'B-schools do not instil an appetite for risk-taking'

WHAT THEY DON'T TEACH YOU AT B-SCHOOL/ S Venkatesh

It has been four years since I plunged headfirst into corporate India. Looking back at the past 48 months and comparing it with the 18 memorable months spent at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), I am amazed at the diversity of learning I have managed to gather.

Ranging from the exciting models of brand management and consumer behaviour to bewildering subjects such as computing share price risk indices "" business school makes sure that conceptually your kitty is full. But let's come back to the focus of this column "" how does the corporate world season you as a professional?

I think what sums it up admirably is "getting your hands dirty". In my first job at Pepsi, as part of an enthusiastic batch of 11 management trainees, this took on literal connotations. We found ourselves in various outposts of India, "route riding" on the delivery trucks.

We were to later discover the huge merit of this experience, as we took independent charge of our territories and started being accountable for numbers.

And this was not a phenomenon restricted to just the beverage industry. Every batchmate from B-school who joined an FMCG company spoke (actually, groaned) of nothing but this for the first 90 days of joining work.

Personally, it was a humbling experience that ensured we all had our feet firmly planted on the face of the planet! I do not believe that any B-school can be a substitute for on-the-job experience, although the summer internship programme aims to do just that.

One possibility is to have industry veterans share live perspectives even as theoretical frameworks are being taught. Indeed, the shift from education to execution is a tremendous one in terms of thought, word and deed.

One of the other key attributes that I'm constantly honing on the job is leadership skills. A management institution offers you some opportunities in this regard with a few elected student body posts, but leadership is really all about looking at current reality and mobilising the appropriate response.

In my current job, I have to continuously play the role of a leader as the profit centre head of my region. I have realised that playing the role of a leader "" especially when you have to work with people older to you "" is not just about blind delegation.

To reiterate my earlier point, a good leader is actually one who can lead by example and "get his hands dirty" when required. Leadership is a vast subject and one is inadequately prepared by the knowledge-focused and theoretical approach at business school to realise that your actions and decisions can materially affect the careers of people reporting to you.

This brings me to the third critical learning that is again linked to the two points discussed above "" decision-making. In my earlier job, we often had to take calls on issues such as merchandising, budgetary allocations, discounting strategies and other such tactical initiatives. These are real decisions that have lasting, even monetary, impact.

Decision-making is unique because the people who do not have the power to take decisions have all the ideas and suggestions; the moment they get that power, they clam up and start taking "safe" decisions. Your role in the corporate world is often defined by the alacrity with which you take decisions; and if you get more of them right than wrong, then you're well on your way.

That brings me to the last point of discussion in this article "" risk taking. If there is one truism in the corporate world, it is that the only thing constant is change. As circumstances change at bewildering speed, it is time to cultivate a managerial appetite for risk-taking, and this is true of any industry.

To give you an experiential perspective, the consulting business has a highly people-centric business model; therefore, every recruitment is a huge business risk. Infrastructure investment in a new geography ahead of the curve before acquiring clients is also a risk. In a small organisation, these risks are real and stare you in the face every day. While B-school teaches you to identify, assess and manage risk, it does not instil an appetite for risk-taking. Indeed, if it did, we would find more B-school graduates becoming entrepreneurs than investment bankers and FMCG marketers.

Let me conclude by saying that an MBA, like any other opportunity in life, is worth only what you make of it. Any B-school is only as good as the attitude and aptitude of its students. It is important to keep your head firmly on your shoulders, face reality with resilience, and go through life enjoying every moment.

If you think your B-school is not helping you cultivate these traits, rest assured that the corporate world will ensure that you do. Just make certain that you're not caught on the wrong foot!

(S Venkatesh is a reputation consultant and profit centre head, Bangalore, for imagequity+TM. He graduated from IIM-B in 2000.)