Nicholas Cage on Business Schools…
I was on a flight from Melbourne to Lausanne, Switzerland, many years ago flicking through the options on the in-flight entertainment when I came across the Nicholas Cage film, Lord of War. The plot, based on a series of true stories, is one of a Ukrainian immigrant, Yuri Orlov (Cage), rising from the New York borough of Brooklyn to become one of the world’s most notorious arms dealers; a central theme to the film is an exploration of often blurred line between desire and deeper existential needs.
Many years passed and about six months into business school I found myself sitting in a Boston café casually chatting with a classmate over vegan sandwiches; I’d wrestled a twelve-month sabbatical from my employer so that I could complete a post-graduate degree. We were surrounded by the world’s most distinguished professors, embedded in one of the most vibrant learning ecosystems in the world and had the privilege of ‘stepping of the treadmill’ to pause and reflect. So why were we nit-picking about our classmates, course content and administration? As my friend began his second diatribe of the afternoon, his voice slowly faded and was suddenly replaced by that of Yuri Orlov recounting a line a line from the Lord of War, “that’s the problem with falling in love with a dream girl (or guy)…. they have a tendency to become real”.
The conundrum faced by Orlov, is one faced by many business school hopefuls, particularly international students, who have misguided perceptions of elite U.S. Universities as ivory towers that house all-knowing and infallible oracles in the form of teachers and students who routinely unlock the secrets of the universe. Although melodramatic, this description underlies a very real disconnect between elevated expectations as an applicant and the realities of student life. An open mind, a commitment to continually discovery and an appreciation for imperfection are equally as important as intellectual capability or social skills in getting the most from one’s business school experience.
