| Topic Name: |
Relying on your MBA.... |
| Message Name: |
Egos III |
| Date Posted: |
09/15/2000 |
| In Reply To: |
OK, I am an MBA just graduating from a top 10 school. I apologize ahead of time to those nitpickers whining about grammar. I am writing quickly.
I think many of the anti-MBA comments have some merit, but it is just too easy to trash MBAs. In the long-term, the degree is very useful and a great learning experience. It is not a bizarre coincidence that about 1/3 of the Fortune 500 CEOs are (or used to be when I read this factoid) Harvard MBAs (and who knows how much from other top schools).
About 1/3 of the people at my business school took the learning very seriously, about 1/3 took the "schmoozing" very seriously, and the rest took a two year vacation. The last group tended to be ibanker analysts, and wanted a break before heading back into the grind.
Both the schmoozing and the learning are valuable experiences. It appears to me that experienced executives' greatest assets are their ability to sell and their ability to impose the will of their ego. At least that is what I have seen. That we live in a meritocracy is quite a myth. Even in Silicon Valley, outside the engineering folks, success is as much based on who you know and how you convince others rather than what you know. An MBA provides the perfect training ground for such skills. Don't underestimate bullshitting. A tiny bit of substance, and a lot of bullshitting is much more valuable than vice versa, otherwise Dubya wouldn't be running for President. He is the prototypical MBA and quite a successful one at that.
Also, what "merit" there is in our society is often socially constructed. That is, "soft skills" are the ability to mimic powerful people's behavior in order to have them accept you, and therefore become one yourself.
Take communications and verbal skills. A street kid from Watts may have a beautiful lyrical sense of language, but those are not the verbal skills that are required in business. His "merit" will probably not take him far, even though he may be brilliant. Learning those soft skills means doing what powerful people do to be able to relate to them. Going to an Ivy League school and getting an MBA allows someone to relate to those that are in charge, thus be convincing, thus getting the right connections. I also went to an Ivy League school, and I cannot tell you how many interviews I have had because the guy in charge went to my school. And it is easier to relate to him further when he also went to my fraternity, sharing drinking stories. Sorry folks, but that's the truth. The old boy network has a few punches left in it.
Therefore, an MBA is vital for long-term success. Sure Bill Gates did not have an MBA, but he took the hard path.
And what about real learning that takes place in business school, the "hard stuff"? It's there, for those who want it. And I am finding many of the concepts I learned in school very useful in my job today.
Much of the criticism against MBAs in this thread applies to all of us young turks in the new economy. We expect it all to come easy because of the quick riches in the past years. MBAs are extreme in this way, but consider this: For the past two years, I read about 300 business cases, each starting with..."You are the CEO, looking out the window of your corner office" or something like that (followed by a cheap shot reference to HBS). It takes a while to deflate our egos when we come back to the real world working on tedious every day tasks. But when we finally do adjust, we come out with a broad sense of the business world, a network of powerful friends, and the confidence to forge ahead. So go ahead, trash us, I get paid well enough to take it,
Best Regards,
Arrogant MBA
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| Message: |
First, I apologize for constantly posting under a subject header related to egos - I just feel that what I am writing should be linked to what I have written.
I do agree that soft skills are definitely worthwhile. Ultimately, it is the ability to convince someone, to develop relationships, that can make or break business. However, I do have a problem with people who lack the skills they claim to possess. It would seem to me that their actions do not constitute an application of "soft skills" but are instead a good example of "outright lying." I've heard many people say they can bridge the gap between the business and technology. But most of them lack a handle on even the most basic capabilities of specific technologies. The fact that they pass themselves off as capable of working with technical folks is a lie - not bullshit. Bullshit would be "yes, I have done some work in it and can do what you're asking" when you really mean "yes, I have done work in it and I'm rusty...but I can learn it well before it'll be needed, so you won't find out."
I would agree with whomever made the statement that part-timers aren't the same as many full-time students. Often, these part-time students are much more in tune with reality than full-timers (of any age).
Although I do think the ability to network, schmooze, brown-nose, whatever you call it - is a good one, businesses can't be built on that. Ultimately - businesses are built on services or products. So, although the "soft skills" may be very important at making a deal, sale, or maintaing relationships - without the product or service to back it up (and managers with actual know-how) the company wouldn't and shouldn't exist.
Yes, MBA students do come out with a good, broad sense of the business world. But that's not as important (or valuable) as having concrete skills. What did we learn during the 80's? Generalists, who made up the majority of middle management, were expendable in favor of those who had actual skills. It's upsetting to see the "broad sense of the business world" so overvalued, especially since it lacks the depth necessary to really understand any part of the business. No offense (because I don't know what abilities you may have), but among those classmates of mine with a broad understanding, I haven't met one I'd want to pay six figures.
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