My value investing team finished off our very last MBA project last night. Ramit, Justin, Heather and I effectively hammered though a demanding final project, pulling a couple of very long tiresome days. It was symbolic of what the MBA was all about: hard work, collaboration, passion, and a sense of accomplishment.
So how do I feel?
I am excited, I am happy, I am relieved, but in all honesty it has been an emotional week for me. I’m sad that the MBA is over. It’s been the most incredible, life-changing year of my life and I’ve made so many amazing friends that I will see less often and will miss dearly. Change has never been something I’ve enjoyed. The MBA has made me far more accustomed to it but I know it’s harder for me than some others. I have one more week of nothing but free time to enjoy with my MBA colleagues before we say adios; we call it ‘disorientation’ week. A number of events are planned including a prom, golfing, bowling, paintball, clubbing, dinners, parties and of course convocation. I am not leaving here without my degree ;)
Most surprising changes in me during the year:
-I’ve become a Facebook addict along with the rest of the class. Prior to the MBA, I never went on Facebook more then once every couple of months. I wonder if this will last?
-I’ve become an SMS texting monkey like everyone else in the class. I never texted much before coming here. I’m proud to finally say that I discovered the iTAP functionality on my phone and can text just as fast as everyone else now. Ok – maybe not as fast as those ‘crackberry’ addicts.
-I’ve gone way more grey than I ever expected. Yup – even the top is going grey and so are some of my beard and chest hair too ;) I know you didn’t need to know that!
-I’m going bald. I was in denial for so long but the receding hair line is here to stay and probably will grow over the coming years.
-I went through that party phase that everyone generally goes through in their late teens and early twenties - at the age of 28 ;)
-I feel like my age again. Prior to the MBA, I always felt like I had to act way older than I was. I’m comfortable with being young again. I know I’m still uptight and intense, but I’ve learnt how to have fun again.
Most important learnings from the year:
-Effective leadership is about so much more than you’d think.
-The power of collaboration and team work.
-Put yourself out there; make yourself vulnerable.
-This quote from Nelson Mandela sums one of my key learnings:
“Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone.”
Favourite quotes from class during the year (names kept anonymous):
“assets are something people eat”
“a large % of criminals come from and go to Toronto”
"why develop a website in Canada for a bunch of farms to click and order lubricant"
“I feel like I’m in a Petri dish of male testosterone”
“errors are ok in general hospitals”
“I wouldn’t perceive BMW as a value but it’s valuable”
“the really smart people either burn out or become crooks and go to prison”
Team 5:
In closing, I wanted to make a special mention of my first learning team from the year. When I look back at this year, I realize how critical those first few months were. It was a time of anxiety, sleepless nights, and stress. Those first few months really set the tone for the remainder of the year and I was blessed to be a part of ‘Team 5’. We wrote a blog about our team earlier in the year in an effort to share our story with the hopes that other teams could benefit from our positive experiences – have a read if you get a chance. What was truly amazing about our team was that it was about more than school and academic achievement. It was about friendship, collaboration, mutual respect, common goals, and having impact. Thank you Garima, Heather and Matt for an amazing year.
I won’t stop writing quite yet. I’ve got a long summer break ahead and I’ll need to fill in my time. I’m not sure what my plans are for blog writing but I won’t call it quits yet, at least until convocation and disorientation week are complete.
Until next time.
Sacha Gera, MBA
1 comment:
Congratulations on making it through. Another 8 months till I'm done.
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