Why MBA and Why Lagos Business School my wife asked me when I told her I was applying for the LBS MBA programme. It was not like me to want to take on a new challenge of this nature, at this time. I am not usually very patient with many things and learning felt the brunt of my impatience the most. Do not get me wrong, I like learning new things if it doesn’t take me 2 years to complete. I also do not think too highly of certificates or certifications. Whilst certificates are great, I have always held the opinion that they only get you to the door, your experience and actual capacity opens the door and keeps you in the room.
The timing is also not great for me. I have a lot of responsibilities at work. We are expanding rapidly across Africa, and I play a key role in the expansion drive. I have also decided to throw my heart in the ring for some entrepreneurial experience for the first time in over 5 years. Past entrepreneurial experiences have left me filled with lessons but no returns. I am hoping this turns out differently.
I enrolled for MBA with Nexford University last year and only did a week with them before I discovered that they weren’t a right fit for me. Their syllabus was quite rich and the learning flexibility they provided was very welcomed. Yet it felt like something was missing. It would take for me to join the LBS program to discover what was truly missing. It was the actual MBA experience. Distance learning is great because of the many benefits and flexibility it affords, but in my opinion, for a course like MBA, there is a need to “rub shoulders” with your classmates. Lifetime friendships are formed in classes of this nature, and I wonder how that would work in a distance learning situation.
The good news is that I have lasted more than a month in Lagos Business School. This is a massive feat considering my previous attempt. I intend to take one day at a time and as I pen my thoughts here, I am hoping I write more than enough to make me jettison the idea of dropping out should it cross my mind.
It has not been easy though. The course scheduling is tighter than expected and I have had reasons to reach out to the ever-gentle Kayode multiple times to complain about scheduling. As a young family man working in a very tight and fast changing industry, I am required to always be reachable and ready to react to the constantly changing market realities. Being unreachable could be difference between success and failure on certain projects so it’s not an option. I am still struggling with sorting this out, but I am making significant changes to my lifestyle to accommodate the changes. I am also delegating more now at work.
Lagos Business School is a great institution of learning. I hope to become a more rounded person as I continue this journey.
#MMBA4
Communication is Key