Washington University in St. Louis – Brian AiChang's Blog

ROAD TRIP!!

Sometimes in life, you have to “shake things up” to refresh your mind, body, and soul. One year ago, several of my Indian classmates and I decided to do just that – a road trip across the United States. It would be our unofficial capstone event as we complete our Executive MBA degree from Washington University and Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay. It was also a way for me to repay them for looking out for me in India.
pawn-shop On September 20, this dream became a reality. We started our 9 day, 7 states, and 2500 mile road trip from San Francisco to St. Louis. On the way, we drove through California, Nevada (Reno, Tonopah, Goldfield, and Las Vegas), Arizona (Grand Canyon), Utah (Moab), Colorado (Denver), Kansas (Hayes, Kansas City), and Missouri (St. Louis). Of course we had to visit Las Vegas, but the beauty of the trip was stopping at the national parks (Grand Canyon, Arches, and Rocky Mountain) and most importantly, meeting the people along the way. We met:

My cousin, Shelley, in San Francisco who taught us about leadership and the courage to be the one to make the change
Bob and Harold, at the Hawthorne Munitions Museum in Hawthorne, Nevada who exuded pride and patriotism (as a fellow vet, I salute your commitment)
Sharon in Goldfield, NV who epitomizes self-reliance and free thinking
Sumi in Las Vegas who is a high school classmate that I cherish with her honesty (even if it’s brutal)
Bill in Boulder, CO who shared his love of space by giving us a tour of his satellite operations
Ron, the owner of my son’s previous childcare facility, in Broomfield, CO who was gracious to share his insights so one of my classmates can open a daycare facility in India
Cindy, a family friend in Kansas City who hosted and endured us for an overnight stay and also provided a glimpse of US hospitality

While we will have formally completed our graduate degree on Oct 14, the life-long lessons we experienced have shaped our perspectives to listen, understand, and enjoy the company of others. We have much to learn if we are willing. I still can’t believe our journey has ended, but what a way to end it. I couldn’t have been any happier with the way it turned out and look forward to the next. My right foot, on the other hand, is happy to earn a rest from the gas pedal.

the-road-trip-crew

Time is of the Essence

I’m not sure what happened, but time has a way of sneaking and then speeding by you. In May, I was looking forward to spending time back home in Denver. In July, I came back to Mumbai and the next thing I know, it’s September. During that time, I finished my last graduate class in India, started my new term as the board president of an international school (volunteer), traveled to Vietnam to attend a governance conference, and now preparing to travel to Washington University in St Louis (WashU) to complete the joint Executive MBA program with Indian Institute of Technology Bombay(IITB) in October.

hari-in-action

Hari Sankaran, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), succinctly stated 3 points that leaders must act upon for professional (and personal) success when he spoke to our batch (Note: In India, business schools use the term batch vs cohorts like the US).

People don’t know what they want – It is up to you to decipher what they want and need.
Congruence of leadership – The leadership team must all be aligned or face barriers and impediments along the way
Time is of the essence – You must act and take advantage of the opportunities given

When I first started my journey in India, I was focused on traveling and applying what I learned from graduate school. Little did I know was that was not really what I wanted.

Point 1 – What I realized I wanted was the ability to make a positive impact through strategic thinking, collaboration, and implementation in a multi-national environment. I have been fortunate to be able to give back through volunteerism.

Point 2 – Without the support of my family, the international school community, and WashU and IITB, I would not have been able to shape concepts and lead the decision making process effectively. Without this unified team, I would have struggled significantly.

Point 3 – “Paralysis analysis”. You have to act and put yourself out there. To me, luck is not a result but rather preparing yourself to take advantage of an opportunity that presents itself. I did not intend to become the board president but going back to school helped me prepare for this honor when it presented itself.

So simple yet so hard to execute properly. Sometimes it’s trial and error. Other times, it is “luck”. By knowing what questions to ask, how to build consensus, and when to act is the difference between struggle or success. So far, so good – I cannot complain of my results.

lobsang-pendha

Talk about “luck” – I was able to meet Lobsang Pendha, one of the Dalia Lama’s senior leaders in Vietnam.

Hiking through Simplicity

Last month, my family had the opportunity to hike in Sikkim, India located in northeast Himalayas mountain range bordering Nepal and Bhutan. We spent 4 nights exploring the countryside, residing in Home Stays, and hiking (from Pelling to Yuksam). Electrical load sharing is common in this region – available a couple of hours a day at random times. Though you can receive a 3G signal for internet through your cell phone, wifi is uncommon. But, once your phone dies, you have to wait until electricity is available which can be a while. You lose connection with the world but start to appreciate the “simple life”.

Home Stay Family

Food tastes better. Maybe it’s because hiking makes you hungrier, or it’s because you appreciate how much harder it is to cook without electricity. Your body clock aligns with sunrise and sunset – after all, you can’t do much without light, and a candle can only provide so much of it. You wake up refreshed from a good night sleep – no interruptions from the cell phone, just pure rest. Looking out of the window, you realize how amazing the mountains look instead of rushing to start your morning. You re-appreciate what you take for granted. Coming from Colorado, I saw the Rocky Mountains every day, but I didn’t really pay attention to it. After living abroad and living in a different subcontinent, I appreciate the moment.

River

Fast forward two weeks later, and I’m back in Mumbai setting up a panel discussion in an event hosted by Washington University in St. Louis and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. We invited speakers from both universities, with collaboration from the American School of Bombay, to moderate and bring industry expertise from their global community to expound upon leadership and educational needs under the context of India’s initiative “Make In India” as the country evolves from a developing nation. I reflected and marveled how in just a short time ago, I was hiking in the Himalayas with limited communication to being in the center of global dialog – examining India’s educational culture of risk aversion to developing leaders who can address unknown unknowns.

IIT-WashU-ASB Panelists

The panel discussion was a huge success stimulating intellectual curiosity on how the country’s educational foundation should transition to meet leadership challenges as India advances to an industrial economy.

With so many complexities, I definitely appreciate simplicity. I just know to never take it for granted.

Hillside

Only in India

image description — Inaugural Executive MBA class between Washington University in St. Louis and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

This is my Executive MBA class which I was fortunate to be selected. We arrived in Mumbai on Jan 7, 2014, and my joint business school interview occurred on Jan 10, 2014. In between those 4 days, we enrolled our children at an international school, spent 2 days searching for a place to live, and getting the courage to cross the street (I thought I could handle any type of traffic after living in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Seoul, and Washington DC…I was wrong). My class is dynamic and very interactive, expressing their experiences and ideas in a wide range of industries such as IT services, agriculture, manufacturing, and aerospace to name a few. For me, this is the best part of the program – learning first-hand of their business and cultural experiences which they warmly welcomed me with.

To share some Indian insights, I have borrowed from David Letterman’s Top 10 List and compiled some unique experiences that can be found “Only in India…”

Number 10 – Traffic is very congested in India and the use of the car horn is applied liberally. Actually, I believe honking is a form of echo location. Whether you are 5 ft or 50 ft away, honking is mandatory.

Number 9 – Does “yes” mean “no”? No one ever says “no”. How can I tell if “yes” means “yes”?

Number 8 – Seeing the locals’ reaction when saying “Mujhe ullu mat banao” when the situation calls for it. Translated, it means “Don’t take me for a fool”. It’s a Mumbaikar term meant for local use. So when a foreigner says it, it adds a new dimension to the meaning.

Number 7 – Scratching my head when my neighbor complained that the shoe rack outside of my flat caused the hallway to be dirty…I’m pretty sure my shoes are not the root cause…

Number 6 – A small city means less than 1,000,000 people.

Number 5 – A wedding attended by 400 people is considered “very small”.

Number 4 – I thought my family’s “island time” in Hawaii was relaxed…India is even more relaxed -always add at least 2 hours (or 2 days) to a start/delivery time…

Number 3 – There are bad monkeys here. Lock your possessions (especially food), or they will disappear.

Number 2 – You think you are “ballin” (living a good life) until you realize you didn’t have an elephant at your wedding.

Number 1 – Everybody is a cricket coach! The US cannot compare to the passion of the fans here. In fact, when India played Pakistan in the World Cup last year, the entire country shut down.