A fresh perspective on the real value of MBA

As I have said mutiple times, one thing which I always welcome in my life is fresh perspectives. I love to know and learn new ways of thinking about just about anything in this world.

Today my usual social media search lead me to a series of very interesting articles about the value of an MBA on this site by Tim Berry, President and founder of Palo Alto Software. He has written a series of articles about whether one needs to do MBA or not, what can one really get out of MBA and more. I felt the articles to be really thought provoking. I have already shared my perspective about The MBA decision in this post (MBA channel) and this post. I discussed the factors which can lead to MBA decision. Continuing with this topic, I will share my learning from Tim Berry about business education.

Can MBA teach entrepreneurship ?

The eternal debate about whether a person is born as entrepreneur or is it possible to teach him to be one is answered by Tim Berry in this post. He opines that if we choose right time and right motivation to study business, it will surely turn things better. But at the end attending B school should be one's own personal decision and no one formula fits all. So true ! Few excerpts

"Education in trade or business related subjects is about making things better, faster, and easier. If you can learn in a day in class what would take you a roller-coaster ride through the hard knocks, is that better? If Bill Gates did Microsoft without studying entrepreneurship, does that mean you don’t want to?"

"Entrepreneurship is the best of business. You have to get your head around the whole business, not some functional part. Studying entrepreneurship is the best way to study business. "

5 Entrepreneurship Basics B-Schools Can Teach 

In this post Tim touches the key basics of entrepreneurship which can be taught by B school. These include cash flow, business planning, general business fundamentals, communication skills and skepticism. In his own words,

"A good education can teach you what not to believe, and why not. Enthusiasm is great, and you hear so much about passion and persistence and all, but not without a basis for reviewing what makes sense and what doesn’t."

5 Entrepreneurship Basics B-Schools Don’t Teach

But B school is not a one stop solution to turn a person into an entrepreneur. Few skills in life should be earned by the experiences of the real life itself.  These include dealing with people, judging right and wrong, having a life, managing risks, When to hold and when to fold. Specially loved this thought

"With all the baloney we spread about entrepreneurship passion and perseverance and persistence and all, where in the curriculum do we teach putting business in the right order of priorities? Who teaches that it’s easier to find a new job, or build a new business, than a new spouse? Which class is that?

Every class in entrepreneurship should have at least one session with somebody who got so obsessed with the business that they lost the rest of their life. It happens a lot. It needs to show up in the classroom too."

Do You Really Want That MBA Degree?

This post summarizes the whole issue by listing down those few key points one should consider before taking The MBA decision. This post is written as a response to reader's email who is contemplating on his MBA decision and it really makes a good read.

Probably every MBA aspirant should assess his/her motivation to do the MBA after reading through these posts. I am now more positive about my MBA decision. I know my motivation is that I like to go back to school to study business and that big bucks or escaping current job is not leading my MBA decision.

What do you guys think ??

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