And the first wave hits

Oxford is a pleasant place. beautiful buildings, nice weather (at least this year), style with substance. It’s easy to enjoy it. Too much even. Distraction comes easily.

These MBAs are interesting people. Forty-eight countries are represented in my class, and about 95 per cent of the class is international. There are few of the jerks (or, let’s say, overly ambitious students) rumoured to inhabit MBA programmes. People are friendly, engaging, cooperative. It’s easy to enjoy it, maybe even too much. You guessed it: more distractions.

Much of the class seemed to be enjoying this shoreline view, the panorama of opportunity and plethora of options. Then the wave of Week 2 caught us in the face with full force (Oxford’s weeks are labelled not by dates but as 1, 2 and so on). All of the sudden everyone was behind. Everyone was scrambling to catch up. Everyone was… not drowning, but at least realizing that this is a course not to be taken lightly, that accelerates rapidly as everyone is still getting their bearings. Support classes and the library filled up. Plans for rowing, debating and networking events were reduced. Priorities were set.

I suspect part of the value of an MBA, especially a one-year version, comes from having to relentlessly focus and prioritise, leaving less important issues behind without a second thought. It’s good training.