During my MBA program, I became a student consultant for local businesses in Pennsylvania, as part of a University-run initiative.
And like most of my fellow student consultants, I was pretty useless. Here is why.
The program implicitly assumed that if you throw a bunch of (presumably) smart young MBAs on a problem, they will figure things out. It is like throwing a non-swimmer into the deep end, assuming that they would somehow learn to swim.
No, most likely, they will drown.
Most business lessons can’t be learned only in a classroom — you have to do things in the real world and learn. But the other extreme, where you totally do away with conceptual frameworks and handholding, is just as dangerous.
If you want to help people grow, give them conceptual understanding, handholding, mentoring, and then, some room to apply those learnings.
If you are early in your career, grab opportunities where you get all of the above. Those are the places where you will flourish.
– Rajan