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Last Updated on April 21, 2020 by Work In My Pajamas
If you’re a student currently enrolled in an MBA program, there is no doubt that you are making huge strides in terms of creating a successful future career path. An MBA can open all kinds of doors of possibility and truly help you realise all your biggest goals and dreams.
And while your focus and attention may be on your studies and earning that degree, there are a number of valuable lessons that MBA students should also embrace in their life. They are the kind of lessons that you won’t find in your books or classes, rather they are life lessons and experience lessons that set you up for lifelong success.
So, if you’re looking to absorb as much as possible during this time of your life, and create a well-balanced portfolio not just of your degree and studies, but also an amazing life outlook, then these lessons are pivotal.
In This Post:
It’s All About Creating Balance in Life
When you first get that MBA degree and you head out into the job world seeking for that all-important career, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment and make your job your life. Before you know it, life becomes off-balance with the majority of your time, energy, and focus going to work and leaving only a sliver of that same energy and effort for your personal life. Your relationships will start to suffer, and no matter how much progress you may make at work, you just won’t feel satisfied.
It’s a lesson that Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is all too familiar with. As Aston Online University aptly points out to its students and graduates, Bezos has spoken about balancing work with life not just on one occasion, but multiple. He is well known for his many articles and speeches over the years and tends to be quite open in the lessons he has learned.
Bezos takes a very different approach to work now, and the way he treats his employees. He isn’t the type that is all about work, work, work, then heading home simply to sleep. In fact, he touts a healthy eight hours of sleep each night, encourages people to spend time with their family and friends, and stresses that it’s important to clear up all work matters and issues before the end of the workday so as not to take them home. He is a firm believer in balance.
He has gone on to discuss how he achieves this balance which is “three good decisions”. He believes upper management needs to make three good decisions each and every day, and these decisions must not cause any sacrifices to job performance or personal life.
It’s a refreshing outlook from a top CEO, and it’s an outlook that makes a lot of sense the more you think about it.
Don’t Overwhelm Yourself with Large Teams
As you move into those supervisory and management roles in a company, you will likely be faced with creating teams. Here’s another area that you can put into play balance and ensure that the team is as effective as possible. Typically, a smaller team tends to be more efficient and productive. Each voice is heard, there is a greater chance for collaboration, and all team members feel equal. Once a team gets too big, it’s easy for people and ideas to fall between the cracks and suddenly the team is no longer effective.
Again, this is another life and work lesson that Bezos is happy to discuss as he applies a “two-pizza rule”. Within Amazon, he likes teams to be kept small enough that they can be fed by two pizzas. Any more than that – and it becomes too big and too out of hand.
Feed Your Gut Instinct and Learn to Trust
Here’s a life lesson that can prove to be much easier said than done. Not everyone is great at listening to their gut instincts – in fact, some people are so out of tune with their gut that they wouldn’t even recognise if a message is being sent.
There comes a time, usually after you have graduated and started to gain real-world experience, where you need to start listening to yourself. Rely on the situations you’ve been through first-hand, trust that you have the skills and knowledge to make wise decisions, and also learn how to start trusting other members of your team and company. This life lesson can take years to perfect but can offer huge pay-offs in the end.
Strive for Innovation
This particular tip is especially timely, as today is truly the time for innovators. Any time you can be unique, creative, and look for areas to push the envelope and improve, it is bound to pay off. Often it is that fear of failure that can hold innovators back and stop them from realising their true worth. Rather than let the fear paralyse you and determine your decisions, let it act as motivation to push harder and come up with those new and often scary ideas and concepts.
When you strive for innovation, you ensure you won’t have regrets as you look back on life. That familiar saying of “would have, could have, should have” will never apply.
Learn When to Be Fluid and Flexible
Finally, there is the question of when you should be fluid and flexible. When you get an idea, concept, or technique in your head, it can be difficult, if not downright impossible, to veer off your plotted course. Here’s the thing – life happens, obstacles pop up, challenges arise, and you need to learn how to be flexible so you can properly react to them. It doesn’t mean the goal, milestone, project, or task is ruined – it means you need to re-think your course of action.
Combine that MBA with Life Lessons
So, while your MBA degree will certainly prepare you for a very successful career, combining it with key life lessons is what will really garner you the fulfillment you’re after.
