Question: What was the most valuable thing you learned in business school?
Experience Trumps Everything
"I ran my company while attending business school. I used my business as the case study for every group project. This meant I got feedback about my business plan, financials and problems. I excelled past my peers mostly because I was applying my education to my actual business. You will never learn everything you need to know about business from school. Experience is everything."
@robsetsail
Confidence in Numbers Is Important
"The one thing I am most grateful for out of all my classes was an understanding of financial statements, accounting and how to confidently make decisions based on the reports and numbers. One of my professors used to say, "if you don't know your numbers you don't know anything." I see too many business owners blindly make decisions because they are afraid of the numbers. Don't make that mistake."
@nataliemacneil
Communication is Key
"Business school taught me the importance of effectively communicating messages. Group projects developed our communication skills with people while class presentations improved our public speaking skills. From Excel spreadsheets to PowerPoint presentations, we also learned which tools are used to best communicate different messages."
@nanxi_liu
Look for Best Opportunity Cost
"You can't spend a dollar or hour in two places at the same time. You have to choose."
@ambassadorbruny
Personal Experiences Lead to Different Viewpoints
"Business school taught me how significantly each person's personal experiences color his or her perceptions. Five people can read the same sentence and interpret it five different ways, and their backgrounds play a large part in these interpretations. Whether you're talking to your employees, vendors or clients, it's important to remove uncertainty and make sure everyone is on the same page."
@brittanyhodak
You Need Teamwork
"Business school classes have a lot of group projects, presentations and case studies, so one valuable skill students pick up throughout the coursework is how to work well with others. Teamwork and collaboration is a critical proficiency for business schools to teach because so much of the business world is about working with others to accomplish a common goal."
@DoreenBloch
Connections are Worth Gold
"The people you meet in business school far outweigh whatever you'll learn while attending. While attending Stanford, I learned to connect and work with other like-minded individuals. Help people as much as possible and it'll always come back. It's not about what you know, it's about who you know."
@johnrampton
