The Requisite for success -The “new” M.B.A.
New strides are being made towards progress. Education itself is taking a turn. Enrollment in traditional degrees such as the Master’s in Business Administration is falling drastically.
It is becoming evident that in order to succeed now and in the future the acronym MBA no longer stands for Master’s in Business Administration but increasingly in order to succeed and live a happy life, more and more individuals are realizing the importance of:
- Attaining Mastery in whatever they may be doing as a way of making a living.
- Nurture a sense of Belongingness to their colleagues at work, family and friends in their personal lives.
- Striving for Autonomy in both professional and personal lives.
Professional athletes such as Virat Kohli, Roger Federer, or Lionel Messi all inspire their fans by their mastery of the sport. Similarly, entertainers like Beyoncé or Akshay Kumar are admired for their mastery of their craft attained due to rigorous discipline over several years.
Lack of money will make you and I unhappy. Once we have enough to have the basics of life, food, clothing and shelter, we overcome unhappiness. In-order to be happy, wearing designer clothes, eating in fancy restaurants and living in upscale houses will contribute marginally to being happy.
The findings by researchers like Professor Raj Raghunathan, University of Texas in Austin, what really contributes to being happy is attaining Mastery in our line of work, nurturing a sense of belonging, which means having a intimate group of colleagues and family members and friends with whom you may leverage the strengths and support each other in times of challenges. While belongingness helps a person to deal with challenging times, it is important that one does always not become dependent, rather strives to be dependable.
Strong individuals make a strong team, weak ones make a mob…
When an individual strives to become better in what ever they do to make a living, they overcome the tendency to become bored and disengaged. Engaged professionals are seeking to contribute more and thus are willing to help and seek help.
There is a beautiful story from Ramayana. When Lord Rama is leading the effort to build the Setu bridge with the help of the Vanara Sena, he noticed a very engaged squirrel who was intensely ferrying small stones and sand to contribute towards building of the bridge. Lord Rama was so inspired, that he picked up the squirrel and caressed the squirrel’s back with his fingers, and therefore the squirrel they say has three stripes on it back.
I feel the three stripes represents Mastery, Belongingness and Autonomy.
The squirrel undeterred by the members of the Vanara Sena, who carried huge rocks was doing everything in its power to ferry the small rocks, which were filling the spaces between the large rocks and the sand, the squirrel carried in its furry coat that it would shake off would help cement the rocks.
The story is very inspiring and encourages us to focus on gaining mastery and feel engaged in the cause of the group we belong to, be it the organization that we work with, or the family that we belong to.