Please, allow me to indulge for two reasons. First, if you look closely at my profile picture on this blog, you may probably notice little resemblance to a cool guy that listens to rap and so the title of the blog is unbefitting for an individual such as myself. Secondly, allow me to be vain. MBA school is both a rational and an emotional experience, and while I tend to focus on the rational, this post is a little bit about the emotional. Emotionally, it feels good to be Ivey. I just does. I mean, it feels good to be an MBA period, but it feels really good to be Ivey.
Three things happened this month that really reinforced this feeling.
The first thing was the National Credit Case Competition in Dalhousie where there were 14 teams across Canada that competed. What felt good was that our reputation preceded us even before we had met the other students. “Oh wow, you’re from Ivey!” “You all must be smart!”. There was a genuine respect for Ivey and of course their sentiment is reciprocated likewise by our team for their institutions. Thankfully, it was not an animosity that our reputation generated but rather a certain expectation of competence, so much so that when we placed third after two long days of competition and weeks of preparation, we had people comforting us, saying, “I actually thought you guys were outstanding” as if they expected us to be disappointed. I was ecstatic with placing third! We had four Ivey students, of which none had any practical experience in financial analysis, and after only 4 months of schooling we placed third. Four months ago, I couldn’t even spell “DCF”! It feels good that all other MBA students place the highest expectation of competence alongside the Ivey name
The second thing was a moment in Corporate Finance class when we were talking about tax laws (please contain your excitement with my mention of tax laws on this blog. It is merely a shameful ploy to generate viewership because of the typical exuberance associated with this particular subject). In any case, I was chatting informally with the professor after class about some of the crazy theories I had come up to do with tax laws, and his response was about how he had considered these views before, but his committee did not recommend them in the end for such and such a reason He also mentioned the implications of these ideas on facets of our society which extend well beyond tax laws. It took some time to hit me, but some time later that night I realized that I was speaking with one of Canada’s foremost authorities of this subject, and that one of his responsibilities is to help decide on tax laws for our nation. The thought really hit me about the learning experience that I was getting from Ivey. We are not taught by the people that learn the rules. We are taught by the ones that create them. That feels good.
The third and final event was a recruiting trip to Calgary that a group of us organized. It was a jam-packed week of meeting with executives and recruiters but many of us opened their doors readily for us because of the Ivey Brand. There exists a yet unproven claim about the business community in Calgary – every major corporation in the city is run by alumni from either Ivey or the other case-based institution in the U.S. Statistically significant or not, if that is the reputation that precedes us by employers, you’ve got to admit that there is some tremendous rational value to being associated with this brand. But back to the emotional value, it felt really good when you walk into a board room and immediately, employers say fairly explicitly, “we know you are highly competent because you are Ivey. Make sure your career management department keeps our corporation top of mind”.
Let me tell you, it feels good when your faculty are the men and women that shape our country’s business legislation. It feels good when your fellow alumni are the men and women that run our economy. And let me tell you, that it feels good when your fellow students expect that you are those competent men and women that will build our nation. All in all, friends, “damn, it feels good to be Ivey.”
(peace out)