Andrew Reid
MBA with Distinction (2010)
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Doing an MBA was something Andrew Reid had wanted to do for 25 years. He achieved his goal last December, graduating with distinction. So what took him so long?
Andrew's path to the MBA course has been more curved than most and includes working as a photojournalist in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war (where he met his wife Atka) and more recently running an aviation business.
Q. Why did you decide to do an MBA?
Having sold out of my aviation business about three years ago, I had a good track record in business and the time just seemed right to go back to study.
Q. What were your main experiences doing the MBA?
The MBA was hard work but a real joy. The average age of the students was about 35- 40 and I met many inspirational people from diverse backgrounds with their own very interesting life experiences. I have been lucky enough to develop enduring friendships with my MBA colleagues – a real bonus. My project was taking a business model and improving it with some fresh thinking. I chose another aviation business, concentrated on that and I’m pleased to say that the Directors are enthusiastic about the plans that I developed for them, even though the current environment is, to say the least, challenging.
From a business and entrepreneurial viewpoint, the additional management skills added rigour to my work. If you have any particular strengths, they seem to get a little stronger and the course also helps to reduce any weaknesses you may have. The academic rigour has also added to the way I present in the workplace.
Q. Any words of advice?
1. You’ve got to put a truckload of work in from day one. I and most of my colleagues put in about 60 hours of work a week, including lectures. It is terribly easy to get behind, and catch-up is a big ask.
2. Put as much in as you possibly can. There are fun parts – I really enjoyed the interactive lecturing style and you are often marked on this. You have to know your stuff. In the real world, if you’re in a board meeting and you haven’t done your homework, it stands out.
3. You need to learn to work in teams. It’s how it works for an MBA and it's a large plus side of the course. You have to do this in a professional role even if you don’t see eye to eye with the people you’re working with
4. Don’t forget to have fun – you’re all in the same boat, and you all signed up on purpose!
Your Plans for the future?
There seems to be a great deal of “lost” science in universities - people are constantly coming up with amazing inventions and products that they're not taking any further. Attaching a business mind to this can be helpful, although it can take some time to understand the different motivations people have – what drives an entrepreneur is often not what drives an inventor or researcher. Along with an MBA colleague as advisor, we have a project up and running which seeks to bring together clever science and commercial reality. It is certainly a challenge, even down to communication, but we think it will prove ultimately rewarding.