Adanna Ohaegbulam: ‘I found that establishing boundaries and adhering to them strictly provided an element of balance in juggling work and education.’
4. Set boundaries and stick to them
“Time management and establishing a regular routine has kept me grounded. Regardless of whether it was a class weekend or not, I had a hard stop of 2 p.m. at work on Fridays and 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I found that establishing boundaries and adhering to them strictly provided an element of balance in juggling work and education. At the beginning of each week, I scheduled time for studying, free time to decompress, and time to catch up with friends and family. To limit distractions and maintain focus, I went to school to complete assignments. Reading assignments were completed at home or via voice reader during commutes to and from the office.” – Adanna Ohaegbulam, Georgia Tech (Scheller)
5. Make it a family decision
“There is never a perfect time to start studying again. And even if you think there is, changes might come up which make it more difficult than expected. Just jump in, learn to prioritize and don’t look back. Be present wherever you are: don’t worry about home at work and GEMBA at home – or about work at GEMBA. Finally, make sure you discuss all scenarios with your partner and kids. Don’t underestimate the time you’ll need to invest. Choosing an executive MBA is a personal choice but the whole family should be supportive and understand the impact. This makes it a family decision.” – Beda Merkelbach, IESE Business School
6. Put in the hard work
Christian Blanchet: ‘If you are going to commit the resources to go back to school, then when you get there, go all in.’
“As is often mentioned during the orientation sessions at LBS, an executive MBA is like a gym membership – you can get away with very little if you choose to, but the results could be life changing if you put in the hard work.” – Chinmayee Prasad, London Business School
“If you are going to commit the resources to go back to school, then when you get there, go all in. Participate in class, spend time with your peers outside of the classroom, reach out to your professors for advice, contribute to classmates’ projects, join a club or two, and in general just get involved and stay involved. By doing all these things you will extract the maximum amount of value possible.” – Christian Blanchet, New York University (Stern)
7. Be open to new perspectives
“Be open-minded. When working with a team with diverse work backgrounds, everybody has a distinct perspective. Seeing your company’s problems from their point of view can often be eye opening. Also, stay on top of things, and try to read EVERYTHING. I know it can be daunting to try to keep up, but you will get the most out of the program if you try.” – Robin Steininger, Purdue University (Krannert)
“I advise students to meaningfully engage and show up every day with an open mind, collaborate and avoid unnecessary competition with their classmates, and fight the fear of failure. You are entering the program to learn and grow, there is no place for unhealthy competition with one another.” – Keri Sprung, Rice University (Jones)
Keri Sprung: ‘You are entering the program to learn and grow, there is no place for unhealthy competition with one another.’
8. Be yourself
“Know you, do you, and be you. The only competition is the one within. Make every effort both to stretch yourself academically and socially. And never forget that human relationships are the heart of this, as every, human experience.” – Stephen Beaudoin, University of Virginia (Darden)
9. Seize every opportunity
“Take advantage of every opportunity your school offers you. If you want to change jobs or pivot industries, go to every career fair and on-campus company recruiting event. I was introduced to PwC during an on-campus recruiting event. Talk to people doing the job. Use your class network to branch out. ‘Needs and leads’ has been a wonderful idea from classmates about presenting a problem you have and having your class help you problem solve.” – Jefferson Rogers, USC (Marshall)
10. Don’t constrain yourself
“Go into the program with an open mind. I learned some of these concepts in a Wharton product innovation class, but I’m going to apply them here: when you go into an MBA program, you’re the product, and you’re working to innovate yourself. Don’t artificially constrain yourself to one outcome; allow yourself to grow and consider all of the possible paths. Anything truly is possible!” – Vicky Partenope, The Wharton School
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