Going to ISB — 10 Expectations
The next one year will be a year of transformation for me because I am going to Business School (they say the year of transformation all the time). I am smart and lucky enough to be a part of some amazing ~ 685 folks in the Class of 2021 at the Indian School of Business.
An MBA (PGP for ISB) is a significant investment in terms of resources (time, money, opportunity cost, etc.) and everyone comes here with a set of expectations from the course. I am no exception, I too have expectations which may or may not be met over the next one year at ISB. I am sure a lot of surprise learnings await me there — some good, some bad. These expectations are not just from the course but also from the environment there which enables learning and offers an opportunity to refine your personality. Going to B-School after 4 years of work experience gives you chance to go back to the drawing board and I’ll jot down my expectations and re-visit these after graduation.
- Be a better team player
I want to better my ability to work in a team with people from diverse backgrounds. How do you accept the views of someone who knows better and let him lead? How do you explain to others why your views and action plan is correct and then lead them? How do create a feedback loop which helps you build stronger team relationships and enables you to implement ideas.
2. Work in strict deadlines
The clock is at 1:29 AM and 1:30 AM is the deadline to submit the project. How do you manage multiple tasks when you have strict deadlines to adhere to? How do you take out time for your wife, hobby, workout, etc. Maybe you realize that there is hack out there which simply works for you. I have already seen so many different personalities in my cohort — some are night owls, some are early morning larks but all of them get work done.
3. Prioritize
There will be many activities, clubs, events and subjects to choose from. How do you deal with the FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and prioritize? How do you set expectations right with your team and study group? Prioritizing also helps you build a system of taking decisions within a short time limit.
4. Build a network & lasting relationships
I am way too excited to be on campus with my super smart cohort, the likes of whom I have only seen on Zoom till now. Getting to know them personally and bonding with them is something I look forward to. I don’t want to only build a network but build lasting relationships in the next 1 year.
5. Make myself uncomfortable
I don’t really like marketing, statistics and few other topics. I want to come out of ISB with my weak areas less weak (or neutral strength atleast?) and this will only be possible if I push myself into topics that don’t make me feel at home. Finance & Investments are topics that I am comfortable with but Marketing is something that I don’t really like. This is really the year to experiment and B-School gives me the opportunity to take risks with nothing much to lose. (Maybe take an elective on a skill that is a must have but is outside my comfort zone?)
6. Have a different outlook towards topics I am familiar with
I want to have a different perspective on Finance, Investments and other topics that I am familiar with but may have my own biases. Interacting with peers, professors and industry experts will give a new dimension to my understanding of things. During my Gmat preperations, I realised that giving the right answer to a question is not helpful. You need to have the right approach towards the question.
7. Learn as much as I can from the faculty
ISB has some of the best Faculties from across the globe. Unlearn what I know and learn from the Gurus as much as I can is going to be exciting.
8. Be humble & have empathy
People from different backgrounds have different thought processes. An interesting case study during my LEAD sessions at ISB made me re-think between being a leader and a fire fighter. To be honest, I have had my “Ah! I know this” moment only to be proven completely wrong a few minutes later. So I want to learn humility and be open to feedback. Empathy is something else which I will have to acquire to be a better leader.
9. Take notes and be more organized
Its been long since I’ve attended an actual class (9+ years). I haven’t written much on pen and paper since then. Over my working career too, I haven’t really been a “note it down” person. I’ve relied on Google calendar to keep up with my deliverables and only over the last few months have I tried maintaining a written to-do list. Over the next one year as I multi-task to survive the 1 year MBA, I want to learn the art of taking notes when I learn something, creating a physical to-do list and become a more organized person.
10. Discover resources
I have discovered so many good publications, applications and software that cut down the clutter. I am ashamed to admit that I hadn’t discovered The Ken before my ISB admit till one of my batch mate told me about it. I didn’t consider using Onenote till one batch mate told me how well she uses it to take notes. Heck, I didn’t even complete a single podcast till someone on a Whatsapp group told how they go about listening to podcasts while doing mundane tasks! I find it so refreshing to hear podcasts on a topic that really interests me (vs. watching a Youtube video on the same topic). There is so much out there that I don’t know and this year will be one of discovery.
The 10 expectations that I shared are in a random order. I kept it to 10 because.. well round figures, you know.
