The Long and Winding Road to MBA Success

When an MBA candidate is preparing for the long road ahead, we often look at the logistics and the necessary evils that lie within the paperwork and formalities. As the plan materializes and solidifies, we look at what must be done at the beginning and often the results and advantages we will reap in the end. What we forget, amidst the chaos and commotion, is the ride - everything that happens in between.

 

I have currently just finished the first year of my MBA at ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. The grind that many post-MBAs call the “hard part” is behind us. It is now time for internships and the selection of second year’s electives. We are half done. We have gained management knowledge based in the fundamentals of business. We have survived a vastly international environment while taking the usual core set of subjects offered by the school, such as finance, marketing, accounting, economics and operations.

 

Some courses hovered over my weeks like black clouds ready to burst and others were like little rays of light sprinkled throughout my days. There is still a long road ahead, yet the longest part is behind us. Looking back, I can say that there are many realities consistent with my initial expectations. At the same time, there is a profusion of information that I wish I had known - a number of pointers that I wish someone in my position now had shared with me then.

First of all, don't fool yourself. You’re not only going to work hard, you are going to kill yourself. Your brain is constantly working, spinning with ideas and contemplations and information you didn't even know existed. There is no stopping and no rest. It’s not bad…just be ready. An MBA is not a vacation from life, it is life and often, especially during exams, it can seem harder than life.

 

Learn how to ask for things. Get ready to make requests, express your needs and desires. Every single person around you is an incredible resource - utilize them, exploit them. They won’t mind.

 

Get involved. Classes are one thing but the occasions to truly dig into the intimate community of the MBA are abundant. Put some time aside to decide what role you choose to play within your university and amongst the faculty and classmates. Expect to take on more responsibilities, whether it’s with a club, functional area or organization. If what you are looking for doesn't exist, take initiative and do your own thing. Pave your own way - the possibilities are endless.

 

Network. Network within your own university, within both the local MBA and the global MBA community. Network with local businesses and entrepreneurs. Search for projects, enterprises and associations. Some of the most valuable opportunities and contacts can be discovered outside your career service office as well.

One learns within the MBA, amongst multitudes of strategy modules, workshops and courses - to identify your “competitive advantages,” your competencies that make you stand out from the crowd. Don't get me wrong, every single person around you will be brilliant in their own ways, each student will have their own aptitudes and particular skills. You must differentiate yourself, develop and utilize your talents. Plan to identify the stakeholders and pitch yourself. You are valuable, but that means nothing if no one knows about it.

 

Take risks. Don't be afraid to propose things, utilize your creative energies, and bounce ideas off the people around you. If anything, this is the place to do it as no one is going to judge or criticize you. This is the way to learn, don't let fear get in your way. This is exactly what you are paying for.

 

Don't be fooled, as incredible as an MBA is you will suffer low points along with the highs. You will face failures along with your accomplishments. We are doing an MBA for a reason and you are there for a reason. Your school chose you among numerous applicants because they saw something in you. Your university had faith that you would go out into the world upon graduation and do something worthwhile, with their name emblazoned on your CV.

 

Therefore, don't get down on yourself when everyone around you gets the right answer and yours is wrong. It happens. And the excellent thing about the MBA is that everyone around you will probably do anything they can to help you until you get it right. You may fail a class. I did. But I didn't learn any less and having to retake a class means you have double the chance to learn. Always remember, you are there because you deserve to be there.

 

On the other hand, there are the classes and assignments that will come easy to you. Don't slack off. Don't disregard anything you have the opportunity to study. Work hard, concentrate, you will doubtlessly still get something out of them. Again, remember, you or your company or parents or Fannie Mae is paying for this. Benefit from it while you can.

Be prepared to face the same difficulties you may face in the workplace - ethnic diversity, conflicting ideas, adverse reactions, lazy teammates, overly demanding teammates, opposing work ethics, moral standpoints, and the like. It’s not easy. It’s not fun. But when you get over the humps and learn to successfully work together even with all these differences, it seems that there is nothing you can’t accomplish.

 

The last thing, and most important that an MBA candidate must remember is that the experience will be exactly what you make of it, nothing more and nothing less. It is 100% up to each and every student in the program. You can slide through or you can trudge beginning to end. You will realize that those who rally and march will come out on the other end aving profited the most from the MBA in its entirety.

 

The first year will go faster than you could have imagined. And when you are knee-deep in books, notes and spreadsheets, it feels like it will last forever. But it won’t. It will be over before you know it and the worst thing that can happen is to look back with regrets.

 

Embark on the program open-minded, flexible, tolerant and ready to work, network, ask, try, discover and toil. Don't let the low points get in your way and don't let the highs make you complacent. In the end, you have one or two years and it could or could not be the most rewarding experience of your life.