No doubt, what you were taught at Harvard is good stuff. But it's all theory. It's information not applicable knowledge. Do you know what elite consulting firms do with freshly hired Ivy League MBAs?
They put them through rigorous "real life" education programmes to learn how business is done in real life. It's the business equivalent of residency which newly graduated doctors must go through before they can crack open chests and skulls.
And I've found over the years that the essence of marketing can't be taught in a sterile environment using theoretical case studies and elegant guesswork.
And while business schools can teach you skills, the success and failure of businesses depend on the character of the people engaged in your business. Character traits like, exciting, enthusing and energising people, working on a challenge, making prompt decisions and being able to turn on a dime.
And four character traits management guru, Tom Peters puts high value on: A peasant's toughness, streak of brutality, good finisher and killer instinct. And I fully agree with him both as a former farmer and a soldier.
It's fine to be a risk allergic, playing-by-the-book theorist in the classroom, but in real life these people need lots of character adjustment to take the daily ambiguities and risks of running businesses on their strides.
Oh, and if those MBAs really knew business, instead of becoming indentured servants (a.k.a. employees), they would run their own businesses.
Back to main FAQ page.