“The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.” ― Voltaire
It was precisely the same time a year ago 16/06/2016, I was zealously waiting for the journey to get started and have been acquainting myself with the new place that would now become my home for next two years and an Alma mater for a lifetime.
People are afraid when they come here but…
Back in Graduation, no one really cared about the ‘reality’ as much. Everyone was living a happy, dreamy life. But people come to b-schools after working, after knowing how baffling financial pressures can be, after understanding money doesn’t come easy. The hard thunderbolt of reality forces everyone to be afraid, to tread their path cautiously so that they can make the best out of the hard earned 15 - 20 lakhs they are spending.
Slowly as the terms pass, I have seen the confidence grow in people, the true nature emerge and stellar personality form.
“Can a man still be brave when he’s afraid?”
“That’s the only time a man can ever be brave.”
Presentation matters.
It’s not about what you know; it’s sometimes about what you show!
It’s not just about what you say but also about how you say it. In our classes itself, bad PPTs lost their mojo in a minute. Attention spans are decreasing ever so rapidly in this fast-paced world and only a solid package of content+presentation will help us win.
Less is more.
The best marketing campaigns are subtle. Earlier, marketing was about getting heard; now it’s about getting felt. CEO of PEPSICO once Addressed: Don’t sell the Product; sell the experience.
You are more than your work.
As much as it is important to work hard, it’s very crucial to have other façades to your personality. Our finance professor once told, “The purpose of life is to have a good night’s sleep.”
MBA is not a two-year networking marathon.
The truest networks are friends. No one will reciprocate beyond a point if they don’t feel for you and hence, focus on building friendships and not networks.
The strategy is the art of closing doors and not accepting them.
The number of decisions and paths that a company (and a person) faces at every time is colossal. Where we land depends more on what we didn’t choose to do.
Be kind and helpful.
The Faculty during an “Experiential Learning Initiative” once addresses as:
“…as you move forward in life, I hope you will remember that not every well you have drunk water from was dug by you, not every fire by whose side you warmed your hands was started by you. So, as you strive and succeed, do dig some wells for the thirsty and start some campfires for the cold.”
Values are everything.
As Somaiyans, this is one part embedded in us. For companies as well as for people, their core values define who they are. The greatest companies are great only because they have strong values and the integrity to stick with them in the toughest of times. That integrity will lead to a lot of short-term losses but the long-term gains will inevitably follow.
It follows from this that everyone is fighting for different things based on their values and capability. Hence, “Never forget who you are. Make it your strength. Armour yourself in it and no one can use it against you.”
I’ll end this with a quote based on the Mahabharata,
“You are fighting a war. Victory is futile. It does not matter whether you win or lose. All that matters is which side you fought on.”