We’re constantly told by colleges and grad schools that the unemployment rate is 4% for
those with college degrees and over 14% for those with only a high school education.
We’re also told that, if some education is good, more is
better. So, if you are smart enough to graduate with a
college degree, you must be even smarter if you get a grad
school degree.
Of course, there are lots of grad school degrees you can
take, but most of us would say that MBA is probably your
best bet to maximize your future income stream. A whole
industry of business schools and test preparation
companies have been born to help you get that coveted
Master of Business Administration.
But is it worth it? Listen, I have a Master’s degree from
Columbia Business School. I love the school, the professors, and the friends I made there.
However, there’s a lot of dangerous stuff you can pick up along the way to getting your
degree. Here are the 10 most dangerous things your professors and fellow students might
teach you while you study to get that MBA degree.
1. That You Matter. A lot of MBA students start to think they’re all that once they get
accepted into B-School. They think they’re even more important once they graduate and
get that first job post-MBA and start having to rub shoulders with all the non-MBAs of the
world. However, speaking as a guy more than 10 years out from B-School, let me burst
your bubble by saying that your first job post-MBA is basically the same as a job working
in the mailroom. You’re a glorified paper pusher. Your opinion won’t really be taken
seriously by anyone in your company who matters. Don’t sweat it. Just work your tush off
and you’ll get a chance to matter later.
2. That You’re The Best of The Best. I think I remember being told this shortly after I
started at B-School. I don’t remember if the Dean told me or another student. But, similar
to point 1, you’re still a nobody. Everyone hates an MBA with a big head — especially
when they miss all the subtle aspects of a company’s culture that everyone who’s worked
there longer than a couple of years is well aware of. If you think you’re a nobody and
keep an open mind, you’ll avoid getting a big head.
3. That You Made a Good Investment. Several MBAs I knew created detailed spreadsheets
showing me and themselves that they’d have paid off their MBA tuition and two years’ lost
income within a very short period of time. They saw getting an MBA as an investment in
themselves. I would say, if you want to learn, you can learn a lot from the 2 year
experience. But there will be lots of folks out there who never leave their jobs and
probably make much more money over their lifetimes. There are lots of MBAs who are
still trying to find themselves over the two years. Not that there’s anything wrong with
that. Just don’t kid yourself that you’re making an investment in yourself, when you’re
just clueless about what you want to do with the rest of your life.
4. That You’re Smarter than the Average Bear. A lot of MBAs think they’re very smart.
Learning how competitive it is just to get into B-School, they think they’re even smarter
once they get there. In business, generally everyone’s smart (or very good at playing
office politics). If you start giving people the impression that you’re brilliant, they’ll start
quietly working to show you up as a complete blowhard in front of others. Don’t make
enemies when it’s unnecessary.
5. That You’re Going to Become More Entrepreneurial. I always get a kick out of it when I
see more and more B-Schools emphasizing that they’ve got a focus on Entrepreneurship.
So, if you go there, you’re going to become a better entrepreneur. Please. You’re getting a
Master in Business Administration. So you’re going to be able to organize the office
fantasy football league better that anyone else. But you’re not going to learn to have the
guts or to be crazy enough to start your own business like a real entrepreneur. It’s an
oxymoron that you’re going to be an Entrepreneur MBA. If you want to start a business,
start it now.
6. That You’re Going to Get “Tools” To Figure Out the World. MBAs love tools. They
inherently want to analyze something to death. And they get lots of tools – especially in
the Strategy classes in second year. Five Forces. SWOT analysis. Industry analysis.
They’re all fine, but none is a silver bullet. And none of them is a substitute for sound
business judgement. And sadly they don’t generally offer any classes in that.
7. That You’re OK If You’ve Taken an Ethics Class. After Worldcom, Enron, and Parmalat
blew up in the middle of last decade, there was a bit of a crisis of confidence at B-Schools.
Jeff Skilling at Enron was a Harvard MBA. The other successful companies also had
management teams filled with MBAs. How could that be? B-Schools started making it a
requirement that their students take one ethics class over their two years. Problem solved
— or at least so the B-Schools hoped. Really this was a move to cover themselves just in
case they had a future Jeff Skilling in their midst at the moment. They’d always be able to
say, “hey, we made him take the ethics class… out of our hands!” The reality is bad apples
will always be bad apples. It would be nice if the B-Schools could do more to keep them
out or reprogram them there.
8. That Making You Work on a Team Makes You a Team Player. All B-Schools stress how
they don’t just make their students regurgitate textbooks. They believe in “action
learning” or some silly term that forces students to work as a team. So, they must be great
team players after two years of that right? Wrong. In my experience, those experiences
were great at teaching you to play politics, undercut your team mates, hang them out to
dry, etc. But there weren’t too many rah-rah team players after the fact.
9. That You Should Put Your MBA on Your Business Card After Your Name. Just don’t.
10. That You’ll Now Be A Great Communicator. You do get a lot of chances to speak as an
MBA. However, have you ever watched some of the talking heads on CNBC or Bloomberg?
Just because you have an MBA doesn’t mean you won’t be as dull as dish water when you
start opening your mouth. Practice makes perfect. You’ve got to really commit to
improving as a communicator on your own time if you’re going to be good at it.
You can still learn a lot from an MBA — just like you can learn a lot taking a trip to Nepal
or caring for your dying mother by her bedside for two years. It’s not the be-all-and-end-
all of your life.
Enjoy it, but keep it in perspective.
those with college degrees and over 14% for those with only a high school education.
We’re also told that, if some education is good, more is
better. So, if you are smart enough to graduate with a
college degree, you must be even smarter if you get a grad
school degree.
Of course, there are lots of grad school degrees you can
take, but most of us would say that MBA is probably your
best bet to maximize your future income stream. A whole
industry of business schools and test preparation
companies have been born to help you get that coveted
Master of Business Administration.
But is it worth it? Listen, I have a Master’s degree from
Columbia Business School. I love the school, the professors, and the friends I made there.
However, there’s a lot of dangerous stuff you can pick up along the way to getting your
degree. Here are the 10 most dangerous things your professors and fellow students might
teach you while you study to get that MBA degree.
1. That You Matter. A lot of MBA students start to think they’re all that once they get
accepted into B-School. They think they’re even more important once they graduate and
get that first job post-MBA and start having to rub shoulders with all the non-MBAs of the
world. However, speaking as a guy more than 10 years out from B-School, let me burst
your bubble by saying that your first job post-MBA is basically the same as a job working
in the mailroom. You’re a glorified paper pusher. Your opinion won’t really be taken
seriously by anyone in your company who matters. Don’t sweat it. Just work your tush off
and you’ll get a chance to matter later.
2. That You’re The Best of The Best. I think I remember being told this shortly after I
started at B-School. I don’t remember if the Dean told me or another student. But, similar
to point 1, you’re still a nobody. Everyone hates an MBA with a big head — especially
when they miss all the subtle aspects of a company’s culture that everyone who’s worked
there longer than a couple of years is well aware of. If you think you’re a nobody and
keep an open mind, you’ll avoid getting a big head.
3. That You Made a Good Investment. Several MBAs I knew created detailed spreadsheets
showing me and themselves that they’d have paid off their MBA tuition and two years’ lost
income within a very short period of time. They saw getting an MBA as an investment in
themselves. I would say, if you want to learn, you can learn a lot from the 2 year
experience. But there will be lots of folks out there who never leave their jobs and
probably make much more money over their lifetimes. There are lots of MBAs who are
still trying to find themselves over the two years. Not that there’s anything wrong with
that. Just don’t kid yourself that you’re making an investment in yourself, when you’re
just clueless about what you want to do with the rest of your life.
4. That You’re Smarter than the Average Bear. A lot of MBAs think they’re very smart.
Learning how competitive it is just to get into B-School, they think they’re even smarter
once they get there. In business, generally everyone’s smart (or very good at playing
office politics). If you start giving people the impression that you’re brilliant, they’ll start
quietly working to show you up as a complete blowhard in front of others. Don’t make
enemies when it’s unnecessary.
5. That You’re Going to Become More Entrepreneurial. I always get a kick out of it when I
see more and more B-Schools emphasizing that they’ve got a focus on Entrepreneurship.
So, if you go there, you’re going to become a better entrepreneur. Please. You’re getting a
Master in Business Administration. So you’re going to be able to organize the office
fantasy football league better that anyone else. But you’re not going to learn to have the
guts or to be crazy enough to start your own business like a real entrepreneur. It’s an
oxymoron that you’re going to be an Entrepreneur MBA. If you want to start a business,
start it now.
6. That You’re Going to Get “Tools” To Figure Out the World. MBAs love tools. They
inherently want to analyze something to death. And they get lots of tools – especially in
the Strategy classes in second year. Five Forces. SWOT analysis. Industry analysis.
They’re all fine, but none is a silver bullet. And none of them is a substitute for sound
business judgement. And sadly they don’t generally offer any classes in that.
7. That You’re OK If You’ve Taken an Ethics Class. After Worldcom, Enron, and Parmalat
blew up in the middle of last decade, there was a bit of a crisis of confidence at B-Schools.
Jeff Skilling at Enron was a Harvard MBA. The other successful companies also had
management teams filled with MBAs. How could that be? B-Schools started making it a
requirement that their students take one ethics class over their two years. Problem solved
— or at least so the B-Schools hoped. Really this was a move to cover themselves just in
case they had a future Jeff Skilling in their midst at the moment. They’d always be able to
say, “hey, we made him take the ethics class… out of our hands!” The reality is bad apples
will always be bad apples. It would be nice if the B-Schools could do more to keep them
out or reprogram them there.
8. That Making You Work on a Team Makes You a Team Player. All B-Schools stress how
they don’t just make their students regurgitate textbooks. They believe in “action
learning” or some silly term that forces students to work as a team. So, they must be great
team players after two years of that right? Wrong. In my experience, those experiences
were great at teaching you to play politics, undercut your team mates, hang them out to
dry, etc. But there weren’t too many rah-rah team players after the fact.
9. That You Should Put Your MBA on Your Business Card After Your Name. Just don’t.
10. That You’ll Now Be A Great Communicator. You do get a lot of chances to speak as an
MBA. However, have you ever watched some of the talking heads on CNBC or Bloomberg?
Just because you have an MBA doesn’t mean you won’t be as dull as dish water when you
start opening your mouth. Practice makes perfect. You’ve got to really commit to
improving as a communicator on your own time if you’re going to be good at it.
You can still learn a lot from an MBA — just like you can learn a lot taking a trip to Nepal
or caring for your dying mother by her bedside for two years. It’s not the be-all-and-end-
all of your life.
Enjoy it, but keep it in perspective.
No comments:
Post a Comment