What does one actually learn at a B-School? Yes –we are introduced to the fundamentals of Marketing, HR, Finance, Economics, the importance of IT and learn that it is best to keep track of the daily news, but the real learning is much more than these. Learning goes beyond the syllabus. If I were to list what I have learnt here at IMT,the items may seem surprising. But these indeed are the biggest take-aways for me –those that will help me for the rest of my life.
1. Age/experience is no measure of maturity.
2. Behavioral etiquette and good communication skills can’t be taught –they have to be learnt.
3. Evaluation is always subjective unless a machine is involved –whether intentional or not.
4. Everyone thinks that the work they do is the toughest, most important and that they are doing their best.
5. People will always find things to criticize and complain about in the most perfectly executed functions, in the best-delivered lectures, in the nicest, fairest behavior exhibited.
6. Losing your temper and pushing someone to work may bring us results today but losses in the long run.
7. There will be free-riders in every group/team –sometimes, it takes you a long time to recognize them.
8. Even professors are sometimes wrong –not in what they teach, but in what they choose to teach.
9. It sometimes takes a long time for people to realize the worth of something/someone –and some, unfortunately, never do.
10. Though many people deserve a dose of plain speaking, one needs to be careful while doing this –it may sometimes backfire.
11. Accepting your mistake and saying sorry solves most problems –if not, it at least helps repair relationships.
12. It is a myth that people actually learn from mistakes or advice.
13. You can convince someone with an open mind but never someone who is so convinced of his own righteousness that he shuts his mind to yours’.
14. You don’t have to like someone to be able to work with them –understanding why they are what they are is enough.
15. Hatred and pessimism sap your energy and leave you emotionally exhausted.
16. Managers resort to using jargon and long-winded explanations (read beating about the bush) when they don’t have concrete answers or solutions.
17. All women have a little femininity, a little love for pink, chocolates, teddy bears, new clothes or mushy movies tucked away somewhere.
18. Knowing things is one thing –actually doing them is the difficult part.
19. There is always a way out –if we want to find one. The hypochondriacs, the fuss-pots, the wet-ducks and the complaint-boxes of the world just don’t want to find it.
20. Nobody is really interested in anybody else’s story, unless it satisfies some inner need that they themselves may be unaware of.
That’s a lot of learning, I guess .May be I’ll become a wise, wise person by the time I graduate.
