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Change is Good for the Soul.
Term 5 has begun and change is in the air at ISB! Sections are a thing of the past (but section love persists fiercely). Focus on academics has given way to a focus on placements. There are very few moans and groans about classes – everyone is finally doing what they enjoy (i.e., no more INVA and DMOP for the mathematically-challenged and no more “Faff” for the number-crunchers!). It’s fair to say that the mood is changing quickly as we embark on the second half of our ISB journey.
We’ve learned that most people perceive change in terms of a loss of something rather than a gain of something else. It turns out I’m the poster child for this phenomenon, but I also suspect that many others around me feel the same way. As I consider this time of change, I’ve come to realise that the last six months have allowed me to gain so much more than I could ever have imagined when I decided to come to ISB.
In April, I had just moved back from the United States after working there for nine years, to begin life at ISB. It was a decision I made after much soul-searching and with much apprehension. It was scary and life-altering for me, and I’m sure it was for many of my peers too. Scarier yet was trading in our comfortable 9-5 lives complete with a paycheck, to a 24/7 life without one. But the scariest part was relearning how to study among some of the smartest kids in the world and racing as fast as we could to stay on the treadmill that is life at ISB. Although I gave up my paycheck, my free time, and on many days, my sanity, in return I have gained a real life lesson in management: of time, peer relationships, money, motivation, energy, and tradeoffs. I’ve rediscovered what it’s like to be driven and motivated for my own sake. But most importantly, I’ve found kindred spirits and friends who make it their business to make sure I succeed (and vice versa).
As placement season kicks in, our focus is changing from academics to the hunt for a perfect job. Frankly, I had just gotten used to the rigmarole of mid-terms and finals every two weeks and had finally learned to take them in my stride. Switching gears yet again seems like a major challenge in my book. But as we prepare our resumes and start to look at JDs, we should marvel at how much our worldview of business has expanded since we came to school. We’ve been exposed to the business practices of hundreds of companies through ELPs, guest speakers, business case competitions, and more. We’ve gained cutting edge knowledge and skills, and a new way of looking at old problems. And although it seemed impossible in Term 2, we can now see practical applications of DMOP all around us! We came here to refresh our skill sets and expand our horizons; the placement process is sure to help us see how we can apply our hard-earned education where the rubber meets the road.
The biggest change for me personally is the loss of my section and the comfort and familiarity of that section cocoon. For the last six months, my 70 classmates and I have been in a lifeboat together. We’ve had a true shared experience (sitting through the same arbit CP and understanding exactly what someone meant when he said: “We’re just machines that take in coffee and alcohol and convert them into assignments!”) We’ve become buddies, confidantes, family. In our elective classrooms, we look around and each of us seeks out the familiar faces to reach out to and team up with. But it seems that this is the ideal place to reframe our perceived loss as a gain. What we are all gaining now is a broader network and a sense of community. This is our opportunity to be exposed to new people with new thoughts, ideas, and perspectives. This is our chance to build new relationships that will most certainly enrich us during the coming months and continue to do so after ISB.
In another six months, another big change awaits when we get ready to leave the Truman Show-esque bubble of ISB. We’ll finally accept that grades really don’t matter. What counts is what we learned that will help us solve real problems and make a difference wherever we go. We’ll feel a real loss and miss being in this nurturing environment. But what we’ll always have are the people we’ve met here who will form our lifelong network of friends and colleagues, and the innumerable experiences we’ve shared with them. And more than any 2X2 matrix or 5-step framework, that perhaps will be our biggest takeaway from ISB.
Aditi Vaish
Class of 2014