read in one of the last year student's blog that your Oxford experience will not be complete if you leave without punting.
So, here we were - myself, Andres, Perla and Sunil - trying to master the art of punting. It looked very easy from outside but, to be honest, those 80 minutes were a lot of hardwork for all us. Below, some shots!
So, here we were - myself, Andres, Perla and Sunil - trying to master the art of punting. It looked very easy from outside but, to be honest, those 80 minutes were a lot of hardwork for all us. Below, some shots!
25 Gresham Street: 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM
The venue for the final SCP presentation - this is Lloyds head quarters. We reached London in the morning at 9:15 AM to meet Paul and Yuvraj (from the Lloyds team) and headed off to Building 25 which was just a few minutes away. I had slept off during the entire one hour ride on the train or atleast my eyes were closed and I was not thinking about the presentation. I could hear Angel, Cesar and Fernando doing some last minute discussion on the train.
In the presentation room, we were joined by Paul senior and a few members from the Lloyds strategy team. After a bit of a chit-chat, we began with our presentation. What followed was a long - long session where amongst four of us, we shared the insights we had gathered over the last two months. There were some questions from the audience in between, which I welcomed as they broke the monologue from our team. But to be fair on the audience, it is difficult to understand all the concepts on 'carbon markets' in just one session. Hell, we spent the first three weeks on this study just to understand the basics of it all.
The presentation lasted for around 2.5 hours. I was glad that it finally ended as 2.5 hours is definitely long for anybody sitting in the audience. But after attending three hour long sessions regularly at the business school, it felt nice to be on the other side of the table and see part of the audience struggling to concentrate (read, struggling to wake up :)). At the end, the effort was appreciated by all. Both the Pauls thanked the team for a fantastic effort and mentioned that this was much above the expectations they had. Paul Wylie commented that he was very happy with the interim presentation and never expected that we guys would be able to do so much stuff after the interim - and all this has made him even more happier.
It was good to know that Lloyds liked our work. And, we do feel that this will help Lloyds in one way or the other to shape up their future strategy related to the carbon market. After breaking out of the meeting, the Lloyds team hosted a lunch for all of us. We went to a great Indian restaurant. My Spanish friends relished every bit of it. And, for me, there couldn't have been a better place for a full course meal. Over the lunch, we had a chat on various random issues - it was all such a great atmosphere; these guys are really good.
The journey back to Oxford was tiring. We all had hardly slept for long hours for some days. After I reached home, I helped myself to a long nap. The morning after was much relaxed.
In the presentation room, we were joined by Paul senior and a few members from the Lloyds strategy team. After a bit of a chit-chat, we began with our presentation. What followed was a long - long session where amongst four of us, we shared the insights we had gathered over the last two months. There were some questions from the audience in between, which I welcomed as they broke the monologue from our team. But to be fair on the audience, it is difficult to understand all the concepts on 'carbon markets' in just one session. Hell, we spent the first three weeks on this study just to understand the basics of it all.
The presentation lasted for around 2.5 hours. I was glad that it finally ended as 2.5 hours is definitely long for anybody sitting in the audience. But after attending three hour long sessions regularly at the business school, it felt nice to be on the other side of the table and see part of the audience struggling to concentrate (read, struggling to wake up :)). At the end, the effort was appreciated by all. Both the Pauls thanked the team for a fantastic effort and mentioned that this was much above the expectations they had. Paul Wylie commented that he was very happy with the interim presentation and never expected that we guys would be able to do so much stuff after the interim - and all this has made him even more happier.
It was good to know that Lloyds liked our work. And, we do feel that this will help Lloyds in one way or the other to shape up their future strategy related to the carbon market. After breaking out of the meeting, the Lloyds team hosted a lunch for all of us. We went to a great Indian restaurant. My Spanish friends relished every bit of it. And, for me, there couldn't have been a better place for a full course meal. Over the lunch, we had a chat on various random issues - it was all such a great atmosphere; these guys are really good.
The journey back to Oxford was tiring. We all had hardly slept for long hours for some days. After I reached home, I helped myself to a long nap. The morning after was much relaxed.
Wednesday 8 August 2007
Golf - The New Sport
Hours ago, I took my first golf lessons. Awesome, it was!
Angel and I went to the Oxford Golf Driving Range. 5 minutes from the school. We had planned to visit it today just to enquire about the timings/prices. Luckily, we found it wasn't very costly. Get 50 balls and rent a club for 5 pounds. Costly but manageable - atleast, this added another 'First' in my Oxford experience.
I think, for a beginner, I did pretty well. After learning the basics from Angel, I was getting into a better swing with every shot. I counted and hit 10 balls very well - that's a good 20% hit rate. Pat on my back! Good job. I now know that swing is the most important aspect of the game. If you want to hit the ball long, the swing has to be perfect. Lots to learn, but I will improve. Now that I have broken the first-timer hang-up, I can visit the driving range on my own and work on my game. Once every week for sure. Stragely enough, I am coming to an end with my stay at Oxford and I am having some of my best days here. As they say, its never too late!
Day before yesterday, we made the interim presentation to the Lloyds team. We had done good work and they recognized it. I believe, as a team, we are doing very well. We complement each other's strengths well and that makes a lot of difference. One of the guys from Lloyds also mentioned that we seem to be very close to the final output. That was encouraging. More so, from our point of view, we wanted to be sure if our work is going to help Lloyds in some way or not. It appears that this piece of strategy work is going to go a long way in Lloyds' immediate business plans. Here, I paste one of the pics after the presentation (L-R: Cesar, me, Angel, Fernando).
Angel and I went to the Oxford Golf Driving Range. 5 minutes from the school. We had planned to visit it today just to enquire about the timings/prices. Luckily, we found it wasn't very costly. Get 50 balls and rent a club for 5 pounds. Costly but manageable - atleast, this added another 'First' in my Oxford experience.
I think, for a beginner, I did pretty well. After learning the basics from Angel, I was getting into a better swing with every shot. I counted and hit 10 balls very well - that's a good 20% hit rate. Pat on my back! Good job. I now know that swing is the most important aspect of the game. If you want to hit the ball long, the swing has to be perfect. Lots to learn, but I will improve. Now that I have broken the first-timer hang-up, I can visit the driving range on my own and work on my game. Once every week for sure. Stragely enough, I am coming to an end with my stay at Oxford and I am having some of my best days here. As they say, its never too late!
Day before yesterday, we made the interim presentation to the Lloyds team. We had done good work and they recognized it. I believe, as a team, we are doing very well. We complement each other's strengths well and that makes a lot of difference. One of the guys from Lloyds also mentioned that we seem to be very close to the final output. That was encouraging. More so, from our point of view, we wanted to be sure if our work is going to help Lloyds in some way or not. It appears that this piece of strategy work is going to go a long way in Lloyds' immediate business plans. Here, I paste one of the pics after the presentation (L-R: Cesar, me, Angel, Fernando).
Saturday 4 August 2007
Meeting Room 16
One white board, Three markers (1 each of Red, Blue, Green), Two flatscreen desktops, One Table, Eight Chairs.
This is where I have been spending most of my days off late. Not that we have been working hard on the project. But, its also true that I have not really done much of the random stuff. Life's been a bit monotonous these days - Wake up in the morning, get ready, eat breakfast, come to Meeting Room 16, thrash ideas, a lunch break in-between, conference calls with industry experts across the world (i feel i will be expert after this project gets over as well, really not many people who know about this business as of now), go back home in the evening, watch movies/tv serials, sleep. A bit of guitar in-betweeen and some tennis, squash on a few days.
Something's not fair. Here's why:
1. 4 MBA students (almost full graduates) working for 5 days a week for 2 months: Total Money Earned - GBP 8000 @ GBP 1000 per person per month
2. 4 MBA Full Time Salaries working for 5 days a week for 2 months: Total Money Earned - GBP 36000 @ GBP 4500 per person per month
GBP 28000 is a huge difference. This is a cheap way of getting things done. People say that you should utilise this opportunity to put into practice business principles that we have learnt over the last one year. But then, if its just another learning opportunity, why are we expected to come up with recommendations which can be implemented straight away. And why does the project contract mention the following,
"The Consultants undertake to complete a Project and prepare findings for Lloyds TSB Bank on the manner in which Lloyds TSB should enter the carbon emissions market and launch a carbon emissions trading business, which shall include, but not be limited to, researching, listing and analysing potential opportunities in the market. The results of the Project shall be presented to the Company in the form of a business plan. Upon completion of the Engagement, the Company may in its sole discretion agree to pay to the Consultants a fee of an amount to be determined by the Company."
I don't really like the last part of the above script. That really means that we are not even sure if we will all get our supposed GBP 2000 - Another cheap trick to get the work done. The Business Projects Office should increase the minimum stipend for the students - after all, it is almost the time for all of us to take life into the fast lane.
But, on the brighter side, the project is really interesting and making us learn lot of things about the Carbon Market which is definitely going to be the focus of attention over the next 5-10 years.
Meeting Room 16 is likely to see the same faces for the next three weeks (including the weekends, maybe). We've got our interim presentation two days later - That should separate Milk from the Water :)) Ok, what I meant was dhoodh ka dhoodh aur paani ka paani hona! Is there a better way to translate that in English?
This is where I have been spending most of my days off late. Not that we have been working hard on the project. But, its also true that I have not really done much of the random stuff. Life's been a bit monotonous these days - Wake up in the morning, get ready, eat breakfast, come to Meeting Room 16, thrash ideas, a lunch break in-between, conference calls with industry experts across the world (i feel i will be expert after this project gets over as well, really not many people who know about this business as of now), go back home in the evening, watch movies/tv serials, sleep. A bit of guitar in-betweeen and some tennis, squash on a few days.
Something's not fair. Here's why:
1. 4 MBA students (almost full graduates) working for 5 days a week for 2 months: Total Money Earned - GBP 8000 @ GBP 1000 per person per month
2. 4 MBA Full Time Salaries working for 5 days a week for 2 months: Total Money Earned - GBP 36000 @ GBP 4500 per person per month
GBP 28000 is a huge difference. This is a cheap way of getting things done. People say that you should utilise this opportunity to put into practice business principles that we have learnt over the last one year. But then, if its just another learning opportunity, why are we expected to come up with recommendations which can be implemented straight away. And why does the project contract mention the following,
"The Consultants undertake to complete a Project and prepare findings for Lloyds TSB Bank on the manner in which Lloyds TSB should enter the carbon emissions market and launch a carbon emissions trading business, which shall include, but not be limited to, researching, listing and analysing potential opportunities in the market. The results of the Project shall be presented to the Company in the form of a business plan. Upon completion of the Engagement, the Company may in its sole discretion agree to pay to the Consultants a fee of an amount to be determined by the Company."
I don't really like the last part of the above script. That really means that we are not even sure if we will all get our supposed GBP 2000 - Another cheap trick to get the work done. The Business Projects Office should increase the minimum stipend for the students - after all, it is almost the time for all of us to take life into the fast lane.
But, on the brighter side, the project is really interesting and making us learn lot of things about the Carbon Market which is definitely going to be the focus of attention over the next 5-10 years.
Meeting Room 16 is likely to see the same faces for the next three weeks (including the weekends, maybe). We've got our interim presentation two days later - That should separate Milk from the Water :)) Ok, what I meant was dhoodh ka dhoodh aur paani ka paani hona! Is there a better way to translate that in English?
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