You spend sleepless nights pondering, weeks exploring, inquiring and deliberating... and then.. you take that giant leap of fate, not knowing whether the decision you've made is the best one. I, too, spent those sleepless nights pondering, I did my fair share of deliberation, and now a month after my giant leap of fate, I finally get it (or so i think). "Best decision" is a mythical being. In fact, there are no good or bad decisions. There are just decisions, and once you take one, the ball is in your court. A month into b-school, some of these dots are beginning to connect, but if i said they are all there...well, lets not even go there!
A month ago, on an eventful Saturday morning, I took my first step onto what has been very aptly called the 51 week roller-coaster. It's not jungle warfare, its not Russian roulette, but its definitely not inconsequential. If there was ever a task more perplexing than choosing between 'n' equally lucrative possibilities, I'm yet to find it. And that is precisely the dilemma I find myself in, here at ISB, just 1 month in. Just 1 month in but with only 11 more to go. It doesn't take longer than a couple of minutes to realize that you are potentially in the land of opportunities once you get to ISB. Leadership development opportunities (read as- clubs in need of Presidents), networking potential (bright eyed, ambitious folks with some seriously impressive stories to share), a plethora of learning opportunities (that you know you will never be able to do justice to), sports and skills to be picked up, parties to unwind at, unlimited midnight oil to burn and even an occasional moment of solitude and reticence to soak it all in. The legend of the b-school kind may well be true- the competitive, competent and omnipresent creature who leaves no mountain un-scaled and lets no opportunity to connect, inspire and transform pass him/her by.
I'm just not the legend. I'm still fascinated by the people i meet here everyday, i'm still awe-struck by the stories of their lives and i'm still overwhelmed with the choices i must make. You put bakers, entrepreneurs, soldiers, bankers, planners, doctors and some of us regular folks under one roof, and suddenly even the ordinary seems extraordinary! Is it the place or is it people? I'm not sure if I'll ever know, but there definitely is something magical about ISB that inspires even us unassuming folks to do more and be more.
Maybe my understanding of life and business has evolved little in the last one month. Sure i talk market segments and diminishing returns and even network every once in a while. But the 1 thing, that i now truly get, is that one can get out of an MBA only as much as he/she is willing to put in. From where I'm standing at this point of inflection, this roller-coaster is going up with no signs of sloping down. But before i wallow in my glorious present, i leave a note to self- the ball is still in my court, but i must return the serve.
A month ago, on an eventful Saturday morning, I took my first step onto what has been very aptly called the 51 week roller-coaster. It's not jungle warfare, its not Russian roulette, but its definitely not inconsequential. If there was ever a task more perplexing than choosing between 'n' equally lucrative possibilities, I'm yet to find it. And that is precisely the dilemma I find myself in, here at ISB, just 1 month in. Just 1 month in but with only 11 more to go. It doesn't take longer than a couple of minutes to realize that you are potentially in the land of opportunities once you get to ISB. Leadership development opportunities (read as- clubs in need of Presidents), networking potential (bright eyed, ambitious folks with some seriously impressive stories to share), a plethora of learning opportunities (that you know you will never be able to do justice to), sports and skills to be picked up, parties to unwind at, unlimited midnight oil to burn and even an occasional moment of solitude and reticence to soak it all in. The legend of the b-school kind may well be true- the competitive, competent and omnipresent creature who leaves no mountain un-scaled and lets no opportunity to connect, inspire and transform pass him/her by.
I'm just not the legend. I'm still fascinated by the people i meet here everyday, i'm still awe-struck by the stories of their lives and i'm still overwhelmed with the choices i must make. You put bakers, entrepreneurs, soldiers, bankers, planners, doctors and some of us regular folks under one roof, and suddenly even the ordinary seems extraordinary! Is it the place or is it people? I'm not sure if I'll ever know, but there definitely is something magical about ISB that inspires even us unassuming folks to do more and be more.
Maybe my understanding of life and business has evolved little in the last one month. Sure i talk market segments and diminishing returns and even network every once in a while. But the 1 thing, that i now truly get, is that one can get out of an MBA only as much as he/she is willing to put in. From where I'm standing at this point of inflection, this roller-coaster is going up with no signs of sloping down. But before i wallow in my glorious present, i leave a note to self- the ball is still in my court, but i must return the serve.
