What most B-Schools DONT teach an entrepreneur

The question ” Does one need to have a degree in “Masters in Business Administration”  before choosing the road of entrepreneurship?” has been open to debate since a very long time. While we hear inspiring stories of college dropouts who have made it big, we have also witnessed several cases of huge business empires built by eminent people post their MBAs.

It is an undeniable fact that B-Schools do prepare us and educate us about certain desired skills for running a business, yet there are some skills that no B- School teaches. Some of them include –

Business Ethics

Just like in life, in business, everything is not white or black. In between, there are a thousand shades of grey. A business school does not teach us what is right and what is wrong. Taking a decision is based on several social, cultural and political factors. It is only with experience one can learn to take fair decisions and learn to balance between what is acceptable and optimal.

The Art of small talk

There are a lot of things that our digital world cannot replace and the ‘art of small talk’ is one of them. People and relationships are the forefront of entrepreneurship. Being able to converse with employees, customers, potential clients, investors is the key. Remember their birthdays, names of kids and pets and try to ask them about the same.

Diplomacy

Entrepreneurs need to deal with different type of people at each stage. And often need to work with multiple teams and departments and need a strong rational. During certain times, the stakes are very high and at times like these, diplomacy may be a much needed skill.

Sacrifice

Being an entrepreneur means keeping your business first. The road to entrepreneurship is ridden with a lot of sacrifices; personal and professional. 

The “not giving up” attitude

While in college, giving up is a choice we have. But when you are an entrepreneur, it no more seems like a choice. To give up on petty tasks like assignments and submissions while in college can the easiest option. Everytime you feel like giving up, you have to be determined and remember your goals and passion all the time so that the “I can’t do it” doesn’t set in your mind.

Judging people/ Managing teams

B-schools will educate you on personalities and behaviours through subjects like organizational behaviour etc, but does it really teach you and show you ways as to how to judge/manage people? How to know if you really can trust the person? This is one more skill that no theory can teach us. Trust your instincts and go by experience so that you do not fall prey to people’s ill intentions.

Like life, running a business is all about learning and experiencing. No two days are same when you are trying and testing the waters in real world. As a recent graduate from a B- school, I can say more than the course work or material, the real experience that made me smarter and the lessons learnt were from the people around me and the platform the school provided me with!

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