Failure For Success With MBA - Dr. Uday Salunkhe

"MBA is more than just an educational course; it is a career-enhancing 360 degree program which, if pursued diligently, can be a life-changing event. The learnings of the program have a huge impact of one’s life and career." says Prof. Dr Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research.

Nisha Asher’s story, as published in Huffington Post, is one such example of the impact of MBA on the student’s life.

In the article, Asher confesses that she too experienced failure and her first year in the business school made her learn how to fail effectively.

She realized that a low grade in one of the subjects doesn’t mean that she’s a complete failure. Such realizations made her into a stronger person, friend, and leader at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

The interactions she had had over the past two years prepared her to face the disappointments of the corporate world. Having excelled professionally, she like many others never thought that failure would be a part of her MBA journey; she just expected to come into business school and excel. But her MBA experiences weren’t so easy, she admitted.

For Anisha, it was really tough to accept failure since she was a habitual achiever. There were times when she wondered whether she could make it through the program.

All her experiences, including failures, led her to believe that the failures provided her invaluable opportunities to test strength, to learn, and to grow.

"The failures also broadened my idea of success. For example, success is no longer about acing every quiz; instead, it is about really learning, understanding, and applying the concepts taught in class. Success is helping my fellow classmates through their troubles. Success is growing my values as an ethical leader." said Nisha.

Her curricular presentations in the management school helped her to overcome the fear of public speaking and taught her how to effectively express her thoughts in front of a crowd of judges and spectators for a case competition.

The MBA course continues to better prepare her for the consulting world, where she will face conflict with clients, superiors, and teammates.

"I am realizing that business school is about more than just learning statistical analysis. Business school should take you out of your comfort zone in order to make you stretch and grow. And it may be uncomfortable at times, but most transformational journeys are.

Through failure, keep your head held up high and be courageous enough to take a risk and accept the fall if it comes." writes Asher.

Nisha Asher is a member of Fuqua’s Daytime MBA program.

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