If you don't know - ASK; If you know - TEACH

Dear All

It is always a nice feeling to have a holiday on the first day of the week.  I sit here enjoying "Vijaya Dasami".  My wife asked to bring some books to put in the altar and do some pooja.  I opened up the bunch given by Anna Uni for the Second Semester. When I opened up one of those books... I had a completely different feeling to what I had expected - While I expected happiness, all I had was guilt - a sinking feeling of nothingness and Guilt.

I remember opening the first set of books just recently.  Even before I could understand what was there in those books, I am already in the process of opening another one. Does this mean I know everything in the earlier set of books.  My honest response has to be a big NO.  

I feel guilty because I did not follow through on my commitment.  When I joined MBA, it was a commitment I made to myself.  When I don't follow through sincerely, the loss is going to be mine and no one else.  

Did I join MBA to have fun?  I don't think so.  

Did I have choice not to join but spend the fee amount frolicking?  I absolutely did.

Having made that choice to join MBA - to improve my knowledge; to widen my career choices; to gain an additional degree, I feel extremely disappointed that I did not justify my any of these reasons.  All I did was pick up the book two days earlier to the exams and write something on the answer sheets and pray to god that I somehow pass - due to some magnanimous person who is going to correct my answer sheet.

I settle down a bit to see why I insulted my intelligence so much by ignoring studies for one whole semester.  Maybe, I was too focused on just clearing the exam and getting the grades. That was fine when we did our bachelors where clearing exams and getting grades would get us placed in a good job.  But, MBA is not the same, is it?  We joined this course by our own choice - choice of our own; choice of our folks; choice to gain an additional degree.  There might be umpteen reasons but the fact is we already are here.  Neck deep into the second semester even before we realized.

Let us look back at the first semester and honestly review our performance: 

- We had Fun? YES

- We got to know each other and established communication lines? YES

- We understood the insincerity of the University in imparting quality education? YES

- We experienced the unprofessional nature of our faculty? YES

I can keep on adding questions to justify my lack of seriousness, but at the end all it does is show up our own laziness and tendency to take things lightly. I always find this convenient excuse of not having time.  Well... good excuse, very bad reason though.  Didn't we find time two days earlier to exams to study the whole book.  Wouldn't it be easier to have found half hour every day - just before sleep; in the bus to work; during ad breaks of our favorite TV program; when we have dinner; when we chat with our friends.  

Spending 12 days of contact classes with 12 hours for each subject won't make us experts, but our inability to put in the effort to learn, would certainly make us idiots. If we are going to take things lightly and sit on our backsides and let things slip by, it may just become a habit - a pathetic, useless, self defeating habit which will take us nowhere.

Is there a way out?.  

I am sure we all are quite capable of finding that elusive half hour everyday so that we do justice to the choices that we made. Having said all that, closing this mail without any actionable item would make me nothing but an ordinary whiner!!! Let us see if we can correct the situation.  After all, it is never too late to start.

1) We know how sincere our university is and how sincere our faculty are - in our development.  Having known that, it doesn't make any sense for us to sit there for people to go through their motions.  Let us be proactive and involve ourselves in the learning process. Let us do some ground work before we go to the classes.  

Can't we take a glance of one lesson before going to the classes so that we are able to relate to what is being taught? If all of us work together, at least one person should have seen a lesson and we would have covered all seven subjects. That person can take the lead of clarifying and generally putting the class back on track, whenever the faculty goes off it.

2) If you never thought MBA was a priority, it is high-time you make it one. What you learn here is something that you will apply to your career... as you move up through it. Still have doubts... let us delve deeper:

Management Concepts & Communication - You need it to sustain your job if not to get one. This is a bare necessity if you want to go places.

Statistics & Accounting - If you can't justify the bottom-line of your efforts objectively - through figures, nobody would take you seriously.

Economics - The very reason for every other subject to exist.

Organizational Behavior - This is not just for your understanding of relationships in your organization but also your personal relationships. The most successful ones are the ones who are able to create networks and maintain relationships.

Legal Aspects - Whether you want to be upholding the laws or breaking one in your organization, better know the law. The laws help you uphold your rights too. So, if you want to know what rights you have, better check out the laws.

3) What is the point in having friendships if we can't help each other out constructively. As much as we enjoy the company, we should also redirect it more proactively. 

If you don't know - ASK; if you know - TEACH

These two things will help us all to reach greater heights collectively.  We make sure nobody is left behind and we all aim for the same loft goals which we all are quite capable of achieving. 

4) Can we use the yahoo group and our meetings to leverage our academic pursuits - egging each other and sharing what we know. Let us organize additional sessions; let some of us who know - teach while some of us who don't know - ask. 

5) Last but not the least,  can we all challenge ourselves to be better than this?  Can we aim towards becoming the first group to have cleared the degree within two years? Can we be the only group where everybody has got a First class?  

Think this is difficult. Maybe, it is.  The fact is better things in life are always difficult to achieve.  But, achieving them does make it extra special, doesn't it? 

Do we have it in us to challenge ourselves???

Finally, we also have the easiest choice... Quit and be losers.  Quitting is always an easier option, but the problem is it becomes a habit.  Next time you face something difficult, you will quit.  Fortunately, I have not see anybody in this class who belong to the "Quit" category.  

• If you thought the mail was long - am sorry that I can't put serious stuff in a humor covered gibberish. 
• If you thought mail was not interesting - it was not supposed to be.  

• If you thought this mail makes you feel GUILTY - Bingo.  You got the point.

Always,

Pras

http://prasadha. blogspot. com