Have you ever thought about why you would like to do certain things or make certain decisions in your life? You may say yeah of course! Then you start to justify or reason… At the first glance, it may sound logical or sensible, however, let’s try to look at it one level deeper, and have you ever wondered what are the assumptions or drivers behind these reasons? Hard to explain, isn’t it? Surprisingly, there are some people who know and most of us do not.

What I am talking about is our values that everyone possesses underneath our skin. We got to dive into our memories to reflect and be honest with ourselves in order to define them. These core values actually have been always with us and might have changed a bit along our experiences and interactions with in this world. Nevertheless, they tend to be pretty consistent.

Writing a visions and values paper and doing a self-reflection are two of very first challenges that you will encounter in HSG MBA. If you want to take it seriously, it is not that easy. I think it is the most important thing that everyone should do. Because by writing them down, you are more honest with yourself and your defined values and visions will guide you later for your personal life and professional one. You will know exactly what to do between different but seemingly attractive alternatives. It’s a hidden guide in our vein!

So what it has to do with MBA? Well, for most people it is one of the biggest and most important decisions in life. Not everyone wants to go through the MBA, because they have different goals, values or priorities tell them not to. And for those of you who consider it, you must have a reason or goal behind. I am sure while you were writing your applications to business school you must have went through certain level of personal self-reflection. Why MBA? Why now? Why X school? What’s your personal vision and career vision? These are not easy questions to write if you are completely honest with yourself and not sure what you REALLY want to achieve in life.

It’s been a month now since I am here in HSG MBA. Honestly, I really enjoy the experience and it is also what I expected. For example, the like-minded and extremely open minded people I study and hang out every day, the professors that excites me, the challenges that encounter, the personal development by career services that push me forward etc. it’s a whole package that I get and I am pretty much satisfied so far. Yes, it has been really lot of work but I like it a lot because there are a lot of things in the MBA program that give me the energy to look forward every day.

Ps. I am not doing any marketing for school on purpose if you feel so :) and I will try to my personal MBA experiences and I will be also critical towards the program quality at the same time.

Pps. Its 5:30 am, I just came back actually from clubbing with some classmates, it was awesome! I just had a bit too much red bull can’t sleep lol

AND Banking days and consulting days are approaching! I am really looking forward and I will be sharing some experiences with you in my next blog.

Cheers

Lei