What I didn’t learn at Business School

Long time ago, I studied for my MBA. It must be more than 10 years ago. With the spirit of businessmanship coming to to me from my father, i decided to learn all the bits of business.  My father was not a complete businessman, but used to do some business in his free time which was available in plenty after his central government job. I decided to learn business the classroom way. Also my love for marketing made me study MBA. And in the process of my MBA I was certain that i really loved marketing and that is what i wanted to do.

Also marketing I loved was because Operational Management, Finance, HR and all the other bits of business most definitely weren't my thing. It took a hell lot of time and also a lot expensive. It took 3 years for me to find out Marketing was my thing, and I was born for it. But also i came to know which are the areas in the business which are complete NO for me.

I learned a lot of theories and case studies of big business. If someone today asks me, i can certainly write out a balance sheet and cashflow forecast. But, there were things which i didn’t learn. I didn’t learn the actual practical business, that business owners do while managing their businesses. Many of us today are doing the same.

Let me put down what i didn’t learn the classroom way...

Ideas matter, execution matters even more.
The idea which you have with you and you think that it’s a Eureka moment for you. The guy next door might also have the same idea. It’s the execution which matters.

Every employee has to do Sales.
MBA teaches to be a perfect manager. It teaches to entrust, analyse and co-ordinate. What a MBA don’t teach is that in any organization, at some point or the other, everyone has to sell.

Work Life balance is crucial.
Taking a break from work has often helps to get back to with being much stronger. Organisation behaviour teaches about optimising processes and ensuring a high-quality work space to see that the employees can give their maximum on the job. Taking breaks helps.

There’s no such thing as a perfect business model.
Case studies are always fascinating. Case studies about successful businesses are more than fascinating. Strategy, leadership and the product plays a very important role in a successful company. But also luck is absolutely necessary with all of these.

Business Can Be a Lot More Fun, Inspiring and Powerful.
the classroom always teaches you to be analytical and conservative. It’s taught that business is done wearing suits. Business is all about taking smart decisions, creating new products that surprise and delight people. This all can be done in a very novel and innovative way. A simple idea which was born on a kitchen platform can be an attention grabber.

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