The sweet taste of having converted the coveted IIM call is nothing short of having conquered the world. But the first day of orientation program is generous enough to burst the flamboyant bubble. What follows is an intriguing realisation of this roller coaster ride called MBA. No amount of advice from your seniors, mentors or (*MBA*) Gurus/ (*Pagal*) Guys is enough to prepare you for the b-school journey. The impending two years bring out the best and the worst in you. As the academic year at IIM Lucknow draws to a close, one can’t help but retrospect her learning as an (almost) PGP 1 survivor.
1. More is less:
Mastering 24 subjects in a matter of months, is not a child’s play. The 8-hour teaching schedule, the 80% attendance, the humongous burden of the extra-curricular activities and the innumerable CV reviews seem unfathomable. The 4-hour sleep cycle is a norm and the XX: 59:59 are the new dreaded digits. But managing the unmanageable is the very essence of MBA, isn’t it?
2. If you’re not networking, you are not working
Unless you are a prodigy, chances are you will need to appropriately network at all points of time. The race for the same begins even before the academic session starts. Some most sought after committees (*those who can’t be named*) fetch you the best alumni network and summer internships. The same will see a plethora of applications during selections and rightfully so.
3. Birds of the same feather, flock together:
Summers will witness a personalised STP (segmentation, targeting, and positioning, for the uninitiated) of the batch. You will be known lesser by your name and more by the credentials of your summers. The McKinseys, the BCGs and the A.T. Kearneys of the batch will be the elite of the campus and the rest will become (sort of) the children of a lesser god.
4. There will never be enough time:
The first couple of months will vanish before you are even able to adjust to the vagaries of the weather. The trade-off between the quizzes. parties, attendance, committee work and the case studies will make all the difference. In all probability, you can be a jack of all trades. But to be a master of few, you will have to learn the art of prioritising. The sooner, the better.
5. Help will be given to those who ask for it:
B-Schools have a highly evolved support system for the students. There will never be a dearth of support; emotional, professional or functional. Great bonds will be forged; friends will become family. Be it friends, professors, seniors or alums, the IIM family will be a lifelong network, which will always have your back.
6. Survival of the fittest:
Darwinism will be constantly at play during this two-year long affair, courtesy the necessary evil of relative grading. There will be no scope for complacency. Even the fact that you might have been a board topper or a 100 %er, won’t be enough to beget any mercy from the PGP office. Only a constant dedication and a proactive approach will help you make it till the very end.
7. You’re never too important
B-Schools have a knack of bringing you back to earth, as soon as you develop meandering tendencies. Someone will always have a better GPA, a better internship, better opportunities. All this will only teach you the sincere humility so that you never take success to your head.
There will be ups and downs but there will never be a dull moment. This love-hate relationship with MBA will teach you some lifelong lessons. You can’t help but treasure your new found temperament. After all, MBA, much like life, is “not about having and getting but about being and becoming”.