The most gruesome question!

“Every morning in Africa, when a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up, it knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better start running.”

You must have read these lines attributed to various famous personalities in the internet; but they sum up the life of a student in a b-school and the life after in the least possible and the most apt words. MBA, rather than being a ‘two-year degree programme’, is a way of living. In a growing economy like ours, jobs are in abundance but to stand out one must possess that extra bit of skill to succeed. In any organisation the technical skills matter up to a certain stage above which all that matters is management of people, relations, time and money.

I sincerely believe in Christine Comafrod’s words, who says,

When it comes to success in business, an MBA degree is optional. But a GSD, which is only earned by ‘Getting Stuff Done’, is required.

A ‘kirana’ shopkeeper in my locality can have a better sense of ‘his’ business than a double MBA from Harvard. However, he would have learnt that from trial and error, by experience percolated over the years and through losses and struggles. MBA would not truncate those struggles or decrease the losses, but it would rather condition a man’s mind and body for the struggles, he would use a more methodical approach, which can certainly not be foolproof but would at least decrease the chances of failing. Hence, I feel that one must assess himself and the reason for pursuing a degree in management before bracing himself for the journey of a lifetime. However, in India education seems to be a ‘follow-the-herd’ job now-a-days rather than pursuing one’s own interest, be it engineering or business administration. The same question confronted me a few days ago.

“Follow your heart”, my counsellor said, and as I walked out I found a batch mate and asked him the same clichéd question, “Dude, what after college?” and from classroom to the college gallery through the academic block I repeated the same set of questions to about 20 odd friends with almost the same answer (though in different tones), “MBA”, they said. My mind said MBA, for no obvious reason though (the topper of the class opting for the same drew me somewhat), but like an obedient son and the junior-most member of the family, I had to ask my father, mother, brother, sister and a host of other relatives. I wanted to ascertain that the decision that I was going to make doesn’t haunt me in the future (JEE incubus still fresh in mind).

Gurcharan Das mentions in India Unbound,” We Indians are afraid of taking chances, be it in life or in business. A part of it is because of our culture and partly because of the limited options our economy provides (though post-1991, this has begun to change).” If you don’t listen to an elder and falter then you have no option but to groan and grouse as they mutter in disdain “Didn’t I?” The path that the Indian youth took was the ‘road most taken’, by the early 2000s you were either an engineer working in a software firm or an MBA executive, all because someone told you to do so.

Being a true product of ‘The great Indian education system’, I followed the herd and started preparing for MBA entrance exams, until one fine day my dad asked, “Son why do you want to do an MBA? Don’t you think you can run or start your own business with your own brain? Remember your Nanaji, or Kakaji ? Even Azim Premji or Kishore Biyani, your idols, never did an MBA.” It was that day that I really began to ponder over the matter. What I have realised over this period of time is that an MBA is worth garnering, not only for the skills it adds or the fat pay packages people get but also for the respect they command. An MBA along with an engineering degree (in my case) would raise one to a higher playing field. It would help him become a policy maker rather than just being a follower. MBA is also one last chance to switch streams as in my case I am not enchanted by the electrical circuits anymore, rather I want to be an entrepreneur.

MBA has seen a surge in popularity in the recent years mainly because India’s economy has expanded by leaps and bounds. The opportunities are out there in the open; be it an MBA, astrophysics or even a career in wine tasting, the decision has to be yours. One must take his decision according to the market-demand and the work that gives one satisfaction. It should be completely your own decision because as Pythagoras said, “Choices are the hinges of destiny”, and your one decision may define your whole life.