Is niche really just small...is special commoditized?

I have already talked about how much I have enjoyed The Industry & Competitive Analysis elective this period. Prof. Cool really does bring the course to life with a combination of his deep knowledge and unique style of delivery. We have talked about several things in the course: Supply-chain management, vertical integration, network effects, critical mass attainment, disruptive technologies...just to name a few.

Still, one thing will remain etched in my mind for a while. "Niche is small". Most companies proclaiming themselves as niche are in fact just...well...small. No two ways about it, according to dear Prof. Come to think of it, this rather rigid rule applies surprising consistently. Begs the question, do organizations choose to play niche or is it just a consequence of their lack of size? Ponder away...i suspect its more complicated...could make for a long, dreary exercise in intellectuality.

So, here's a more interesting question: can specialty be commoditized? I look at my class and here, everyone is bright, driven, disciplined and ambitious. Its the norm. I once remember those being strong, worthy qualities. But in this ocean of relative equality, have we essentially commoditized ourselves? Sure seems so, which is a real pity because I dont care how closely matched people are, each person still does bring his or her unique experience and perspectives on a whole host of issues.

And while in another couple of months, we would all be on our way out of INSEAD, my close friends and colleagues will have their own special place. We wont commoditize ourselves and to most of us, that still counts for a lot!

The Ding-effect...the Good and Better sides

The Ding-effect...tame and even capricious it may sound, yet under-estimate it at your peril!

Indeed, the Ding-effect has descended upon the P4s like a hailstorm in June, unexpected in its arrival and brutal in its intensity. You apply to a company...you get dinged. You get a first round interview call...you then get dinged. Now you even get dinged by companies you never applied to! Lord O lord, there are dings galore.

Three weeks ago, the question I faced was: which of the TOP companies are you applying to? Two weeks ago it was: which companies are you applying to? A week ago: which of the top companies dinged you? Today, do you have any interviews at all...? Didn't think so!

Well, I find varying reactions amongst the student body. Me, I look at it this way. Sure these are insecure times, but in all honesty, most of us knew that the search for employment was not going to be a cakewalk. I welcome this insecurity. It is challenging me to really think about what I want to do...not for the next 3 or 5 years, but for the next 20 years! The party's coming to an end...and two years from now, when I DO have a great-paying job and still feel unsatisfied, perhaps I will look back at these uncertian times and learn to finally value my job and life to the extent it deserves

The McBain Consulting Group!

Thats the name one of my classmates plans to assign to a Consulting firm he will set up as soon as he graduates. And I tell you, he finds quite a few backers amongst his brethren!

Confused? Allow me...The idea is essentially borne out of a deep sense of frustration that several of the current student body feel after being denied interviews by some of the world's top consulting firms. Hence, the idea is to form one of your own and name it by combining parts of names of the big '3'.

"We'll take them on at their game and bring their world crashing down...in the process showing them what they rejected". Hmmm...lofty thoughts indeed, but ones well understandable under the circumstances.

I interviewed with Google today and it was an interview of a kind. Having been informed to 'strictly' not arrive in a suit, I proceeded to have more of a barroom chat than an interview...we were in the guy's hotel room, eating chocolate cake through it all!

On another note, half of this period is over and I just realised how little I have focused on my classes so far. The job-search takes so much time...some real, some perceived. Which is a pity because I am taking a course that has probably been the best in terms of the quality of class and content. Industrial and Competitive Advantage is a Strategy course that essentially talks about how firms need to first analyse the profitability of the industry they operate in and then go about creating a competitive advantage for themselves in their chosen industry.

The basic topics were covered in a previous course, but the prof is doing an excellent job of illustrating these concepts and how they are repeatedly (mis)applied in the real world. Brilliant! This is exactly what I came to INSEAD to learn and it feels good to finally be there.

Now only if this growing itch of gainful employment would sort itself out...