subject: Things They Dont Teach You In Business School [print this page] You may have spent thousands of dollars on your Ivy League education, poured yourself over the business courses which light the hope a promising future, but remember that there is a lot more to becoming a professional than simply applying the matrices and theories management gurus rave about. Think beyond the spread shits and the animated power point presentations. Here is a list of lessons you probably didnt learn at Business School
1. Managing People is a lot Harder than You Think
Handling people can be an extremely painful process, but it has to be done. Human beings can sometimes be painful, and the root cause of many problems at your workplace. As a professional, it is important for you to make extra effort in building trust with the people you work with, contribute in creating a positive work environment. Yelling at people and complaining is not really going to benefit your cause. Instead it will make you look unprofessional and project to the world that you cannot work well under pressure.
2. Exaggerating and Lying will Get you Nowhere -
No textbook is expected to teach you this, but it is something that you, as a professional must be reminded every once a while. Do not exaggerate the outcomes or lie to get any work done or achieve any goals. Over a period of time, people tend to figure out that you do not always speak the truth or choose to selectively let out information depending on the situation. By doing this, you are driving people to doubt the credibility of everything that you say or do as a member of a team in any organization.
3. Professionalism cannot be Taught, it is an Attitude that Needs to be Instilled
One cannot learn professionalism at a business school. It is an attitude that you need to develop and instil in your day to day work. The way to behave with the people around you, the level of commitment you show to the projects at hand, how you interact with clients, your written and verbal communication patterns all seep professionalism and your work attitude. Learn from others, you will learn valuable lessons in professional etiquette by just observing the people around you.
4. Ownership is the Key to Success
An important way to drive a project to success is by making sure that someone takes ownership for it. Many projects begin with a well equipped team but no leader who is willing to take ownership for its success of failure. While everyone wants to take credit for a success, many projects end up in a mess when the focus becomes passing on the blame as against troubleshooting.
5. Have Complete Clarity
They may actually tell you this at B-School, but clarity of thought as a concept is something that cannot be emphasized enough. If you arent sure about what you are thinking, you may not be able to communicate your thoughts with equal clarity. The more crisp and clear you are the easier it will be for you to project confidence and trust to your clients, employees, peers and superiors. Try not to make use of jargons which intimidate people around you and serve no real purpose in effective communication.
While one cannot ignore the importance of good a business education, experience also teaches a lot. Make the most of your experiences to grow as a professional by leveraging your quality education.
