'My degree wasn't enough': IIM Ahmedabad alum says top consulting firm gave her a reality check
An IIM Ahmedabad alumnus revealed that her MBA degree from the premier management institute 'wasn't enough' when she started working.
An alumnus of Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) sparked an online debate after she revealed that her MBA degree from the prestigious management institute 'wasn't enough' when she started working at a global consulting frim.
Ruchi Aggarwal, who is now the founder of Mumbai-based mentorship firm Mentoresult, said she learned something during her first presentation at the top global firm that was not discussed in the classroom.
"I discovered my degree from IIM Ahmedabad wasn't enough. I lacked the executive filter," she said in a post on LinkedIn.
During her first client presentation, she said she was ready with 15 recommendations. "I had prepared 15 recommendations, not one. I wanted to have backup recommendations - Like a menu! And I would let the partner pick the answer!," she said.
However, the partner interrupted her and simply stated: "Ruchi, tell me the one thing we should do. Just one."
"I froze," she said, “In real client meetings, top executives don't want to hear a menu. They want a curated, accurate answer. This is the execuitve filter - Where you can filter out anything else and share only the most relevant answer.”
Take a look at her full post here:
The IIM-A graduate said that she realised such real life skills were not being taught at business schools.
"I had spent years learning how to consider all angles, but in the real world, executives need clarity, not complexity. Learning to distill complex problems into simple solutions was my hardest but most valuable learning curve," she said.
She said that at IIM-A, the question was always "How much do you know?" and at her firm, it became, "How clear can you make it?"
Highlighting this important learning she concluded that "success isn't about having all the answers. It's about having the right ones and communicating them clearly."
Her post resonated with other business school graduates and those working at consulting firms. "Nice post! Early on, I thought dumping a dozen options on the table made me look smart—until I realized no one had the time (or patience) for that," said one of them.
Another agree and stated, "At the end of the day, it's about selling your idea or concept in a way that makes decision-making easier for them. It’s not easy, but I believe continuous learning and experience help us develop this skill over time."
