Extracting the most of 1 Year MBA

The one year MBA has recently caught a lot of steam. People are talking about it a lot. The one year MBA provides a window for  working professionals like me to take a break from work and get back into student life. I have been involved in it since last 2 years once I zeroed in on doing my masters after 8 years of  working to take a leap in my professional career.

Of the available programs I had zeroed in on PGPX program from IIM-Ahmedabad, The others being offered amongst the notable  ones are from ISB, IIM-B and IIM-C. On the flight for my convocation I wanted to pen down my views on the key TO DO's to make the most of the program. Some of the WIMIWIAN lingo will be used.

1. Focus on academics: You will have lot of things happening on campus , however for Term 1&2 don't lose focus on the academics. Keep them as your focal point. They are named building blocks for a reason. Term 1 will help you get back into the groove of studying and transition into student life. Term 2 will pump up the ante to another  level. Moreover all the topics covered in these 2 terms are the basics which you need to know and these will cover every aspect of going concern. Hence focus on building your base and understanding the concepts.
2. Focus on grades but don't let them control you: This is something I had mentioned in another post too and would like to re-iterate here. It is always good to have a focus on performing well and getting good grades but don't let grades control you else you will lose the joy of learning. I realized this soon in term 1 and since then learning was such a joy. If you have your concepts learnt well you will undoubtedly end up getting good grades. Trust me when I say this if you re focused on learning grades will fall in place.
3. Don't Procrastinate: This is a serious No-No at PGPX. Be on top of what  is happening , keep up the pace with your readings and assignments. Once you are lag behind you will not be able to play the catch-up game. In such an event leave the readings that has been missed and focus on the next assigned topics. Playing the catch-up game you will always fall behind. If you are lucky to find an off day go back and cover whats missed.. I fondly remember Prof Agarwalla saying this, whats missed now can only be read after March 2018 once you pass out of the institute and that is absolutely true.Ensure you set aside only a reasonable time for every activity and finish within that time. Make the most of the pre-reads they are there for a reason.
4. Leverage your syndicate: Study groups as you might call them are made by the institute. You don't play a  role in making your syndicate but leveraging it to the fullest is upto you and you must make full use of it. The syndicates will be  your lifelifne and leveraging them to the fullest will do wonders. The common ways by which you can underutilize them is by not doing case discussions in syndicate, missing the case discussion or showing up late , going un-prepared or without reading into the discussion or by splitting the assignments thus being aloof of certain group submissions. It will be difficult , you will hear noises from all around that you are wasting time and most importantly all of you will have to make effort. All of you should stick to the grind and work together. Even if it takes 2 hours extra so be it. Keep doing it through the 5 terms.Trust me when I say this one year later you will realize  you made the right choice.
5. Make the most of the opportunities : The program is only one-year and its going to be jam packed. You will be bombarded with readings , case preparations and assignments. But make sure to make use  of  the  other opportunities coming your way. The institute will always have some event happening or some good speaker visiting in to share their knowledge. Try to take out time to listen to them , let their greatness rub off you. Participate and enjoy T-Nite to the fullest, this will be the only respite in term 2. Use the campus facilities , find a hobby and use it as your go to stress buster.
6. Prepare for  your placements: Prepare well or the placements. You can have your friend circle or your coffee group , but in the race for the jobs we are all competitors. Make interview prep groups  with like minded people even if its outside  your syndicate and prepare well with them. You will learn new things and grow as an individual. Turn deaf year to all the noises and keep your focus. Don't give yourself the opportunity to have a thought had I prepared well things could have been different. Getting your perfect CV takes time and don't be afraid of getting reviewed it by peers , they are the ones who will give you the best inputs.
7. Don't get afraid of Data : The program will throw volumes of data at you. Dont get bogged down. This is  one of the key take aways, to take the data head on, analyze and make sense out of it
8. There will be instances when you will have different thoughts and views from others. Be ready to see things from their point of view. Be ready to accept you can be wrong. Learn to unlearn. The sooner you do it the better it will be for you.

In summary the key takeaways will be : Learn to Unlearn and re-learn, ability to work with a highly diverse group and come to a consensus ,work with lots and lots of data and make sense of it.

Wish you all the best !!!