What do your elevator buttons look like?

If you are already determined that an MBA is the only thing for you, then you can stop reading now. Seriously. But if you are like me, you may be thinking, “Wait, can we step back from BYU a bit? Do I even want an MBA?” Then this post is for you.

I make lists. I make lists for groceries, I make lists of things to do, I make lists of books to read. And then I make lists to manage my other lists. When I was considering an MBA, I made about a million pro/con lists. The reason I had to make a million is because my lists were so frustratingly balanced. For every pro, I could think of a con, and for every con, there was a pro. Every up had a down and vice versa. How are you supposed to make a decision when neither choice is an obvious leader? I spent several frustrating months with my perfectly balanced lists before I finally reached Pro/Con nirvana. It looked like this.

Yup, elevator buttons. Surprised? I was. This is a picture I took of the elevator buttons in the Tanner building at the Marriott School. They have since been fixed, but this visual sign from heaven was there long enough for me to realize something important.

I had a fundamental flaw in my pro/con analysis. See, I was determined to list EVERYTHING that might be good or bad about an MBA. I gradually realized, I was completely distracted from what was most important to me, the one thing that really mattered in this decision. What did I want? What is most important to me in the next five years? Money, opportunity, intellectual stimulation, career advancement? So what is it, you ask? I’m not going to tell you. It’s not important anyway. What is important is what is your #1? Once you decide, make your pro/con list again. But this time, only list those things that are a pro or con for your #1, and see how that list turns out. It will probably be much shorter.

When I was done, I found two buttons both pointing up. For me to achieve my #1, there were only pros to getting an MBA (ok, maybe one con, but it was little). So here I am. It was a tough decision to make, but if you can figure out what your #1 thing is, then you will find those determined opposing arrows will end up pointing the same direction. If an MBA is your up, great. But you have to get rid of those opposing arrows before you can move anywhere.

—Kelsey Harris, OB/HR, Class of 2011