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Facing Failure - Kellogg MBA Leadership Style and Difficult Decision Essay

Background Information: A technologist, responsible for managing a proprietary pricing algorithm, stares at zero sales in the airline and hospitality industry – a once-in-a-lifetime event that motivates him to find a creative solution.

Theme: Leadership, Creativity

Theme (Explained): Creative solution and leadership narratives don’t go hand in hand in MBA essay narratives, but they can if the implementation of the creative solution needs multi-functional experts, an international team, or a dynamic that cannot be overcome by one person. 

Profile: Consultant

Industry: Hospitality

MBA Essay Strategy: In narratives where solutions are technical, policy-related, or financial, the descriptions are often around the ‘jargon,’ but you can also bring the human side of the challenges with ‘doubts’ shared by the leadership, the risks of getting the solution wrong and the overall negative impact – all building up for ‘what was at stake’ for you to get the solution right. 

Although any narrative from the pandemic might seem overused this year, such an experience where global sales were zero for a moment in the hospitality industry is a once-in-a-lifetime blip that warrants a narrative. 

I also ensured that the protégé who proposed the change in the data model is credited with a line or two without making him the protagonist. It is a delicate exercise, but make sure that you switch the essay back to you. 

In this essay, the applicant’s ownership for any repercussion of the proposed solution brings back the theme to leadership and the applicant’s courage to take the fall. 

Opener: The opening line sets the ‘shock’ of witnessing zero sales on the dashboard.

Sample Kellogg MBA Leadership Value, Difficult Decision and IMPACT on leadership Style Essay (Facing Failure with Creative Thinking) (437 Words)

The numbers dropped from a 25% conversation rate to 0% in our sales dashboard. Assuming some error in the data connection, I refreshed the App. 

100+ flight cancellations in 1 minute. 

The pandemic had arrived.

A month before, I was present in the board meeting with our team of 15 for the acquisition announcement to <x> - the leading travel services company. With a proprietary predictive algorithm, we could set pricing for over 20,000+ hotels, optimizing their sales and campaign plans. ..

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Download F1GMAT's Kellogg MBA Essay Guide for the Complete Essay where the applicant shares how creative solutions as a leader helped him turn around a once in a lifetime setback event

 

About the Author 

Atul Jose - Founding Consultant F1GMAT

I am Atul Jose - the Founding Consultant at F1GMAT.

Over the past 15 years, I have helped MBA applicants gain admissions to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT, Chicago Booth, Kellogg, Columbia, Haas, Yale, NYU Stern, Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, IE, IESE, HEC Paris, McCombs, Tepper, and schools in the top 30 global MBA ranking. 

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