Tell us about three of your accomplishments (600 words).

1. B-School guest faculty at 17: I have been an avid reader of two of the best global publicationsThe Economist and HBRfor the last 25 years. When I was 17, during a discussion with a friend whose father was a professor at the best B-School in North India (FMS), my globalization outpourings eruptedI ranted for hours in praise of capitalism. I was asked to deliver the same ideas to the B-school's students, who, according to my friend's father, didn't know even five percent of what I did. Addressing people far senior to me and possibly far more informed sent a momentary chill down the spine but I knew I could pull it off. I spoke for more than 3 hours. My lecture was hailed as something unprecedented. I spoke about World Economic Scenario, Global Polity, Emerging Markets, The Future of Mankind, and the whole paraphernalia of knowledge I had gathered in so many years. I received a thunderous applause with requests for more such lectures. This was an outstanding achievement for someone who, as a child, wouldnt say boo to a goose.2. Dropping out of the best B-School of Asia: Immediately after my undergraduate studies, in 1996 I got admitted to IIM, Ahmedabad. To my chagrin, the whole experience reeked of a complete anticlimax. The curriculum laid no stress on leadership, entrepreneurship, excellence, branding, raising an exceptional organization etc.far too much emphasis was on Quantitative Subjects. The school was not raising maverick leaders who could take on the world. In the first week itself, I decided to drop out. The mere mention of dropping-out was preposterous for everyone around me. Everybody implied as if I were making the most monumental mistake of the century. But my stand was clear: Why should I do something for which my heart wouldnt skip a beat? For me it was just like leaving a movie-theater in between if I didnt like the movie. Only others thought I was doing something unconventional or taking a risk. I didnt think I was doing either; I was just following my heart.I consider this my biggest personal achievement because my hitherto untested self-belief that I will follow my heart no matter what! got tested, challenged to the hilt, and eventually vindicated beyond a shade of doubt.

3. Parallel School: Why dont most people manage businesses like Jack Welch or Andy Grove, or play golf like Tiger Woods, or play the violin like Itzhak Perlman? Why is it that most people arent awesomely, amazingly world-class at whatever they do?Geoff Colvin in Talent is OverratedIntrigued by the essence of these questions, in association with DPS chains of schools in Delhi, I conceptualized the idea of Parallel School in 2002. I convinced parents that their children were just being prepared for the battle of grades, not for the battle of life. The most essential success ingredients: courage and risk-proneness, tough decision-making, emphatic communication, candor, empathy, rational thought, positioning, humility, teamwork, flawless command of the language, logic, and mathematics etc. were avoided like plague. My offering was simple: I (with a team of more than 100 teachers) would provide bi-weekly classes to grade 7-9 children in the aforementioned areas. The apropos product the right positioning hit home with schools and parents alike. The students liked the courses so much that what started as a three-school project was soon implemented at more than 200 schools. The schools were able to make a lasting impact and raise more than $20 mn in revenues over 3 years.Why do you want an MBA? (400 words)

For 15 years, I have been an entrepreneur/freelancer in Test-Prep, Corporate Training, Management Consulting, and Life-Skills Coaching Industries. To expand my businesses, I have always wanted to hire the smartest people with who both parallel and complementary skill-sets, but largely to no avail. With heavy broadband penetration, the archetypes of conventional brick-and-mortar classroom models have been greatly challenged. If people can learn on their laptops / smart-phones in the comfort of their homes, without, in any way, compromising on the quality of learning, they are going to be more and more averse to travel to learn. For a trainer like me, nothing can be more exciting. Someone who felt too hemmed-in to be able to help because of distances can conveniently offer his training in audio-visual format using cloud-computing with the same knowledge workforce of one. I can reach out to the whole world without diluting the quality that I have been synonymous with for the last 15 years.I see this venture as both opportunity and service; for me, nothing could be more gratifying than helping people realize their dream of an Ivy-League or an equivalent education. I wish to create the best Social Media Platform addressing the needs of SAT, ACT, GMAT, GRE, and LSAT aspirantsa potential clientele of four million customers across the globe. I want HBSthe best business-strategy school in the worldas the breeding-ground for the successful execution of such a platform. Innovation in business and societythe unwritten code at HBSis what draws me to it. In specific terms, it will fulfill the following strategic needs: 1. Cross-cultural learning needs: The individual experiences of 3000 students (from more than 80 nationalities) as to how they prepared for the SAT, GMAT, or GRE will mean an unparalleled strategic insight.2. Strategic partnerships / global network: I would like to forge alliances with like-minded individuals who are ready to come on board with me for such an exciting opportunity.

3. Venture capital / Valuation: I plan to go public by 2015. The value of an HBS MBA cannot be overemphasized in this process.

4. Vibrant global community: Access to HBSs unrivaled global community is a treasure for a lifetime. I want to learn as much outside the classroom as inside.With 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur, I will have as much to contribute to the HBS class as I will get to learn from it.Tell us three setbacks you have faced. (600 words)

Poor parent: I have a seven-and-a-half year old son. In the beginning of 2011, my wife shared with me a rather unpalatable truth: my son started remaining aloof and distant. It emerged that he did not enjoy his studies and that he wanted to leave school. To a teacher who is acclaimed as a great mentor and coach to thousands of students (myself), the news was definitely shocking, a setback that curled me from within. I did an in-depth analysis of his problem and planned a five-day long vacation with him. He enjoyed every moment of time with me, opening up about almost everything he felt. He also revealed that he didnt like lagging behind anyone; even if he comes second, he feels terrible. He has to be FIRST. It finally transpired that all he needed was a friend in a parent, a guide who could make learning fun, play with him, and, most importantly, listen to him. I personally started teaching him. When he found that he was ahead of all the students because he was prepared for everything in advance, he started relishing his studies, school, and friends. The lesson: Every relationship needs to be nurtured differently.5X:I live, eat, drink, breathe, sleep, and wake up entrepreneurship. To become successful and happy, talented people have to follow the 3 circle-intersection model: one must belong to the intersection of Passion, Excellence, and Economic Engine to do great things. Spurred by this extraordinary belief, I launched an extremely ambitious project 5X a program that would enable participants to look at their careers very differently, help them identify their deepest passion and world-class excellence (at something or the other), and entitle them to sustain a robust economic engine. The concept was extremely well-received with more than 1200 people jumping to be on board out of whom I shortlisted 50. I was convinced that these 50 were the true-blue entrepreneurship material. The program earned the ravest of reviews. But once the program ended, I found that only 14 people out of 50 quit their jobs and took the entrepreneurship route. This was a setback indeed. I had gone wrong in people selection. I was nave to believe that people would do what they said they would. The lesson: It is not necessary that even the best of people will stick to what they have set out for themselves. McKinsey

(Deleted: cant be shared with students as it involves some sensitive information)Answer a question you wish we'd asked. (400 words)My question: What does leadership mean to you?

Bye-bye charisma: We dont need ivory-tower cheerleaders such as Kenneth Lay, Dick Fuld, Martha Stewart, or Barack Obama; the world needs leaders who can manage complexity, anticipate variable risk in the increasingly fuzzy and intermeshed world, understand cross-cultural work environments, and excite knowledge workspaces of 21st century, which are clearly over-managed but under-led.

In the trenches: To me, 30,000-feet is just lame jargon; we need perceptive leaders with an execution-bias and multi-dimensional perspectives. No big projects happen in silos; the essential ingredients of businesspeople, product (or service or cause), processes, positioning, technology, finance, sustainability, and social acceptanceall play out as a complex, interwoven reality. A successful global leader has to manage all the ingredients with finesse.

Think global, act local: What works as incentive at one place may work as a deterrent at another. Developing markets throw quite different challenges from developed ones. For instance, the CEO of a large organization in the US should understand what motivates people in different cross-cultural environments across five continents. Managing and retaining talent today are possibly the biggest of organizational challenges. Earlier the core-values needed to stand the test of time; today they need to stand the test of geography.

Redefining humility: Leaders need to be humble enough to take a hard look at themselves, accept mistakes, and drive organizational change. More importantly, they need to make themselves redundant by preparing a second-line. Humility also means hiring much smarter people; the workplace must be a talent powerhouse teeming with passion. No faster horses: I like Henry Fords quote: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." Leaders have to innovate by trusting their gut, grit, and gumption. Strategy today is not competition, survival or marketing; it is about creating such visceral traction about your brand that positioning alone can make customers flock to you. Marketing is building a church, positioning is creating a religion.

The power of a click: Cult companies such as Nokia, Dell, and Apple couldnt remain immune to the biggest game-changer of our timesthe Internet. Social-media revolution, viral marketing, and the newly formed global village mandate that leaders cant take their eyes off the ball; not even for a day. Wowing the online community is the new services paradigm.

Talk simple: Finally, leaders need to talkprofound enough to move mountains and simple enough to get people to do so.