Career TOOLBOX#23: How the MBA Shaped My Creative Career

At a time when big business is getting such a bad rep and when there’s a completely unnecessary national divide — bankers vs. artists, religious vs. atheists, urbanites vs. bucolics, marrieds vs. singles, Boomers vs. Millennials, vegetarians vs. meatatarians, bicyclists vs. SUVers — it’s good to know that some pursuits can help you reconcile life, regardless of desired achievements.

Just a few month ago, at a Cleveland Alumni event for University of Rochester, Simon School, the school’s Dean, Mark Zupan, personally invited me to come speak to the current students.  As he’s one of the five people outside my family circle who can ask me for anything, the last weekend of September I hopped into my car and drove out to beautiful Upstate New York.

My brief visit there was a whirlwind of events and tremendous networking opportunities. Of course, I reconnected with fellow classmates, which is always a terrific experience. Everyone’s made a tremendous impact in the world of business, including in healthcare, technology and grocery industries — as well as balancing that majestically with family and kids. These are good people making a positive contribution to our economy and truly exemplifying leadership that’s felt across the whole country. It was great to see everyone’s smiles, especially since it’s been about a decade since I saw some of these folks.

That Friday, I also had some quality time with Mark, spoke to a room full of ambitious business students about how social media impacts their personal branding and, after all that, joined former Simon teammate and great friend Rami Katz at a high-tech conference, where, as COO of Excell Partners Inc., he spoke on how start-up firms must behave in order to generate funding.  It was all a huge thrill ride; since my corporate exit five years ago, this high-adrenaline environment is no longer part of my day-to-day. And while I don’t foresee myself knocking on a corporation’s door anytime soon, this weekend visit was that perfect jolt that reminded me why I went to business school to begin with.

Looking back now, I realize that so many seeds of my creative career today were planted over a decade ago, in that complex time when I arrived in New York State, just two weeks before 9/11 changed everything. It’s no secret that the first year of classes and the surrounding pressures tested every ounce of my being. So one day I took out a piece of paper and with a Sharpie wrote down why I was even there: “I am earning my MBA so that one day I can profit off of my own creativity.” I then taped that piece of paper on the wall next to my desk, as a daily reminder of the goal.

During Spring of 2002, the tide shifted, I found my groove and began to get involved. I applied and earned the role of head writer of the school’s newspaper, WATS (World According to Simon). There I wrote on everything from songs about money to the challenges women face in the business arena to why we never left the ’80s. I absolutely adored writing for the quality publication and while it wasn’t my entry into the craft, it was the first time my craft had a wide audience.

At that time I was also hired by the Career Management Center to work with students on their resumes, cover letters, interviews and communication skills. Additionally, I applied and was hired to be a Team Coach for the first year students, helping them navigate the business school landscape. Guiding others towards their career goals felt very natural and intuitive.

Finally, I had the opportunity to learn from some of the most brilliant and loyal minds on the planet. My Simon professors challenged our collective thinking and ensured that we learned how to view business problems in ways that were new for many of us. They prepared us to look through multiple angles and to anticipate as many outcomes. Mostly, they taught us to think ten steps ahead, because someone is always building a better mouse trap.

Today, my professional career requires me to coach, teach and write. I chose this creative path and I love that each one of these functions builds off of and helps the other two evolve. My students are constantly pushing me to be better and to know more. My clients keep me on pulse with what’s happening within the walls of Corporate America and my readers share with me which pieces resonate and which ones require a more genuine voice.

Today, everything I do builds on the experience I had at the Simon School. And as I shared with its current student body, the three career tools they will build — way beyond any specific subject they study — are problem solving, negotiation and a first class international network that they will carry for life.

It is fully possible to be an MBA with a creative career. It’s not contradictory. It’s actually a perfectly reconciled fit.

First published in October, 2013.

Reprinted with permission and gratitude from CoolCleveland.com.