Wow. I cannot believe we are here. After many weeks of forcing myself to write 3 blogs, we are on the final blog. I think this would be a good time to reflect on what I have achieved so far and what I have gained from the MBA.
The first thing I will have to point out is that it has not been easy. Owning a couple of businesses whilst doing an MBA is quite tasking. It doesn’t matter if it is a part-time MBA. You don’t have evenings to yourself. The good thing is I have been able to build a schedule now. At the start of the MBA I had to get rid of a few things from my life.
The first couple of things I had to put on hold were my language classes. Towards the end of last year, I began taking Hausa and Igbo classes. There are reasons why I chose those languages in particular. I chose Hausa because I have investments in the Northern part of Nigeria, where Hausa is predominantly spoken. In order to communicate with farmers and other players in the agribusiness value chain, it is best you learn Hausa. As for Igbo, that is my native tongue. When I was growing up, my mother tried to teach it to me and my four other brothers. That did not go so well. She was so overwhelmed that she gave up. Besides, my father was not too concerned with us learning our native tongues.
The next thing I had to cut out was my social life. I managed to mostly cut that out but found myself being dragged to a couple of weddings. Each time I attended such events, I regretted the decision not long after. After cutting out these two key components, I could adjust myself to the EMBA course schedule. Now that I have completed the first semester, I feel comfortable enough to reintroduce certain tasks that I have neglected over the past few months.
Most of the assignments given to us have not been difficult per see. The issue is the time commitment. You really do have to dedicate time to learning when it comes to the MBA. However, there is a balance. In life, you have to set your priorities straight. Your business or workplace is what feeds you and your family, so you cannot neglect them in favour of an MBA course. So when I have situations where I have to choose between a very important work task or the MBA, the answer is obvious. Without my business, I would not have been able to afford the MBA in the first place. The point of an MBA is to expand your knowledge, network, and develop skills that will help in the workplace. The point is not to lose your job but to improve on it.
All in all, even though this blogging task has been exhausting, I believe it has been useful. Sometimes you have to do things that you find uncomfortable in order to grow.
TRANSACTION ANALYSIS AND RECORDING – PART 1