The VUCA world got real with this Pandemic continuing for one more year. The situation was challenging to predict last year, and the same got tougher with more variants coming up and vaccines shortage in India. There is a common question which I am seeing these days is it wise to go for an MBA this year? Is it worth that? How will Industry react to the batches coming out of this Online MBA?
So the first batch to do online MBA and getting the tag of Hybrid MBA batch with one year at campus and one year in front of the system at home I have few things to relate here.
Have you watched the 2011 world cup final, India vs Sri Lanka? The context was Dhoni was out of form, Yuvraj was ruling the pitch like a king, and 274 was a decent total to chase. But the situation became challenging when both the openers went back to the pavilion within the powerplay, and after a decent partnership, Kohli lost his wicket.
The situation was intense on who will come to bat next, and everyone in the stadium and across India would have imagined the left hand in form Yuvraj Singh to go to the crease. But Dhoni entered the crease, and I am sure 80% of us must have been sceptical seeing Dhoni at the crease due to his poor form. But why did he take the decision?
There were two reasons
1. Muttiah Muralidharan was bowling then, and Dhoni being hi CSK Mate was aware of his bowing, and Yuvraj was in great form, but he has faced issues in the past due to him
2. He wanted to keep the left-hand, right-hand combination going
So you know how much risk was involved in this when India had a chance to win the world cup after
28 years, and as a captain, it was riskier as a leader.
So similarly, you are in a situation where you may have been preparing for 2-3-4 years for this CAT Exam and have finally cracked a B School, which is at par with your expectation. You are hearing a lot of uncertainty around that whether you should join or not. So let's relate it with Dhoni's situation when Kohli's wicket fell down and decided.
· Do you think if you do MBA this year, you can make the most out of it no matter how the situation will be, and you can overcome it as it was your dream to do MBA and lift your career
· Whether Your current situation and balance will be affected much if you do an MBA, can you wait for one more year?
Why is MBA during the Pandemic challenging?
1. Challenges in Peer Learning
2. Sceptical about the Campus Life
3. No certainty on when this Pandemic will end
But similarly, it comes with the advantage of
1. Crisis Management Course, which no MBA curriculum would have taught you
2. When the world is trying to manage thing Online mode, this will definitely be a booster for you to know collaborative work
What could the result be?
If Dhoni had gotten out that day at 10-20 runs, then Yuvraj would have come in and may have played well or not, and the whole world would have questioned Dhoni for the same decision.
But
his zeal and his willingness to win for India was much more than the fear of failure and criticism. The brave man who left his job to make the dream of every Indian possible after 28 years definitely had it in him, and the blessings worked, and he did what was a dream for Sachin for 22 years and made sure that tremendous six is remembered by all for ages.
So what was my MSD moment during the Journey?
The situation was different in 2019, and I didn't face any go-no-go dilemma during admissions.
Well, My Mock test results were poor, and I had even scored 8 percentile in VARC in one of the mock in early October. To be honest, I knew that I was not that poor as the score says, but the mock test series predictor was showing around 78 percentile for me in CAT 2018. I had scored 78 around in CAT 2017 without any preparation, so I took a call that I will not lose hope and will do my best, and yes, I stopped attending mocks for 20 days as I felt it was harming my motivation. The only mock I did was the CAT 2017 Paper again and scored decently than what I achieved last year. This may or may not be a good strategy for all, but MSD'S entry at No.5 was similar as well. Before going to the exam, I had the same thing in my mind the 3 hours gonna be mine, and I would not lose hope. The VARC section was definitely generous, and I scored 64 in the same. It played the major part in making my score 96.7 percentile overall and eligible for CAP ( My 12th was 79.2; hence achieving below 95 would have been a closed-door for me). Sometimes the most vital part plays with you ( Quants at 86 percentile but altogether, it made sure I start my Journey and catch my flight to IIM Rohtak after 3 years Journey at Accenture.
Similarly, It's your time, and if your gut instinct says that you can, then go ahead and live and make your life big and probably we all wish the world to be back to normal. You people make a mark better than the regular batches in the Industry, and people will admire you all as the brave hearts to take the call and use you all as examples in future when something like this happens.
Things to keep in mind
- Have a good peer group even in online mode
- Take part in as many corporate competitions possible
- Network with alumni and industry leaders
- Never lose focus and remember why you wanted to do MBA.
There is a super batch 2020-22 who have sailed through the boat in their first year as a warrior and will guide you like a true mentor and hybrid batch like us who will never say no to help.
The 2008 MBA batch has motivated all of us, and who knows, 2021-22-23 batches will break their record in resilience and come out with flying colours.
Read my article on how MBA life can be related to Formula One here!