Teamwork. The team is the core unit of business school education, as it's meant to mirror what we will all face when we go back to the workplace. In American business schools, as in American business, everything gets done as a team. Though Americans value entrepreneurial spirit and individual drive, for whatever cultural reasons we believe teamwork is the Holy Grail for well-functioning businesses and organizations. I think it's the sense of cooperation and give-and-take, which most of us learned even in our family units that translates into how we learn and work. And though we all worked before coming to Yale, the heavy reliance on teamwork here is structured to teach us how to balance strengths, interests, and working styles for the good of the whole.

团队合作。学习团队是商学院教育的核心组成部分，因为我们中的每个人在未来工作中都将面对类似的情形。在美国商学院，就好比在美国商业文化中一样，几乎所有的功课都由团队完成。我们坚信团队合作是成功商业运作中的“圣杯”，且与我们推崇的创业家精神以及个人奋斗并不矛盾。我认为团队合作体现的是一种“有付出才有回报”的合作精神，这与我们在成长道路上所学到价值观相吻合。很多课业本身要求团队成员能够为了最终共同的利益去主动平衡互相之间的优劣势、职业兴趣以及工作风格，以期达到最佳状态。

My study team was a typical blend of backgrounds, industries, and future goals. We all had different ways of working and part of the challenge (and lesson) was learning how best to work together. Teamwork here does differ from most workplace scenarios, because there is no hierarchy, no boss calling the shots. Leaders may naturally emerge or this position might rotate throughout the course of the year. But since no one can fire anyone else, the team really does need to reach harmony through cooperation and respect.

我的学习团队就是最好的例子。我们八个人背景各异，志趣与工作方式也不尽相同。所以在组队之初，我们面对的最大挑战便是如何去协调，找出最佳合作模式。而学校小组又与真实的工作团队不同，因为组员间没有级别之分，也没有绝对的领导。团队领袖往往会自然产生，然后就在一年间的不同项目上轮换。但由于没有谁能开除谁，这样的团队的确更需要足够的合作精神及互相尊重来达到和谐一致的状态。

According to friends from China and other countries, teamwork can occasionally be challenging or viewed as an inefficient use of time. The amount of discussion and debate that occurs can hamper the outcome. I don't think this complaint is unique to international students″it's one I sometimes share″as do others. But having worked in companies with meeting-heavy, team-oriented cultures, I know that the test of my time and patience is helping to prepare me for the post-MBA world. If anything, we can use our time here at Yale to learn how to make better and more effective use of our teams.

很多国际同学告诉我，团队合作有的时候对他们很难或是让他们觉得是在浪费时间，因为有些讨论和争辩对最终结果并无直接帮助。其实，这样的抱怨并不只是国际学生才会有，我本人有时候也有同感。但因为我过去所在的公司文化极为强调以密集会议为载体的团队作用，这份经验告诉我商学院里这种多元文化碰撞下的新型团队合作模式对我将来的管理工作大有裨益，这些宝贵的经历将帮助我进一步提升驾驭团队的能力。

Socializing and Networking. Business school is not just about the classes. And depending on who you ask, it's not even mostly about the classes. Networking within the student body is a key piece of the experience, and the one with the most potential future benefit. In our tightly knit community are future CEOs, CFOs, Presidents of companies, government officials, and board members. It's to our benefit to get to know each and every member of the class. This was certainly the attitude I had coming into Yale, and among the people I was most eager to get to know were the international students. Learning about other cultures is one of the reasons.