The workplace is a better teacher

WHAT THEY DON'T TEACH YOU AT B-SCHOOL: Sminu Jindal

I have the highest regard for any B-School programme "" its thoroughness and rigour, and the way it prepares you to face the world ahead. But the biggest limiting factor for any business programme is that it is taught in the boundaries of a classroom, away from the vagaries of real-life situations.

As a student, I gained enormous holistic knowledge and intelligence. But during my association with my company, I have gained more than what was taught at the B-school, thanks to hands-on experience.

While a B-school equips you with tools and methodologies, the workplace teaches you how to use the skills and learning acquired at the B-school. It goes beyond classroom presentations and case studies to expose you to a mix of people coming from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.

You meet people with different mindsets and personalities, and it is these idiosyncrasies and the ultra diversity of people we work with that makes the workplace a greater teacher.

One of the most important things that a B-school does not teach is the dynamics of people and the art of analysis. Managing people and working with them to achieve certain goals is one of the biggest trials in any workplace.

And aligning individual goals with organisational goals is the greatest challenge in any organisation. No B-school can teach the art of achieving a "common vision" that benefits an organisation and satisfies individual aspirations.

Also, every interpersonal interaction is a learning experience. "Gut feel" is not taught but it is imperative in any situation that calls for solving or managing problems and people.

Remember, by gut feel, I do not mean a hunch. I'm referring to the ability to recognise patterns and react instinctively to situations based on prior experiences.

What is taught at a B-school is how to become a manager...not an entrepreneur. And it is imperative that every person in the workplace thinks like an entrepreneur, not just as a manager.

Sminu Jindal is the managing director of Jindal Saw Ltd. She graduated from Delhi's Fore School of Management in 1997.