Road to Mastery – My MBA Experience

Life before MBA

I have been a farmer for as long as I can remember. I was introduced into the farm business at a young age, and the skills I have learned in agriculture are still the most profitable to me as of today – 7 November 2023.

I studied biochemistry as an undergraduate, while I struggled in the first couple of semesters, I finally understood what was required of me – cram as much definitions and processes as you can. I did that very well after my second year and became a very talented biochemist on paper.

One thing that surprised me the most from my final days in the university, was when they started holding these seminars about computer literacy and entrepreneurship, waiting till the end of our program to tell us that there were no jobs out there, we should go out and create jobs, be entrepreneurs and solve problems. When we had spent the last 4 years learning how to reproduce information, I wonder how they expected us now to go out there and create.

What is the next best step

For better or worse after I graduated, I went back to the farm to manage affairs and relieve my dad of some responsibilities. Most of my classmates went to find work in banks, some went in search for further education (home and abroad); I know we’re not supposed to compare ourselves with others but you can agree with me that there are some low points. I did not think further traditional education was the way to go. I actually believed that a lot more was to be gained by being involved in the business.

I soon picked up a plethora of skills from plumbing to book-keeping, negotiation and other people skills. Even with all these skills, deep down I knew I was still not an entrepreneur. I did not get creative ideas or inspirations about new products, and I also did not have solutions to the recuring problems we seemed to have on the farm: high turnover of staff, and marketing problems. In my search for knowledge, I came across some of these books that promise to hold as much information as an MBA program. Maybe they were right, but I tried and failed to understand the concepts they were trying to convey. I did pick up some accounting and business vocabulary as well as an interest in getting an MBA.

The first obstacle I faced after making this decision was the fact that I was terrible at math – or I used to hold that belief. A wise man once told me to always evaluate the thoughts I hold as true. I needed a good understanding of mathematics to pass the GRE tests, so I spent more time studying math than I did verbal aptitude. It turned out I wasn’t bad at math and it was not as difficult as I remembered in secondary school.

I applied to LBS because of the proximity, yes I know I said many other things in the interview. The days before the interview was another time of uncertainty. I wondered whether my GRE scores were enough or if I did not make the cut.

Since I got my admission, the brush-up sessions and these 2 weeks of the semester, I can say that the depth of my expectations has expanded. I am finally in the land of ”luck” – the place where preparation meets opportunity. There is abundance of opportunity, and I have surrendered myself to the preparation that LBS offers.

Jefe