Kung Fu Panda and the MBA dream


I am so happy with the latest trend in disney/pixar/dreamworks animation - not just all-nice characters with a predictable storyline and a mushy happy ending with a moral-of-the-story, but a trigger to multiple thought processes too..

Last week I saw Kung Fu Panda, and it gave a bamboo for thought to my current state of mind..

A lot of us salaried folks, at some point of time, think about getting an MBA (of course, if we don't have it already).. We believe that it will give us a quantum leap - will either quadruple our current salary levels, or will teach us how to start our own business.. And that leap is just what we need, to become that 'dragon warrior' - a transformed me..

And most of this bunch of us think there is a 'secret ingredient' that the B-schools possess and only that ingredient is lacking in us which is preventing us from becoming the 'dragon warrior'!

Then we go through the chosen B-School and we come out after two years of concentrated training and our eyes opened to "that unwritten scroll that reflects our face" . Then we know that what the B-school really has, is no secret ingredient, but three practical ones:

1. Consistent discipline - The intensity of the training, the almost-military discipline you have to follow to do well..

2. Network - The school of our choice brings us closer to the network we seek - like-minded people who fuel each other..

3. Belief in self - After you have seen it all, you don't have this constant nagging anymore : maybe the other guy with an MBA knows more than me and can run a business better than me... Because now you know that "there is no secret ingredient!"


So, as a conclusion - "GO PO" !!!


5 comments:

Venkat K said...

awesome post...I predict ISB and the other banks will be suing you.

How do we know said...

So true!! But i guess there is more. I believe a B School taught us to channelise our energies, to prioritise work much better et al.

Net net, if the idea is whether or not an MBA is gud for career, the answer is Am not sure. But for personal growth, it comes a close second to the IMA, as u rightly pointed out. :-)

San said...

venkie, :)

hdwk, yup, the question is not 'if mba or not', but what we do with or without it.. ?!

Unknown said...

That reminds me of the bit from the latest Harry Potter movie where Harry "puts" some of the Lucky potion into a visibly nervous Ron's drink for the Quidditch game ahead (he actually doesn't). Ron, thinking that now nothing can go wrong , kicks some mean ass on the game - because of his state of mind .
Thus, in a twisted way, using analogies :
"lucky potion" = MBA
Ron = non-MBA guy and aspiring entrepreneur
Quidditch = Passion that non-mba guy aspires to be the best at!


All you need is the right state of mind!

Now, how about that as a new business idea? A school/program/workshop that creates a quick fix MBA experience (less than 1 year), and gives one the right mind-set to believe that he/she can succeed!

I'll stop the rant now!

San said...

haha.. chandra, that's a fantastic rant!