An MBA, especially a one-year program from an illustrious school like IMD, is a massive challenge, crammed with long days of classes, assignments and group work. But while everyone talks about the efforts we put in as participants, another set of people get the shorter stick in this bargain – our partners. This blog is an attempt to appreciate their struggles and make them feel special even when we are not with them.
Many of my batchmates, including myself, are away from our spouses/partners and children. While this is not an easy thing under any circumstances, doing so with a pandemic on the loose curtailing international travel only augments this problem. A grueling module 1 was set to end on the cusp of a 4-day Easter break when a lot of us had our significant others flying over to explore the sights and sounds of Lausanne. Alas COVID had other plans. But we are a resilient bunch and came up with novel ways to stay connected with our significant others. Whether it was WhatsApp video chats, Zoom dates or getting flowers and cakes delivered to make them feel special, we raised the creativity bar J.
A batchmate of mine illustrates how he is learning what adapting means in entirely different ways each month – from “I will spend the whole year in Lausanne with my wife” to “ I will see her for Easter” to “you have to install zoom on your laptop for us to stay connected”.
Another one commemorated 7 years of knowing his wife by sending her cupcakes – that got delivered a week late because of the lockdown. But the depth of the sentiment is clear as day. Some others, like myself, decided to have a movie date and game night rolled into one. Others still organized workout sessions together to tide over these difficult times.
All in all, while the circumstances are challenging, it is the small things that matter. Resilience in the face of crisis makes us stronger as individuals and in changing times, this is of essence not just in our personal lives but also professionally.
