Connections: The Ultimate Enduring Value
Finally, we come to probably the most important and most enduring benefit for those MBAs lucky enough to have acquired it: deep, personal relationships with other members of their MBA cohorts. When I talk with MBA graduates about their various experiences and results, regardless of where and when they studied, those who developed close personal relationships cite these as the primary enduring benefit from their MBA programs. For those whose programs failed to foster a strong sense of connection among their student colleagues, the entire MBA experience is discounted as little more than a "hurdle" to have jumped over in pursuit of greater management responsibility, rather than as a time of personal growth,
As important as relationship building is to the MBA experience, few programs make a conscious, energetic effort to facilitate that process. That failure diminishes the value of services rendered to their MBA clients, and whatsApp number database accordingly leads to lower retention rates and a diminished sense of alumni loyalty and support once the students finish their programs. In other words, ignoring the relationship-building aspect of an MBA program yields the worst case "lose-lose" outcome: a diminished experience for students, diminished retention rates for the school, diminished levels of alumni support and enthusiasm for the school, a diminished reputation for the program, and ultimately diminished rates of applications and admissions.
This not only sounds like a colossal loss for both programs and their students; it is a colossal loss, and it's a needless one. Facilitating connections and relationship building can be and ought to be an objective of every credible MBA program, but it takes more than merely providing lounge space for students to congregate before and after classes, and workspace for student teams to hold team meetings. It takes structured programming that either explicitly, or as a by product of building leadership and teaming skills, brings students together in the kind of intensive work (and play) circumstances that foster the development of strong, enduring personal relationships. Outdoor experiential-based training programs, for example, can be woven into a skills-building course in leadership and team development, ideally offering an extended retreat component that keeps a cohort group in close proximity for several days and nights. The results of this kind of investment are definitive: the building of cohesive cohorts and life-long personal relationships.
CONCLUSION
The decision to pursue an MBA degree is becoming increasingly more complicated in this era of unprecedented job opportunities in high-tech, pre-IPO ("initial public offering"), start-up companies, and especially in a world that until recently was drowning in new venture capital. However, the aggregate market for MBA students is likely to remain strong into the foreseeable future.
As a young professional contemplating the MBA experience, the choice among MBA programs will not likely yield a measurable difference in the mastery of technical and analytical skills. These skills are the hallmark of virtually every accredited program. In contrast, the concurrent mastery of people-management, leadership, and teaming skills is a greater variable in choosing among competing program. Employer surveys resoundingly attest to the weaknesses of most MBA programs in delivering this important component of a quality graduate business education. It behooves the discriminating consumer to select a program that defies this particular norm - this common weakness - in the MBA market. Furthermore, based on feedback from alumni who are five, ten and more years removed from their MBA studies, the quality and quantity of lasting personal relationships are the ultimate enduring values of their MBA experience. Prospective MBA students should expect that - should demand that - from their MBA programs.
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Greenwich School of Management