Burning Man’s community consists of creative artistic types who want to abandon human society for some days – but MBA culture dictates the rules of industry and society that are completely contrary to everything Burning Man stands for.

Burning Man is a summer event held in Nevada, in the Black Rock Desert. People who take part in this event make a whole new city from zero and stay in it for a week. They have to collaborate and communicate: without working together, it’s impossible to construct comfortable homes and whole towns with unique color schemes and functions. Some people open yoga schools, others build picture galleries.

Burning Man is often called a ‘temporary community’ dedicated to self-expression. In this artificial city, you can’t buy or sell anything, except for coffee and ice. No one’s getting paid for what they’re doing. After the week is over, everything built in the Black Rock Desert is burned or deconstructed.

No matter what you were doing there over the time of the event, you have to destroy all the traces of your presence.

Why, then, do we compare the Burning Man event to business school? If you don’t look very closely, there is absolutely no similarity between these two things and their cultures.

Still, if we analyse the two cultures thoroughly, we will see that they have many more similarities than meets the eye. The Burning Man event can be a source of some very important insight for future MBAs.

Insight #1:Remaining self-sufficient

As you cannot buy or sell anything in the Burning Man event – they don’t even use money there – participants have to take everything they need for those several days with them. The event is held in a desert, so they have to make sure they get enough food, water, clothes and other stuff to survive the daily heat and nightly cold.

Hence, the Burning Man event is a very intense time. Let’s compare it to MBA studies: many business school graduates say that their time at university was very difficult. Business schools seek out people who can withstand the intensity of being an MBA student and have enough devotion and determination to take them through the demanding programs.

Insight #2: You’ll be able to prove your leadership

One of the main goals of an MBA-to-be is to enhance and nurture their leadership skills at business school. That’s the second similarity between MBA programs and Burning Man: they both require people to become leadership material.

Those who make other people work without any financial reward and career advancing, and build a place that will last no more than a week only to be torn down afterwards, are showing real leadership skills. To do something like this, you need to be a real leader who can share their idea with others and get them to enjoy the experience of their time together.

Insight #3: Importance of teamwork

You can’t be a leader all the time, though: a lot of your effort has to be given to the team, as your task is not only to make something on your own, but helping others build their places. Similarly, business school environment requires you to learn being a team member. When you apply to university, you have to show that you are not only a good leader, but also a good worker.

Insight #4: Creative work is key

During the Burning Man event, everyone has to show creative thinking and problem-solving skills. In the harsh desert environment, you have to make your structures enduring to shield yourself from strong winds and cold. Business school has the same element – to deal with problems effectively, you need to exercise creative thinking.

Your interview answers and application package should contain examples of your creativity during your studies and work. To be able to contribute in class discussions, your thinking has to be non-standard.

Insight #5: Individuality meets collective

The Burning Man event isn’t the same each year: all such communities have their own distinctive themes, like ‘The American Dream’. The buildings and decorations have to mirror the year’s theme, but interpret it creatively. Same for business schools – they all have their very own culture and themes. When applying to university, you should do two things at once: enhance your individuality and creativity, but at the same time show that you can be a part of the university’s unique culture.