Top 5 things I learned from getting my M.B.A.
There are so many articles that talk about the ROI of an M.B.A. — some are positive and some are negative. My take on that is this: you do you. What I mean by that is, it’s not always about the best business school or having an M.B.A. on your resume. It is all about what YOU make out of it.
For me, I knew I always wanted to pursue an M.B.A. since I was an undergrad at Cal. I felt that I wanted to broaden my horizons and understand all aspects of business management and leadership. Be a non-expert intellectual, so to speak.
After more than 10 years of working in Corporate America, I realized it was finally time and I felt ready. The timing couldn’t be more perfect since I had just transitioned to the tech industry from legal services and moved across the country from New York City to the Bay Area. I wanted to be in the center of all the action in Silicon Valley. I felt ready to take this big leap so I went for it.
I wanted to share my journey with you and outline what I learned from earning my M.B.A.
- You don’t know it all, and you don’t always have to be right.
Now, this is hard for Type A people like you and I, but what I learned is that the more you learn, the more you realize there’s so much more to learn. I got to hear about so many different industries and unique perspectives from my classmates that I never would have otherwise. For instance, I had no knowledge of the education industry or the gaming industry, but hearing my classmates talk about their challenges working in such industry taught me the unique pain points that each industry faces and appropriate solutions to help alleviate them.
Even more importantly, I learned you don’t always have to be right. It is OK to disagree and you don’t always have to force your own opinions on other people. Respect others and listen.
2. I actually understand how to read financial statements.
Now, this caught me by a complete surprise. I DREADED and I mean DREADED going into my quantitative analysis and finance classes. Before, if you throw numbers at me, I would just go blank and shut down (no, seriously!) but somehow I managed to read the balance sheets, income statements and cash flow and next thing I knew I was doing a debt-to-equity ratio analysis and return on equity. Say, what?!
Somehow, I came out of business school actually understanding what current liabilities and assets mean in terms of company’s financial standing and how it may look like it’s growing but it’s all funded by debt. Interesting…
3. You learn to give excellent presentations
I am very thankful for this particular skill. I enjoy giving presentations but they were always on topics I was comfortable with. In school, that wasn’t the case. We were given topics that I didn’t necessarily agree on or simply didn’t know anything about. It was challenging to learn and understand it well enough to give excellent presentations.
You are in the room full of Type A, highly opinionated and experienced professionals so you better anticipate all types of questions that come your way or you would be exposed as a fraud! My school in particular made sure that we always got detailed feedback on our presentation skills. After all, what is the point of a great idea if you can’t articulate it well, right?
4. You learn to work with Type A people and develop a strong set of leadership skills
This shouldn’t be a surprise, but often when you are in a room with highly ambitious, competitive people just like you, it’s hard to listen and be heard. You learn to take a step back and listen.
With organizational culture class, you really get to the bottom of what works for people and what motivates people. You learn to be a flexible leader who can speak to anyone with a unique approach that works best for the person you are speaking to.
5. You learn to think strategically and really become a strategic thinker and execute
Prior to getting an M.B.A., I don’t think I truly understood strategy. Most people confuse tactics with strategy, and the types of strategies that exist. I got to take an in-depth course on strategy going from external and internal analysis to planning (critical success factors, alternatives) and execution. I had to really dig deep and understand what “Strategy” really means. It was challenging from start to finish, but I can honestly say that now I can take a hard look at the organization’s value and resources and seeing where the opportunities are and how to maximize our capabilities to achieve great results.
Again, I want to emphasize that these are just some of the best things I got out of business school. It is not to say that an M.B.A is an answer to all, but I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything. The choice is yours.
