Teamwork and teamplay

WHAT: THEY DON`T TEACH YOU AT B-SCHOOL
by Subrotah Biswas

I believe, it is a series of events (education, job, personal experiences and so on) that all collaborate to make a personality or a career. My MBA education taught me a couple of memorable things: make the most of a given situation, look at the problem and not the person responsible for it, and true accountability.

Through all those case studies and internships we are taught how to prepare for varied business eventualities. However, in the real world, each situation is unique; every problem/challenge requires a renewed approach. When success is defined by how fast you change with the dynamic socio-economic environment, there are no standard solutions. And the only thing that you carry forward from your education is the attitude, the philosophy and certain examples of what “not” to do.

Let me draw an analogy with my favourite sport soccer. At B-school one gets good coaching — one gets to learn about how to kick the ball, control the ball, field movements and so on. In a profession, one is playing a match and individual skills picked up at B-school are not enough to win it; one needs to coordinate, play his role, create opportunities, take initiatives and rejoice in the celebration of the entire team. I strongly believe that in real professional world there are no individual triumphs. Individual accolades and medals end with the alma mater.

To all those stepping out into their careers post their MBAs, I would strongly advise that they look for linear organic growth at the beginning of the career. Exponential growth, especially in the initial days, results in dilution of certain fundamental strengths. I am reminded of the story of a butterfly coming out of the cocoon. If you do not let it struggle through the entire process and try cutting open the cocoon to help the butterfly out, all you will get is a butterfly with underdeveloped wings that cannot fly. Similarly, one should try and gain operational level experience first.

Additionally, I think, every individual should contribute towards a “learning organisation” — this is a term coined by Peter Senge; and implies that everyone in the organisation has the power to contribute positively and should aim at achieving an overall synergy through harmonic coordination of work profiles.

Subrotah Biswas did his MBA from Pune University

View Source