A few weeks in: don't settle

A few weeks into the MBA, and it has been a blast.

Our first big challenge was NegoSim. Give five MBAs a company and see how it runs: for three days, eight teams, each based in a different country, competed in the same market. The goal was the highest market-to-book ratio. We made decisions on production, marketing, finance, R&D and niches, then lived with the consequences a few rounds later. Different countries, different careers, different ways of thinking. We debated, and slowly learned to work as one.

The session that stayed with me most was Uche Ezichi's "Know Yourself". It was about why we are here, and the courage it takes to leave a comfortable job and go back to school. The message fit in two words: don't settle. I thought about it all day, until the reality check the next afternoon.

People here are warm, and they work hard, really hard. Long days, late evenings, and still time for a soirée, a coffee and a real conversation.