ISB- Business as usual, Pepsi- a business so unusual

Two weeks after rigorous induction @ Pepsi, I am compelled to draw a comparison- which I think a lot of us ISBians would already have drawn having spent time at their respective employers. ISB was a different world, sanitized, protected, plush with the rigor comfortably cushioned by a way of living which surpasses the usual image of a BSchool. Business is different and here it is VERY different. Its dynamic, so dynamic that it changes as I write about it... Each bottle of the drink, or its siblings has a story to tell! The physicality of this work is what sets it apart from any other FMCG, and I can vouch for that. Take a *UL or an IT^...they will concur... An operation which is bilateral easily keeps anyone involved for more than 24 hrs in a day and that's how my work is likely to be for sometime to come. No wonder they kept us at home for 3 months! Nonetheless, its very interesting...To begin with my ROUTE RIDE, a one off and definitely a lifetime experience.. To sit in a Pepsi truck, go onto a defined territory and tap all formats from traditional to modern trade to sell that crate of Pepsi lest competition gets there :-)....Think about markets, people, consumers, customers, the season, the trends and of course apply all that we ever learnt in SALES!... Some of the things I am learning to appreciate.....why trucks are parked anywhere and everywhere, that 45 degrees in the sun is not that bad when u achieve your target, and up country can be an opportunity!! Onto Chandigarh next week for six months................