The London Business School 2010 thread

Hello All,
I just got done with my LBS interview around an hour and a half ago in New York City. I am actually typing this on the bus back to Boston.

I interviewed with an alum from the class of 1993. He is the Vice-Chairman and chief strategy officer for his company. Amazingly down-to-earth guy. He interviewed me at a conference room at a law firm in Manhattan. He seemed very relaxed about the dress code. He said "dress in any way that makes you comfortable". Since this was an interview, I adopted a semi-formal dress code. The interview was very conversational and I felt oddly relaxed throughout. I just hope I didn't talk too much. So I am guessing all of you want to know the questions. So here goes:

a. How would your team members describe you? Is their description accurate? If so, why?
b. Is there anything about the perception your team members (at work) have of you that you don't necessarily agree with? If so, what do you not agree with?
c. Why did you pursue an Engineering degree in college? Why not music (I play the piano)?
d. What is the biggest thing you would change in your education and why?
e. What do you think are some of the challenges being faced by businesses today?
f. What do you think about the Toyota recall? How would you handle things now if you were in their shoes?
g. Have you faced resistance from members on your team? How did you deal with it? If you didn't face any resistance but one of your team members did not complete the task you delegated to him or her
despite you explaining the requirements to them well, how did you deal with this person?
h. What has been the biggest challenge of your professional life?
i. You are interested in the media industry. What if I gave you a choice between two options:

- I give you $100,000 to start your own media-related venture.
- You go to business school.

Walk me through the thought process you would use to decide between the two options above.
j. If you got admission offers from ALL the schools you applied to, how would you weigh one vs another to make your decision on accepting one?
k. How do you manage your team at work?
l. How have you dealt with a team member that is on an ego trip?

The 5-minute presentation related to the financial crisis. It was a very easy topic - almost disturbingly easy. I was asked to take a stand on a specific question - so not too bad. The real surprise came at the end of the presentation - when he asked me for a counter-argument. Fortunately, I had one in mind which was probably not nearly as compelling as my original argument but it seemed good enough for the interviewer.

I don't know how I fared on the interview. It is very hard to judge. The interviewer was definitely a very nice guy and he really painted a good image for LBS. A huge thank you to all of you that shared your experiences on this forum. It really helped me prepare for this interview. I could not have reached so far without your help. Kudos to our student ambassadors from LBS on this forum (they know who they are!). They are shining examples of what we all should aspire to be at the end of our business school application journey.

Regards,

Pranav