Wharton Executive MBA 38 Poems

These poems written by Bikash Behera capture the experience of Wharton Executive MBA 38 Batch (2012-2014)

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OH SABRE!!!

Shall I compare thee to the soothing breeze Or the tempest of oceans that never cease You are an epitome of malice and sleaze Also the Goddess who gives new life in lease

You pit brother against beer brother And loving sisters against each other Siblings left town for greener pasture New siblings turned out way too cooler

Loving thee sometimes feels so very right You torture our souls through day and night Poor George can’t put you out of his sight Poor Brian can’t sleep throughout the night You entice in a red dress with scarlet lace With crimson scarf around ruby necklace You speak mandarin and eat navel orange You dance in rain while nibbling on grapes

You stroll by the ocean in setting sunshine Sipping green leaf tea with a look so divine Leave yellow postit notes while you dine Open blue sky soaking your smile genuine  Thy love has turned out a great addiction Your measure of return defies my prediction I long thy embrace and show of affection Pray thee shower me with net contribution Your preference for me changes on flip of a dime It is utter anarchy, lacking any reason or rhyme Thy love is more fleeting than the passage of time I am on top one period and at bottom next time

I wonder the best way to plan my spending Should I spend more on sales or advertising Should I instead invest more bucks into R&D Or take market share with my very best thing

We started off on a lukewarm relation Great products made us high with elation We produced a lot after quick deliberation Ended up with truck loads left for salvation

I always associated colors with happiness Now colors invoke thoughts of vengeance Learnt to hate green more and red little less May hurt the wrong color kid out of duress

I met a WEMBA 31 at the airport gate She has not gotten over SABRE till date Some folks love thee some utterly hate You can be a bitch or our best mate

We have reached the end of third period One of your product a hit the other a dud Some destined for glory some will hit mud Time to draw sword and spill some blood

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Third Semester First Poem

In two semesters we have gotten used to the grind We no more let the program ruffle our state of mind Third semester is crazy still we don't feel behind   Grades don’t bother us, we have learnt to be kind

Finance professor delivers a moving performance Brings alive many arcane concepts from finance DuPont model can be fun and put you in a trance Explains why some firms crash and some advance

Managerial accounting seems quite a bit confusing It can be sleight of hand or sound quite amusing Learnt valuable tips from Forest Gump accounting How to structure a deal and always end up winning

The communication class was quite an experience Your lack of communication jolts your conscience Persuaded class to legalize drugs & gun license gay marriage, money funds and domestic violence

Marketing was a mix of math and cool concepts 3Cs, 4Ps, 5Ms, 6Zs and more numbered alphabets Sold strange chemicals and NY Times supplements Crabs in vending machines & detergents in packets

All subjects this semester use case way of teaching Each case quite a thriller, even art of communicating Analyze coke in finance and Hollywood in accounting Leaves you confused whether it is quant or marketing

It’s amazing how different courses build on each other It seems every morning the professors seem to confer What to teach, what to skip and what they should defer There is a method to madness and a well knit structure

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Second Semester Final Exam

We feel so relieved that finals are finally over Term proved rich with breadth of topics to cover Analyzed economic policies to operating theatres Complex modeling to battlefields and mountaineers Myers taught us well so we could debate online Keynes's demand and Hayek's supply side doctrine Test had us navigate our way through policy mine Whether we fall over a cliff or rise up to shine Statistics had us caught up in endless regressions We created convoluted models for credit predictions We had seven years of test to aid our preparation Still we got stumped by multiple choice questions OPIM turned out fun with real life case simulation Analyzed flows, queues and inventory accumulation No old test and digital score led to mass confusion Got lost choosing a lane for a tool booth station It is unbelievable that we are one third done We have learnt so much in the six months gone Kept us on our heels and sometimes made us run It was quite challenging but also was big fun

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Leadership Poem

The leadership course was an awesome experience It broadened our intellect, deepened our conscience Lectures, cases and trips taught leadership essence Vision, courage, wisdom, empathy and intelligence

A leader must articulate a clear and compelling vision Paint a promising future that's achievable within reason Kennedy's lofty vision led to successful lunar expedition Gandhi used his vision to free a nation from oppression

He must communicate to all through art of persuasion Must inspire them with faith and prophetic conviction Henry V spoke fervently to earn his army's devotion Steve Jobs used it well to create a great organization

A leader must strive to build a diverse executive team Must analyze critical functions and pick the top cream Golborne got experts to rescue miners and helped beam Lenovo expanded its board to realize the American dream

To realize vision he must put a strategic plan in place Use mission, values & pride as a sound guiding base Merck distributed free drugs to cure river blindness Bremen covered other banks in Trappem trading case

He must help each person see what vision and strategy mean How they help shape her future and help her long term win Henry V helped his soldiers see how famous they will be Burr helped his team see ruling low-cost aviation scene

A leader must strive to build leadership in each person Should mentor, manage and reward to drive motivation People express cultivated leaders in low cost aviation Marine trains soldiers to lead a team in any situation

He must use emotional intelligence to motivate the troops Must show empathy and understanding to fire up the groups Henry V spoke brilliantly to lift morals that had drooped Burr shared stocks with employees to drive them over hoops

A leader must strive to trust and embrace the front lines Only when each person excels, the company also shines Marriott trains employees well in respective service lines Marine bootcamp trains soldiers as great Optimus primes

A leader never loses a chance to take charge of situation He goes beyond call of duty to do his best in any mission Vincent Strong took charge of little round top's protection Laurence Golborne took charge of mining rescue operation

He must use available info to reach the optimum decision Must convey well and rally the team for clean execution Charles Schwab moved fast to internet stock transaction Old City Enterprises fired fund manager over tax evasion

A leader should support his team by honoring the room Must show confidence in them in his attempt to groom General Meade trusted counsels that helped him bloom General Lee ingnored his advisers and met with gloom

A leader must build personal ties and strong relations Relate with others feelings, passions and motivations Abrasive Steve showed employees respect and compassion Burr gathered his friends for People Express induction

A leader must convey through each action and gesture Honesty, integrity, courage and strength of character Henry V executed his friends to prove a just leader Jobs pursued excellence and was its tireless preacher

He must strike a bond by placing common interest first Strive to purse common goals just not personal thirst Chamberlain respected confederate army when it had lost Henry V married the princess and did not become a boast

A leader should dampen over-enthusiasm and keep it real Hubris of success can lead to risky and unbridled zeal Trained as the best, still watchful remains a navy seal Stryker stuck to twenty miles in good times and ordeals

Mike Useem has put together a great leadership checklist You can read a dozen books or you can get here the gist Through his many stories he unravels the leadership mist To guide your leadership journey through its many twists

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Second Term First Midterm

The second term is moving like a bullet train Too many subjects confuse your little brain Before you learnt them, the mid-term came Four tests in a weekend to drive you insane

Prof Ziv startled you with his photographic brain He knew you, your colleagues and your third cousin He walked around the room firing away questions Switching between topics like a hyper machine

Prof Useem had stories on leadership in practice How to lead a firm through strategy and tactics He was wonderful overall, except adventure trips Threatened to go to Alaska, Everest or Battle Fields

Prof Meyer had brain and beard of Ben Bernanke With thorough understanding of global economy His graphs had us think Macro will prove easy Until the long demand equations left us dizzy

Prof Waterman made Statistics fun and interesting His British accent gave concepts a harmonic ring With Jump computing, we liked variance and mean Casebook was fun, but you had to analyze things

We slugged hard to get through the OPIM test We had three hours to optimize and simulate We got stuck in a plane with seats to allocate Looked around to see many clueless classmates

We had to simulate decision making and leadership We had to build People Express and make it very big Some made billions and some let the company sink Making us wonder if we should lead or take lesser gigs

Printed Macro notes stacked three inches of paper We studied policy moves and many economic factors The Macro test had us relate many facts together We analyzed Chinese moves and British adventure

Stat test was tougher than any Stat test had been Every question had nuances and hit you on the chin Some questions used concepts that you had never seen Had you wonder if you will LT or end up close to mean

The mid-term was an exercise in pain and suffering Macro made you forget what you read in Stat or OPIM Waterman's nuances, Myer's reflections and Ziv's whims Had us struggle non-stop and had us thoroughly creamed

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Gettysburg Poem

Gettysburg was a peaceful little town indeed Where roads from eight corners had to lead The hills, ridges and acres of wheat fields Offered perfect setting for two armies to meet It woke up soggy from an overnight drizzle Unaware that next few days it will sizzle Under muskets, cannons, drums and whistles When Union army fights Confederate grizzle Formidable Lee pressed north for offense Against good counsel of Longstreet’s defense A little planned battle will soon commence In a foreign terrain that made little sense Abraham Lincoln worried who is best to lead And had to replace Hooker with valiant Meade Who had to take control in less than a week A hasty, risky, desperate gamble it seemed Buford first spotted Hills' army in the west The consummate strategist was now put to test Had to delay Hill to protect the hill crest Stationed cavalry at Seminary ridge in haste Ewell's confederate army charged from north Buford fought to hold Hill and Ewell both Was greatly relieved to see General Reynolds Before a stray bullet led to his great fall Union army retreated to hills in the south Ewell could have delivered the ultimate rout Learnt of Union army in the eastern route He was a conflicted man assailed with doubt When second day of battle was set in motion Meade's army had settled in higher locations Timely maneuvers led to formidable position Battle was stacked against Lee's divisions Sickle was charged to protect little round top But he marched forward and abandoned the slope His lack of experience led to misguided hope Underestimated enemy's lethal power and scope Vincent intercepted a dire message for his boss Enemy approached from south of little round top Sensed huge disaster if enemy was not stopped From taking left flank and attack from backdrop He found Chamberlain and gave clear instructions He had to guard left flank from all intrusions He could not retreat, surrender or get overrun His regiment had to fight in complete unison Chamberlain formed his team as a V in inverse Had a team monitor the south as enemy traversed Repulsed waves of attack and sent them in reverse Charged with bayonets after depleting reserves Chamberlain was a great leader quite inspiring His deft humane touch helped contain a mutiny He showed genuine concern and sincere empathy Professor, soldier and leader worth emulating Third day of battle saw Lee's hubris in action Inferred enemy center was its weakest section If charged hard it will disperse in fractions He will win the battle and gain huge traction After hours of relentless cannon fire exchange Picket's division charged to take the midrange Decimated in an hour in enemy's firing range Left Lee utterly defeated, dejected and deranged What if Lee planned to stay in home territory Would that have changed the course of history He could have dug his heels in Richmond City Eventually forcing Lincoln to a peace treaty What if Meade had lost this chance battle to Lee Would we have lost this nation based on liberty Would Lincoln be credited with worst presidency Would we still be fighting to abolish slavery What if Napoleon had not fought Russian czar Would he be Europe's revered military star What if Germany had won the second world war Would Hitler be a hero and knighted as a sir Wars tend to be insane, inhuman and barbaric Each battle quite unpredictable and eccentric Some decisions are tactical and some strategic Some help you win and some prove quite tragic It sure gives one a chance to show one's mettle Whether you are a leader or just another cattle Let the historians judge once the dust settles Whether West Point emulates you in future battles It was a great lesson in the art of leadership How Meade found success and Lee found hardship How Buford understood Meade's strategic needs But Ewell decided against Lee's spoken deeds How Sickle's immature move almost cost the battle How Chamberlain’s humane touch made his team stable How Lee did not pay heed to Longstreet babbles How Chamberlain led his team from his high saddles The battlefield has many useful lessons to offer With knowledge and wisdom it can fill your coffer Help you confront challenges and make you tougher Will groom you as a leader with a brighter future

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First Semester Final Exam

Congratulations, the finals are finally over We are done with it after weeks of torture It will take some time before we recover From lack of sleep and the test hangover The FAP presentations were quite interesting Too many applications done in consulting Some shipyard workers were left wondering Whether to tell the truth or apply sugar coating The economics paper was a neat experience The questions were meant to test your patience It took you a while before it made some sense You forgot it all before reaching last sentence Accounting paper had its own predicaments You had to analyze crazy financial statements Calculated loans, leases and bond payments Still got stumped with taxes and investments Some studied hard and had long cheat sheet Had solved all problems in the past exam kit But some may be scared of falling in LT pit LTs are like vacation days, use it or lose it The semester got over before we even realized The tests and assignments had us so occupied We thought we will get a break to be revitalized But load of next term books has left us terrorized

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Poem for New Vice Dean

Prof Peggy Bishop Lane is the new vice Dean, We are wondering what would this really mean, Will she make broader changes to academics, Or is it gonna be limited just to accounting? Relaxing the case was a really great gesture, But we expect lot more kindness from her, The midterm results has left many scared, How about she gets rid of tests altogether? We expect some changes in rules of accounting, The balance sheet we create needs no balancing, Add anything to income statement that strikes our fancy, The cash flow statement will be an optional thing. The long term assets do not have to depreciate, If it suits us well we can even have them appreciate, We will get rid of the whole LIFO or FIFO debate, No need to revalue bonds to mark to market. No calculus at all to be used in micro economics No decimals, fractions or anything confusing, Management of people needs no experimenting, We should get rid of so many papers for reading. She will get rid of the dreaded LT designation, No tests, homework or confusing deliberation, Prof Useem's pool will be the new study location, The WEMBA experience should feel like a vacation

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Accounting Mid Term Exam

Before micro economics shock could wear off We had to write a paper analyzing our jobs The miserable places where we get to work Had all theories fit like hand in glove Then we had to confront the accounting scare Caught up hopelessly in TAccount nightmares Counting assets, liabilities and issued shares Analyzing income statements with blank stares My balance sheets had a knack for not balancing Confused between expensing or capitalizing And the long lived assets stopped depreciating Demanding instead for the impairment testing Notes and problems packs were complete torture On top of that we had to solve old exam papers Then we were zapped by the snap-on producer That used weird and complex product structures We entered the exam armed with full cheat sheets Had analyzed the case into thousand little bits Anticipating questions in every color or creed But Ms Lane had planned a little surprise indeed First few questions were quite simple and easy But the trick was to answer with letters or digits Then appears questions with increasing difficulty Making you ponder until the clock stopped ticking

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Micro Economics Mid Term Exam

The dreaded econ midterm is finally over It brings to an end weeks of torture It went as well as it did, can't do it over Time to get drunk and be anything but sober The first question I tried gave a negative quantity It scared me bad and almost robbed my sanity I looked up and saw the clock's mad activity Tried to double check the math equality Was the strange derivative of production functions Not enough torture to rattle your emotions Why each question had to have weird fractions That messed you up and slowed your traction I am mad at the two kids looking for baits in vein And the movie hall stands selling concession Or the town charging the firm for all the radiation They seem to have conspired to drive me insane As they warned you are gonna hit a trough When you are faced with the first midterm shock Very soon you will be hit with the accounting rock Time for re-evaluation and time to take stock

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Bootcamp Week

The gentle voice on the phone told me I was admitted It made me happy, joyful and quite a lot excited Read all the facebook profiles as they got updated Was quite impressed but also bit intimidated I was pleased to meet some of you in the reception, Listened to senior's advice and words of caution Will be two years of torture at the grindstone Chill out with your friends or go on a vacation My buddy warned me about the infamous bootcamp Will hit you like a train or drown you like a swamp Got to go prepared and just don't show up like a tramp Whether you are a veteran or a world champ The orientation left me dizzy and disoriented With stories of mountains, pets and beer kegs Never seen so many Belgians in one place Or so many poets, consultants or clueless meds Then we were introduced to our respective teammates As weird a group of people as it ever gets It was the nicest civil conversation that we ever had As if we were long lost kindergarten friends We discussed our goals and what we want to achieve Some aim for the Palmers and some aim to avoid LT We discussed how we should agree to disagree And how we should meet to plan for meetings Next day we all showed up in the math prep classes And met professor Siler, a genius in glasses He looked so cool in his comfortable dresses He kept it simple and just covered the bases Then we met professor Klein to study team management We discussed cases, theories and moral predicaments Then professor Lane taught accounts management Income, balance sheets and strange cash movements Professor Smetters was very funny and bright We thought economics is sure going to be light His second class derivatives engulfed our sights We were like deers caught in headlights The ones who had not studied in advance, Were completely lost and sat in a trance Sometimes wondering if there was a chance To undo the mistake of joining this class The Thursday excercise of opening your inner self Brought up more baggages than a cargo plane We discussed many weird things with the disclaimer What was said in the room stays right there We started off the week comprehending each sentence At the end we were happy if we had an overall sense We felt so much lighter when we scaled back expectations Dreaming of the weekend after this jail sentence Upon reaching Thursday it was time for celebration We were ready to forget ourselves in utter inebriation We drank beer, whisky, wine and strange concoctions We survived the first week and deserve congratulations