Gone Are Those Days!

Gone are those days, when higher education was considered a feat only for students pursuing science or engineering. Gone are those days, when winning accolades at workplace required degrees from top notch colleges. Gone are those days when mere passion was not enough to break traditional barriers and achieve goals.

Here is an example of Prabhakar MN, who paved his way from being a blue collared worker to a student at a premier B-School- XLRI, Jamshedpur. A ‘workman’, who never settled for a simple life and always pushed his limits has now set an example for many such aspirants.

Prabhakar, after completing his 10^th, did a Trade Apprenticeship Training and joined GE as a ‘workman’ where he worked for under 5 years. The organization culture and Jack Welch’s book “Straight from the gut” inspired him to complete his senior secondary (Diploma) education, following which he quit his job and joined BE full time at MS Ramaiah. Post BE, he joined Bosch and worked for another five years. At GE, not only did he receive a 6 Sigma Green Belt certificate but also was selected along with only 19 other manufacturing members for an esteemed ‘Associate Development Program’. At Bosch also he was praised for his indigenous solutions to some complicated issues and challenges. And finally, to accelerate his growth path, he decided to leave his job to do MBA at XLRI.

He believes in change being the essence of life and the importance of taking risks. He says not just to “Think out of the box”, but to “Break the box” as it helps to move forward making the journey less stressful.

If people like Prabhakar can challenge themselves to leave their job, enroll in higher education, learn a new language, adapt to different environments and keep raising the bar; then nothing can stop more and more such aspirants from going against the conventions. It is important to tap hidden talents and unleash their full potentials to ensure progress in the economy.

It is time to think different. It is time to focus on the unfocused.

 ~Ankeeta Mishra, PGDM 2014-16 Marketing