Anne Turchi: Making the Transition

Orientation was also the time when we were invited to join B-school clubs. Student-led organizations are a big part of what we do here. They seem to be a nice bridge for the naturally short institutional memory that results from shuffling people through a two-year program. Clubs bring us lunchtime speakers, conferences, networking events, and social activities. They also illustrate the important economic concept of inflation: when a 20-member club has 19 vice presidents and a president, what good is a vice presidency anyway? Really, I think this greatly underestimates the intelligence of our MBA recruiters. But what do I know? When I have the chance, I'll run for vice president of everything: vice president of supply chain (I still don't really know what this term means), vice president of programming, vice president of the vice presidency, vice president of logistical systems operations management (this is the person who collects money for the next keg party).

When I was applying to business schools, I received pre-MBA reading lists from several sources. They recommended I read things like "Good to Great" and The Wall Street Journal. I disagree. What has kept me grounded during my time here is the reading I did that had nothing, and everything, to do with business. The transition from real life to business-school world is quick and jarring. You will be having naked CEO dreams before you know it. Don't rush this. Instead, give these books a shot:

1. "Counting Coup" by Larry Colton. On the surface, this book has nothing to do with business, but it will ground you. You won't notice the value of this until it's too late.

2. "Healing Back Pain" by Dr. John Sarno. This book is about more than back pain. It is about the physical manifestations of stress. If it doesn't happen to you, it will happen to your classmates. This is really a lot better read before it happens to you.

3. "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint Exupery. Especially the businessman chapter.

4. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. If you haven't read this, read it. If you don't have time for the entire book, just go to Borders, sit there and read the first chapter. Think entrepreneurship.

I still dig economists, ugly, old Balmer Hall (which is a great filter for prospective students with entitlement issues), and the free keg parties (which I later found out are free ONLY for prospective students). I would never have said it, but The Wall Street Journal is growing on me. As for my career intentions, I'm on the right track.

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