DomoDomo@INSEAD

About this blog...

Hi Everyone.
I am a 30 something male, single.
I am about to start an MBA programme at INSEAD, a top-tier business school located in Fontainebleau, France.
Hoping that this would be a defining moment in my life, and an interesting subject anyway to all applicants, INSEAD-curious people, or my friends and family, I have decided to start this blog and write every week about life at INSEAD.
For a start, I will try to remain anonymous, but questions are most welcome about anything you want to know on MBAs and INSEAD.

So this is my first post.
I applied to INSEAD in October, got interviewed in February, and was accepted in April. Granted, these dates do not correspond to any of the school's set deadlines, but admittedly my profile is rather original too.
In retrospect, I believe that two elements of the application dossier are key: essays and the GMAT score. Essays, because INSEAD really goes deep to strike the right balance in its recruitment, ie. they would want to know in depth to evaluate what you can bring to the classroom that is not yet available or in insufficient quantity/quality. And GMAT, because INSEAD being a top-10 B-School, they need to maintain an average of 700+.
Talking about the GMAT, I do believe that the test, whilst definitely not correlated to professional success, is a good assessment on your intellectual skills. That it is correlated to MBA success does not astonish me. And I am comfortably writing on the GMAT knowing that it took me 3 attempts to get into the INSEAD 80% range of 660-750.

What drove me to apply to the INSEAD MBA?
After studies in Management, I worked in Consulting before taking charge of a family new venture in Retail. I spent 4 years in a remote country (my native land), setting up a supermarket. Launching the business included recruiting 20+ employees in as diverse areas as Butchery, Sales, Logistics, Secretary; supervising IT infrastructure and advertising, negotiating with Suppliers... Developping the business was just as tough, especially on the industrial relations side.
After 4 years I realised that I needed a break to reflect on achievements and think about the future. In future, I meant that of the family business and my own of course. INSEAD seemed to be the perfect match. Its MBA combined recognised expertise in Family businesses (notably governance, ownership structures, inheritance issues, entrepreneurship), and the perfect place to enhance one's soft skills of leadership, inner strengths, self-confidence.

Thus, whilst at first I never considered applying for an MBA, in October, all became crystal clear. It was as if my body and mind needed that!
At this point, I must thank all those who encouraged me and convinced me that it was the right dream to pursue, especially when I was on the verge of giving up (because of that bloody GMAT). Theses people will recognise themselves, but I will name my father as one of my strongest fans!

posted by DomoDomo@INSEAD @ 10:56 PM