Out of the (Tool)Box !!

About 4 weeks ago when I landed in Cambridge for the Hult MBA experience, I was handed out a huge folder with "Orientation Toolbox" written on it. The toolbox is supposed to give us tools to be used over the next 11 months for getting the coveted "MBA" degree. So did I get the so called tools at the end of the Boxy ride ? Yes of course it did serve the purpose !! . Just back from a 5 year grind in the workplace where the only thing I could think of was to impress my boss (and of course the gal in the next cubicle. Gosh Why arent any gals in my project/team/cubicle ?. Guess I will save that discussion for another day ) and my so called clients.

So in came the toolbox with me and the others bombarded with "case" analysis , Accounting and Finance Basics, operations basics, Presentations skills basics and career advisor seminars and of course the Friday night binges with beer and food.!! (And yes the fact that parties are paid for by the school makes it even more fun) . Along the way, we also did a team case Assignment and presented our recommendations as consultants in a full blown presentation to the faculty. The case assignment was the one which was to open my eyes to the team dynamics and also to the way various people from different cultures acutally work . My team consisted of one Indian( that is me!! ) , an american , a Japanese , a Filipino, a Brazilian and a French.

To see this team work on a case assignment was (cant fit a word here ) !! . I knew Americans were very good "small talkers", but I did not know the extent they could go on and on talking about everything in the world. (No offenses here. I honestly mean it in a very good way ). Then we had the Japanese way of thinking whereby they are very respectful of the other peoples' thoughts and try to listen to patiently before making a comment. And of course brazilians who are the ultimate party goers. Call them for any party and they are game and they are never the ones take anything to heart. (Dil pe mat le yaar !!! ) . Finally my team presentation turned out to be good and we were all happy with the hard work we had put over the last 3-4 weeks.

So off I am to sleep over the Tools I learned and move over to Module A. Now the real fun begins (ok I keep saying this but cant help it ) with the gradings and GPA coming into the picture. So while the Class Participation in Toolbox classes are all about simply glib talking , we now have to talk substance to get the so called credits for CP. zzzzzzzzzzzz