#21 - On what makes greatness
Greatness in soccer
Since I was in primary school, I have played and followed soccer. I love everything about playing soccer. I love the competitiveness and the physicality of the sport, especially given that I am a relatively calm person in the rest of my life. I love playing in a team with friends, and the camaraderie that comes along with winning and losing together. Even a shoulder dislocation while playing soccer cannot stop me from pursuing my passion.
Throughout this time, I have always wondered what it takes to be truly great at soccer. I have often thought about how much truly separated me from the greatest professional soccer players. Was it just about being able to pass more accurately, being fitter and stronger, and having more ball control? Or was there more? And if I simply trained enough on these components, would I be great enough to play in the EPL?
Then I saw this video.
While RVP was always a great outfield player (both for and against my beloved Arsenal), I was blown away by his skills in this small format against fairly unpredictable players.
It wasn't just that RVP had the skills, it was that he had something more. He had an instinct and a level of awareness that I just don't have (and likely never will). When it comes to RVP and the greatest soccer players, they not only have better skills but also literally perceive a soccer match in a different way than mere amateurs like me.
Greatness in music
My favourite song of all time is Caprice No 24. in A Minor.
I have often wondered about what it took for Paganini to create this masterpiece. Was it just that he was able to better play the violin than almost anyone else in history (partially aided by a medical condition which gave him longer fingers than most people)? Or was it just that he was better at understanding the violin and creating music for it?
Then I saw Matthew Santos perform at Kellogg.
Matthew Santos is a Grammy nominated musician, most famous for starring in Lupe Fiasco's Superstar. Matthew performed a few songs during a lunch sessions and talked about his story and creative process, and how it applied to the budding entrepreneurs in the audience
When someone asked him what his process for creating sad songs was, he decided to show us. Through the use of a looper, Matthew proceeded to improvise one of the most emotionally evocative songs I have heard in a very long time. He started with a beat before progressively adding more beats, chords and eventually vocals. Matthew then repeated this process with another song, this time with a more happy and upbeat vibe.
For Matthew, it wasn’t his technical components which made him great. Matthew is a great vocalist, keyboard and guitar player (and skilled with the technology required to make his style of music). However, it's the emotional perspective that he brings to music which makes him a truly great musician. Matthew spoke at length about being drawn to music because of the emotions he felt when listening to movie scores as a child. When he wrote music, he thought largely about the emotions that his music would give rise to and used the composition process as an outlet for his own emotions.
I will never know what it took for Paganini to create his masterpiece. All I know is that he probably thought about music and the violin in a way that I cannot even comprehend.
Having a great MBA experience
Through recruiting events and visiting friends interstate, I have recently met a lot of different MBA students from different schools, each with their own varying MBA experience. By speaking to these people, I’ve come to think a lot about what sets apart great MBA experiences from good or okay ones.
In the last month or two, I have gone from tentatively enjoying my own MBA experience (but still questioning whether it was the right thing for me) to truly loving my time at Kellogg.
Over that time, most of the components that I expected would make for a great MBA experience have remained largely unchanged. I still have great teachers with interesting subjects. I'm still doing the extracurricular activities that I want to be doing and I've got a great trip planned for Spring Break. Even my friend group hasn't changed substantially.
However, what has changed is my sense of connectedness to my MBA program. I’ve become a lot closer to my core group of MBA friends, to the point where I am closer to some of them then my friends from back home. My perspective of where I belong, and how I belong is vastly different. And that's what makes my experience great.
The logical next question
This leads to a more practical question. If a great MBA experience comes from something as ephemeral as connectedness, what can universities do to help students build this connectedness.
My view is that it has to come down to openness and honesty.
Kellogg's administration needs to be more honest about the types of people that join Kellogg and what this means for the Kellogg experience. Kellogg’s orientation (and first couple of months) are extrovert heavy, but the majority of students do not fit that bill. The administration need to more explicitly state this up front. Students at Kellogg can can have whatever social experiences that they want; they just need to be proactive in finding those people and making those experiences happen.