MBA: Why is the first quarter most important?

Why is first quarter the most important quarter in a business school?

This is my second post on the subject networking in a business school. The previous post talked about why "Be humble."

First quarter is the most important quarter: People meet and work with each other, often for the first time in their lives, in the first quarter. They have no pre-conceived notions about you, they are happy to be at Booth, and they are very pleased to meet with you. However, there are only 24 hours in the day, very little of which they spend in choosing their pals. Moreover, people have limited attention span and lack the comprehensive toolkit to evaluate every type of person. That they will be meeting with 550 new first years, and 550 second years in addition to a lot of other people in the Booth community, will add to the confusion. Most people will find their groups very quickly and hang out with them. Second year students will chose their favorites to support throughout the Booth experience. While it is possible to break these initial bonds, remember that relationships are like wine – older the better – and it is difficult to introduce yourself into an existing group. It requires a lot of work, which you are better off doing up-front. If someone else becomes friends with the second year who can help you most in your career search, if someone else becomes the best buddy of a classmate who shares your interests, if someone else becomes friends with the LEAD facilitator who can catalyze your personal development the most, if someone else becomes friends with a guy who is selling the furniture which you need most, and if someone else becomes friends with your potential love interest – you have a problem. Please call the ambulance!

In a nutshell – the first quarter provides the greatest number of opportunities, which disappear very quickly.

In the next post, I will talk about the importance of "Focus."