A much needed diversion from Putin and Wen’s Davos bitch-slap….

A complaint letter sent to Sir Richard Branson (Virgin mogul), which is currently being emailed globally and is considered by many to be the world's funniest passenger complaint letter.

Dear Mr Branson

REF: Mumbai to Heathrow 7th December 2008

I love the Virgin brand, I really do which is why I continue to use it despite a series of unfortunate incidents over the last few years. This latest incident takes the biscuit. Ironically, by the end of the flight I would have gladly paid over a thousand rupees for a single biscuit following the culinary journey of hell I was subjected to at the hands of your corporation.

Look at this Richard. Just look at it: [see image 1, above].

….. see image and the rest at this link (I promise its worth a visit)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/4344890/Virgin-the-worlds-best-passenger-complaint-letter.html

Now back to interview prep for McKinsey, Deloitte, Parthenon, Accenture, ZS, Nomura, Deutsche Bank (will post interview stats shortly).

Do you believe in rankings?

London Business School tops FT’s MBA tables

By Della Bradshaw and Michael Jacobs

Financial Times, Published: January 25 2009 23:01 | Last updated: January 25 2009 23:01

A European business school has topped the table and a Chinese institution has been placed in the top 10 for the first time since the Financial Times began its rankings of MBA programmes a decade ago.

London Business School is ranked in the number one slot jointly with the Wharton school at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously only two US schools, Wharton and Harvard business school, have held the number one slot.

The FT MBA 2009 ranking also charts the rise of the Asian business schools. Shanghai-based China European International Business School (Ceibs) was ranked number eight – becoming the first Chinese business school to make the top 10.

Three Asian schools, two in China and one in India, feature in the top 20. This does not include Insead, the French institution ranked five, which has a campus in Singapore as well as in France. London Business School has been ranked among the top in the world since the inaugural FT rankings began in 1999, when it was placed eighth. Since then, the UK school has climbed slowly up the table, ranking second last year.

As well as having the number one-ranked full-time MBA programme, LBS also tops the FT Executive MBA rankings with the EMBA Global programme that it runs jointly with Columbia Business School in New York. EMBA programmes are designed for working managers.

The ranking of the top 100 full-time MBA programmes is dominated by American business schools, with 56 of the 100 based in the US.

Yet the FT rankings have also over time reflected the growth in high-quality MBA programmes outside the US, first in Europe and more recently in China, India and Singapore. In 1999, 17 of the top 20 schools and 31 of the top 50 were from the US, while in 2009 there are only nine US schools in the top 20 and 23 in the top 50.

Many Asian students are preferring to study for MBAs in their own country. They are being well rewarded. Salary data collected for the rankings show that Chinese students who study in China receive comparable salaries to those who go to a US or European business school. Indian students who study in India and then work in India after they graduate receive the highest salary increase of all Indian students. Their pay outranked that of their peers who complete MBA courses in Europe or the US.

US graduate schools have suffered due to tightened visa restrictions, although a change of policy has since shortened processing times and led to a rebound in applications. But 65 per cent of US graduate schools still reported fewer international applicants last year than in 2003, according to the Council of Graduate Schools.

The FT MBA ranking 2009 was compiled from data supplied by 9,000 business school alumni working in 130 countries.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009

In Requiem

Gosh, all this pimpin' myself out to i-banks and consulting firms (during the LBS Milkround) has me wondering, why the f**k am I doing this! This took me back to an assignment from my UGM (Understanding General Management) Class. First we had to write an essay on "How would a recruiter describe you to a potential employer 5 years hence?". Then for our second assignment we had to write out own eulogy (depressing). Then we had to compare the two and find out if we were really doing what we wanted to do in life. A few of my friends and classmates suggested that I post my eulogy, so here goes!

Assignment 2: The year is 2064, the occasion your funeral. Imagine your best friend gives your eulogy. Write down on a single sheet of paper what that person would say.

Dear friends, we are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Tiny Tim (staying anonymous) This is a time not for sorrow, but to remember what he added to this world and to look to his life for inspiration. Most us remember Tim as a warm, caring and kind person. In spite of his busy life, he always had time for us, his friends and family. For him people were a passion and he invested heavily in them. He surrounded himself with his friends and family and often joked about how this was his true wealth.

Tim accomplished much in his lifetime, but we remember him today because of how he used his accomplishments to benefit others. Many of you worked alongside Tim in a professional context at Elevation Partners (Private Equity firm) and benefited from the successes of the companies that he led. Others worked alongside him on changing the face of healthcare in India. A few of you also collaborated with him in founding non-profit organizations that brought relief to rural India. I am sure that you will agree with me that not only did Tim directly impact the causes he championed, be they business or charitable, but he also influenced your lives, leaving you a legacy and a model to follow. One could not interact with him and not be impacted by him.

Tim's dynamism and charisma inspired us all. His tireless work ethic moved us to action. His mentorship of others and kindness towards his friends and colleagues challenged us to be richer, warmer and more caring human beings. For this we will remember him.

Tim was in his lifetime a devoted husband and a loving father. While his family will miss him sorely, they will be comforted by the myriad memories that he left them. Tim often remarked how he did not spend as much time with his family as he would have liked to. However, his wife and children have many stories about how even the little time that they spent together and the vacations that they took together were always significant, fun and memorable. In spite of the demands on his time, he was a towering figure in their lives and his children never felt as if they did not know their father.

Finally Tim contributed immensely to this world through his church. He was always there to help guide its direction, to counsel the staff on initiatives and to demonstrate what it meant to enable others to live impossibly great lives. He demonstrated by example, what it meant to love one's neighbor like oneself, and for this we remember him.

I encourage you all today to reflect on the brief time that Tim spent with us, to cherish the memories of your interactions with him and to gain insights from his life which will enable you to live an impossibly great life and make an impact on the world around you. Take care of each other, be kind and God bless. Thank you!