I just completed my first day of MBA orientation…mixing and mingling with my soon-to-be fellow MBA classmates, going through the dreaded icebreakers (which weren’t too bad considering what they could have been), and going over the numerous opportunities that we would have even just starting out this first semester, from MBA mixers to our personal career campaigns to leadership opportunities.
I’m definitely excited to jump in and get back to school…in the case of the MBA, I think what you put into it is really what you get out of it. Coursework is just a small part of the program, as the networks you build and people you meet will most likely lead to your greatest success.
That being said, some of my first priorities in getting started are
- to meet as many of my fellow classmates as I can so when it comes time to dividing into teams, a good effective team can form (as unfortunately learned in my undergrad, when I followed my friend into a group I didn’t know, and simply, we sucked); and
- to figure out what activities I want to get involved in that will be most beneficial to my overall experience and growth.
Example of a good team...my BFF's helping to put together my wedding flowers!
These sound easy enough, right? Here we go!
This has been my second week of being officially out of work, and I have been ‘practicing’ working from home these last couple of days. I wish I could say I’ve been lying around on the beach, one of my absolute favorite things to do, but alas, no Wi-Fi *sigh*!
I’m trying to get a schedule down of just the basic everyday things I have to keep up with, i.e. cooking, cleaning (yes I’m technically a housewife), blogging, exercising, before I add in the extra (and primary) MBA responsibilities of studying, networking, team projects, and interviewing! Plus, while my full-time working husband has been gracious enough to allow me to go back to school full-time, I’m hoping to still pull some weight building up our freelance web services, so am also taking external training right now before the start of a rigorous MBA program.
Oy, I’m unfortunately busy during my supposed ‘break’ before school starts, but it’s all for the bigger picture! An investment in myself is far greater than an investment in something else…
I’ve started reading the MBA Jungle B-School Survival Guide to get ready to go back to school and figure out a little of what to expect from day one. I’ve only gone through the first couple of chapters, and will do a final review of the book when I’m done, but so far it’s been very helpful.
My 2nd post questioned if an entrepreneur should go back to school, and this book has solidified that for me it is the right thing. Beyond the obvious ‘who you know’ and the ‘what you know,’ the book focused on the actual skills you can develop while in school, namely leadership, focus, problem-solving skills, and teamwork.
Now if you have a million-dollar idea already, not only do you not need to go to b-school to figure this out, why are you still here reading this blog??
As I’m counting down the time until I go back to school, I’m thinking of (and having to explain to others) the reasons why I’m going back for my MBA. They just can’t seem to settle for “I want to be able to work from anywhere in the world and set my own rules”! I stumbled on the article “Should entrepreneurs be getting your MBA?” yesterday, which questions if going back to school is really necessary, when most of the business world operates on “who” you know versus “what.”
My reasons, beyond my own ambition, are simple-ish. While being a perpetual student with limited responsibility is mildly appealing (minus the no $$ part) and I already have a basic business background, I’m not surrounded by those “who you know” people - meaning, not just influential, active business leaders, but also like-minded, ambitious, creative cohorts in the field I want to be in, who will challenge me to stretch farther.
Also, I don’t really have the “what you know” part down comfortably. If I knew what I wanted to do while I was going through my undergrad, I would have paid more attention to those technical skills that would be crucial to my business. Without having much real world experience (plus not knowing where you want to go), you don’t really know what you will actually use upon graduating, i.e. paper pushing, conflict resolution, stress relief, water cooler gossip.
Ambition: "Work from anywhere in the world"
This time around, I’m ready and know where I’m aiming. And my ambition in the end…”Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” ~(Confucius)
This is it…my last 5 days in the workforce (for now)! I’ve ‘put in my time’ for 5 years now, and am getting ready to go back to school full-time for my MBA! There are going to be many changes & challenges ahead, for the better of course, and I’m eager to get started. My fortunes are aligned (as per Friday’s Pei-Wei Asian diner fortune cookies, which couldn’t have said anything better)…
For now, here’s my countdown to a short summer break to clear my head & get ready to dive in!
~ Danielle - a.k.a. Blonde MBA
