Value that Market seeks in MBAs

Presented by

- Vijay Chaturvedi,

- PGMM (IMT, Ghaziabad) ; EPGDIB (IIFT, Delhi)

- Founder, Owner & Managing Partner – Vistar Consulting, Gurgaon

MBA – A Formation along 3 Dimensions

Knowing, Doing and Being

Knowing

reassessing the facts, frameworks, and theories that you learn

Doing

developing the skills, capabilities, and techniques that lie at the

heart of the practice of management

Being

the values, attitudes, and beliefs that form managers’ worldviews

and professional identities

MBA – A Journey from “Big A” to “Better A”

MY BIG ATTITUDE (LEFT IN CLASS) MY BETTER

ATTITUDE (RIGHT FOR MARKET)

Market

Expectation

– A learning

Manager and

not a learned

one

It Is All About

“Being” is “not being a Manager” but “being a Leader”

And Leadership means

taking responsibility for implementing change

developing a certain depth as a person

willing to shed any stereotypes that one may have carried into the

job

understanding the balance between a career and commitment to an

organization

developing a commitment to practice

understanding one’s own limitations, and

working out one’s expectations in a reasonable manner

Filling “The Gaps”

Areas that business graduates are generally perceived to be weak in:

Gaining a global perspective: managing institutional, economic and cultural

diversity

Developing leadership skills: learning to build with others

Honing integration skills: framing problems holistically and incorporating

judgment and intuition into analytical decision making

Recognizing organizational realities and implementing effectively:

understanding the politics of organizational behaviour

Acting creatively and innovatively

Thinking critically and communicating effectively

Understanding the roles, responsibilities, and purpose of business:

balancing the financial and non-financial objectives of business and multiple

stakeholder demands

Understanding the limits of models and markets

MBAs as Leaders

Focus required on four clusters

the “intra-personal”, which includes self-awareness, emotional self-

awareness, intentionality, resilience, optimism and empathy

the “influencing others” cluster, which includes emotional expression,

interpersonal connections, constructive discontent, and trust

the “managing complexity cluster” which consists of intuition and creativity

“managing diversity”, a tolerance for ambiguity and flexibility

Market View: Skills & Qualities

Manage

Change,

Business,

Others and

Self

Demonstrate curiosity and a willingness to learn, the willingness to challenge the status quo,

and learn from practice.

Everything is embedded in the learning attitude.

Understand the values which govern an organization

Market View: “Being” dimension

Show willingness to influence organizations and to make changes rather thanescape by moving on quickly.

Avoid high expectations from others, and avoid lack of depth.

Avoid stereotypes about managers and companies, what needs to be done andwhat helps them to build their own careers.

Be more committed to the organization or the profession.

Inculcate “practice orientation.”

Be open to the field roles.

Avoid being individualistic.

Be more independent and more grounded.

Avoid overrating the value of their degree.

Be humble

Today, Marketing, Finance, HR are no more separate islands.

Market View: “Being” dimension (Contd.)

Understand the social aspect of business as well.

Understand relevance of business to community.

Learn the concept of “value of money.”

Value “the values”.

Learn the art of judging the industry trend with sharper accuracy.

Increase emotional quotient to face the challenges of future.

Management ≠ Analysis

What you are learning in school is analysis.

You are being taught tools and techniques.

Analysis is just one of the ingredients in the recipe.

You may have the best analysis in the room.

However, if your analysis is not heard and taken seriously, it is of no value.

Too often, talented people with the best answers sit in the back of the room

while hacks run the show.

If you enjoy the view from the back, getting an MBA will not change anything.

A MBA degree only works if you are willing to transform yourself.

Are you?

Einstein would have been a terrible

manager

There is a huge misconception among students that being smart is the way to

be successful.

Let me break this to you - It is not about being smart.

There are many smart people who are absolutely incompetent managers.

Not to mention the fact that many smart people are first-rate jerks.

Don’t get it wrong.

You don’t have to be dumb to succeed.

But you also do not have to be a Mensanto make it to the top.

All you need is average intelligence.

But, you need other qualities.

Bill Clinton would have been an excellent

manager

The man had his faults.

But, he could communicate like few others.

Bad managers are, frequently, terrible communicators.

They have good ideas.

But they simply don’t know how to get them across.

You cannot lead, motivate or sell if you cannot communicate.

If there is one thing you want to do when you are in school, learn to

communicate.

Don’t Lose Touch With What is Right

Do not use analysis to justify what you know to be wrong.

Frequently, the wrong path comes dressed in pretty clothes.

Don’t buy it.

Hang on to your moral compass for all its worth.

Remember what your mom taught you.

If you think something is wrong, stand up and say something.

You will certainly lose some friends.

But, it will be worth it.

If you cannot explain an action to your family, don’t do it.

Nice guys can finish first.

You don’t have to stop being a nice guy to succeed.

Got Gumption? You will not succeed if you do not show initiative.

I have met many smart people who are simply not interested in following

through on their ideas.

The result? They languish, get bitter and drink too much.

You better have a passionate belief in your ideas, if you want others to take them

seriously.

Just ask Arthur Fry-the inventor of the Post-it Note who had to fight 3M

bureaucracy to get the idea through.

To succeed, you will have to be cheeky.

And, stubborn as a mule.

Persist & Win them over with charm.

History teaches us that smart people have made bad calls.

Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM once said-“I think there is a world market for

maybe five computers.”

So, believe in your ideas and go for it.

Stay Current

Here is a quick quiz

Do you have a blog?

Have you added a screenshot to a PowerPoint presentation?

Have you downloaded a free e-book before?

Do you know how to limit your Google search to .pdf files?

Have you modified a Wikipedia page?

If you scored 0, 1 or 2 on the quiz, you are obsolete.

Find a way to get current.

Reinvent yourself

I have always admired Benjamin Franklin because he refused to be just one

thing.

He constantly reinvented himself.

He was a printer, scientist, inventor, civic activist, writer, librarian, philosopher

and diplomat.

Labels are nothing.

Outgrow them.

You’ve got to take smart risks

Something dragged you to an MBA program.

It was perhaps a desire to outgrow a niche or to jumpstart a career.

Don’t lose that.

Take smart risks-with yourself and your career.

That’s Nicole Evans, founder of iVillage, by the way.

Don’t stop dreaming

I think we spend too much time talking about vision and too little talking about

dreams.

Dreams drive achievement.

Narayana Murthy is an Indian electrical engineer who grew up in a typical

middle-class family.

What made him different was that he dreamed of building a world-class

company.

For FY 2015, the annual revenue of Infosys, the Bangalore-based company he

founded, was US$ 8.71 billion.

Murthy is now in the global “Top 10 Most Admired CEOs” list and is worth

US$1.8 billion(2015).

Imagine the number of people who must have told him that he was dreaming if

he thought a world-class company could be based in India.

He kept on dreaming and inspired an entire generation of Indian

entrepreneurs.

So, here’s the checklist !

Management ≠ Analysis

It is not about being smart

Learn to Communicate

Don’t Lose Touch With What is Right

Got Gumption?

Stay Current

Reinvent Yourself

Take Smart Risks

Don’t Stop Dreaming

The Automotive Icon & the legendary Lee

Iacocca says it all !!!