What have I learned?

When I started thinking about doing an MBA, a colleague with his MBA from Thunderbird told me that it would be a fun experience but I would learn nothing. Based on P1 classes, he is right...to an extent. From an analytical prospective, I have already had Stats, Accounting, Economics, & Finance courses much more comprehensive than what we are exposed to in the short 8 week modules at INSEAD. So I get to relax (relatively speaking) while those with "non-traditional" backgrounds like one of my roommates go into hysterics every now and then trying not to drown as we move at light speed from NPV formulas to DCF calculations to deriving the CAPM theory.

So why am I here? While I certainly do have plenty to learn from the courses themselves (looking to P3 when I can chose what I want to take) I have so many soft skills to be developing now and the MBA experience makes the perfect environment for this. First, our group of 5 setting is giving me A LOT of experience in trying to influence others and is now testing my ability to control my emotions (patience) on a daily basis. It's amazing how similar my brain works to that of the one consultant on the team....but the logic process used by some of the others can really boggle my mind. I started to lose my cool in a couple situations today...must get better at being 100% in control...we've now learned in LPG that good leaders have a high EQ which starts with knowing oneself and being able to completely control your emotions.

Also, I've been really working on improving my ability to plan. I am clearly a "P" for Perceiver on the Briggs Myers test. It is frustrating how difficult I find it to sit and structure out plans. In the last month, I have been able to take some steps towards building the planning skill. I have been able to plan and execute a couple large scale house dinners and also a few other social events. Going forward, I hope to use one of the INSEAD groups (such as the PE club) as a platform to plan something a bit larger.

One thing I must really push myself to improve on is networking. I made it out to the first career fair and chatted up a few of the HR reps. This of course was low value networking...these people grip and grin for a living and probably forget who you are seconds after you have thanked them for telling you about the great culture at company Z. I think the high value networking will come from the less frequented routes. E.g. professors, alumni, exec. program students, etc. I will make a first effort this weekend while attending the alumni reunion on campus. All students were invited to participate in a portion of the event, I'm guessing there won't be many of us actually there. As a side note, I've optimistically ordered myself 100 "business cards" through the bookstore, let's see how many of them I can get through by year end...I'll be very happy if it turns out I need to reorder!