Now, an ‘outdoor management’ programme for MBA students

Samir Patham's career was following a rather typical path until last year. Patham had graduated from the Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies with an MBA Degree, and was working in a regular 9 to 5 job in the HR Department of Infosys. With his management background, he was getting by just fine in the corporate world.

However, in a sudden unexpected twist, Patham quit his lucrative job at the IT Firm and, with the help of his SIMS classmate Sauraj Jhingan, started Adventure Pulse- his own outdoor activities company, in early 2010. "After working in the business world for a few months, I realised that it was not my cup of tea at all," said Patham.

"Outdoor adventures have always been my passion, and I knew it was a line of work I would be happy in," he added. Jhingan still works in his corporate job, but helps his friend out on a part-time basis.

The unique feature of Adventure Pulse is the 'outdoor management' programs it conducts for MBA students. These include various outdoor activities like trekking and climbing, interspersed with character-building and leadership exercises.

In fact, this program is quite similar to the offsite programs that several companies organise for their employees, which strengthen the fundamentals of management.

"We are basically giving management students a competitive edge over everyone else, as our programs develop their soft-skills, add to their abilities as managers and give them a head start in the corporate scenario as well," Patham explained. The young entrepreneur added that the outdoor management program fortifies their core management principles and gives them a clear picture about their own leadership qualities.

What motivated him to start a program of this nature? "I love adventure sports, and management is my forte, so I decided to combine the two," he stated, adding that he wanted to give something back to the management world which has equipped him with the necessary skill sets. "Our objective is to change the nature of management studies and give it a more holistic value that is not limited to the classroom," he said. "During the grueling outdoor activities, the participants face real-life situations which force them to show leadership qualities. They adapt as these situations progress and rise to the occasion, which helps them discover many things about themselves." The company has tied up with a few city B-Schools like Patham's alma mater SIMS and the Management Institute for Leadership and Excellence (MILE), and is successfully conducting adventure programs which enable the students to put in 20-25 hours of outdoor activity every academic year.

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