ArpitGarg's Weblog

Couple of months have passed by and oh so quickly. Coming to Fuqua has been one of the best decisions of my life in a long-long time. Those who know me personally would know what I mean by that.

Especially for internationals, Fuqua is the best MBA school in US and certainly the rankings support that. Before going any further let’s be very clear, MBA is as much a technical program as it is about soft skills. As the name suggests, it has lot to do with learning about Administration. Here is where Team Fuqua culture helps big time.

It’s not for no reason that Fuqua ranks extremely high in employers list. After all, when you are working in a firm, 90% of yours and your firms’ success stems from how well you work as a Team. I will be very candid here and admit that there is hardly much difference among the intellect of people admitted to any of the Top Business schools. How we grow in those two years is what sets us apart.

I have felt a sea change in me in last two months and most of it has stemmed from being open to feedback. I have learned from Team Fuqua culture to get off my high horses and make people feel comfortable to provide feedback. Only if we get feedback can we work upon it. If you feel you are the best (which most people with high GMAT scores and Top 10 B-School admit think), it’s difficult for you to listen from others about your faults. It’s easy to shut doors under the garb of “Oh! I am perfect and everyone else are a bunch of fools”.

At Fuqua I have learned to go beyond that. Add to it one of the toughest curriculum you can find in Business Schools, has made me understand the importance of prioritization. Fall 1 is intentionally made hectic to wake us up from deep slumber of complacency induced by working as an individual in a big firm. An MBA has to be on his/her toes the entire time as we are responsible for running a firm not just playing a cog in the wheel.

I have made friends with some really intelligent and highly creative people and learn from them daily. I have learned to trust the process and trust the people around me (again an important aspect of running a business).

I will write a follow up soon and be more specific about my personal growth and how Fuqua has aided in that.