#8 - On having a Personal Board of Directors
Note: to preserve the privacy of the people in my Personal Board of Directors, and the things that we discussed, I have kept a lot of this post intentionally vague.
As I have discussed before, personal and professional development is a big part of the MBA experience (and especially the experience that Business Schools sell to prospective students). However, the craziness of needing to secure a job means that most people don’t actively consider goals beyond short term professional development. One way of making sure you get the most of your MBA experience (and life in general) is to have a Personal Board of Directors.
What is a Personal Board of Directors (PBOD)
A PBOD is a group of 5-6 people who help each other achieve goals and provide you with advice and feedback. A PBOD can include whoever you think will help you get the most out of life but it's key to have people who are diverse but are united by a desire to grow and form deep connections with people.
What does my PBOD look like?
My PBOD was formed (thanks to the organisation of 2 dedicated friends) to have an equal gender split with people from every populated continent, apart from Africa.
Everyone in our group has a strong desire to form connections with people they would never normally appear, especially from different countries and cultures. While MBA schools attract an international mix of students, many people tend to coalesce with other people from similar cultures, regions or languages. Seeking out new experiences and pushing ourselves to experience different perspectives of the world.
Additionally, each member of our group has a strong desire to make an impact on the world, with future public service being a common theme. I was very surprised to find this at a business school like Kellogg but there may be some selection bias with the friends that I have made and the type of people they are.
How we started off our PBOD relationship
Earlier tonight, we kicked off our PBOD at a dinner hosted by one of the PBOD's main organisers. The main goal for us was to get to know each other and understand what we wanted from our relationship together in the PBOD.
With that in mind, we began by introducing ourselves and discussing our life stories. Given each person's diverse background, it was interesting to hear about the long and winding roads that led us all to Kellogg and Chicago.
Once we had gotten to know each other a bit better, we spoke about the specific things we wanted to achieve this year and where we could receive help and advice from others. I was moved to see the vulnerability shown by my PBOD in discussing the things where they needed help. The discussion that followed was one of the most interesting I have had at Kellogg as we started to discuss our own life experiences and beliefs and immediately found common threads and areas where we could help each other (an example being meditation).
But can you use this in real life?
At this point, you might be thinking "Ameya, this sounds good but is this just a random abstract concept that won't work over time and in real life?". To make sure you get your own PBOD, and to convince you that PBODs work, I thought I would give you experiences from my own life where a PBOD (albeit an informal one) has helped me. During my later years of university, and beyond, I had an established but informal PBOD of 4 people (J, A, J, A) that I consulted for major decisions.
Introducing me to backpacking and solo travel
I spent almost all of 2012 working full time in investment banking while also studying at university part time. Before this time, I had travelled a lot with my family, and during exchange, I had never really backpacked or travelled by myself in an unfamiliar situation. J was someone who travelled a lot and suggested I travel to South East Asia over the summer holiday, as a break from what would be a stressful and intense year. He provided me with his itinerary for Vietnam and Cambodia and I ended up copying most of what he did, together with some small diversions. That incredible experience taught me a lot about myself and gave me the confidence to travel extensively and by myself. Since then, I have travelled to >25 countries, experiences that I cherish dearly.
Deciding whether to remain at BCG or leave to join Dropbox AU
In November 2011, nine months after joining BCG, I was approached by a recruiter to consider a unique opportunity. I could join Dropbox as one of the first 15 employees in Asia Pacific. After a series of interviews over two months (complicated by me being staffed in a mining town in rural Australia), I received an offer to join Dropbox.
I needed to make the arduous decision about whether or not to give up on consulting and all that it offered (including MBA sponsorship). To my surprise, my PBOD was split 50/50 when I asked them on what they thought I should do. Half of them couldn’t believe I was giving up on BCG while the other half were actively encouraging me to go and join what would be a dynamic, exciting opportunity.
Following a long process of discussing and consideration, and some interventions from other people, the 'remainers' won over and I decided to stay at BCG. The rest is history.
Questions for you?
- How would having a PBOD help you get the most out of your life?
- What are the areas in which you would most like to develop?
- Who would you want in your PBOD?