Personal MBA in BusinessWeek: “Can a Personal MBA Match the Real McCoy?”
BusinessWeek just published an article on the Personal MBA:
Do you really need to spend upwards of $80,000 in tuition and take two years off to become senior management material? The supporters of an alternative method, the Personal MBA (PMBA), say no, and it’s an idea that’s developing some traction.
According to the advocates of the Personal MBA, all you have to do to measure up to the pricey MBAs turned out by B-schools is to keep gaining work experience, read a series of books at your leisure, and talk about them with an online community. The organized B-school community, of course, maintains it’s not so simple.
GRASSROOTS APPROACH. The PMBA, essentially an online list of reading material and accompanying message boards, is part book club and part online community, where participants tackle the reading list one book at a time, then exchange thoughts and insights on the Web site personalmba.com. There is no diploma, dean, faculty — or cost, other than whatever you pay for the books or a library card. Though still in its infancy, the grassroots PMBA is gaining a following — and might be yet another ding in the armor of traditional MBA programs (see BW, 3/20/06, “Is the MBA Overrated?“).
…LEARNING BY DOING. At least one academic says the scrutiny of traditional B-school programs is warranted. Henry Mintzberg, a management professor at McGill University, says that much of what students learn at a top B-school could just as easily be gained through reading. “The MBA is flawed in the sense that it’s business education pretending to be management education,” says Mintzberg, author of Managers, Not MBAs (Berrett Koehler, 2004). “You’re gonna get a heck of a lot more management [education] from reading this stuff than in an MBA program.” The best way to learn management, he argues, is to manage and then examine and learn from the experience.
But don’t expect the B-schools to be running short of students anytime soon. Despite the cost, B-school professors and administrators say there is no substitute for the intangibles — most notably the alumni and peer network — that come from a traditional MBA experience. Not to mention the access to corporate recruiters and career advisement offices. “[Kaufman] found what the schools’ competitive advantage should be,” says Jim Patell, professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. “It’s a completeness…and that completeness has a price tag.”
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…Without the high tuition and opportunity costs of top B-schools, the PMBA may become the ultimate bootstrapper’s graduate degree.
All in all, I’m very happy with the article. I do have a few minor quibbles (i.e. The Art of Project Management is a much better book than The Bootstrapper’s Bible for getting some “down and dirty management skills” - The Bootstrapper’s Bible is all about entrepreneurship and the advantages of being small), but overall, I think the article was very balanced and well done. I particularly appreciated the input from the folks in academia. Hats off to Jeff Gangemi for a job well done.
It’s gratifying to see the results of a few months work spread across the world and help so many people learn and grow. Self-education is a powerful thing, and I’m glad to have helped make it easier to track down high-quality business books.
I also think the PMBA is a great example of what Hugh MacLeod calls a “global microbrand” - a small brand that is recognized all over the world, spread primarily via the power of the internet. The past 7 months have been a great learning experience - building an idea, publishing it quickly, seeing it spread, revising it, and getting people involved in taking up the banner.
Who knows what we’ll accomplish next? 
Personal MBA…
Couldn’t resist to link this article by Josh KaufmanSo far I read 4 of the books……
Agree!!! One key thing, you must have discipline.
I’m currently a part time MBA student and find it quite thought to spend time on book
Though I’m, ahem, not quite sure that reading a pile of airport business books will get you the same experience as a legit MBA program, one can’t debate the (very serious) ROI calculation around spending the boatloads of cash you’ll need to collect that MBA.
Still, if you’re really pressed for time, might I recommend the three-minute-seventeen-second MBA?
http://www.thatkidinthecorner.com/mt/thatkid/archives/2005/05/the_three-minut.html
Just put a small diatribe on the PMBA discussion board, won’t do the same here. Just wanted to say “congrats” on getting the message out there. Now you know, the biggest problem you will have is when your company decides to send you to a top B-School (what do you do?)
I absolutely agree that the most interesting aspect of the personal MBA is the small but powerful viral component of it — what Hugh MacLeod called a “global microbrand” and Josh referred to as “a small brand that is recognized all over the world, spread primarily via the power of the internet.”
Don’t you just *love* that stodgy old BusinessWeek — BusinessWeek, for God’s sake! — commits so many inches to the story? What a powerful statement indeed.
Before we start, in the interest of total disclosure: I’m just finishing my MBA at a top 15 B-School (so I’m already biased). BUT, this is a total crock. You’ve given (as a previous reader has already mentioned) a list of books, largely including a list of airport readers. This no where near qualifies as an MBA, and the books don’t even cover half of what I learned in my MBA classes.
For instance, no where do you cover optimization (linear programming), statistical analysis of consumer habits, game theory, etc. (the list goes on). Additionally, you are required in an MBA program to write papers, give presentations or simply do a critical analysis on most everything you read. You must be terribly disciplined to ensure you don’t just read a book and then move on. Critically thinking about advanced reading material is crucial to understanding and retaining the information. An MBA forces you to do that.
Furthermore, reading books will *not* give you a network of future contacts. One of the largest benefits of an MBA is the network you build and have access to once you finish.
Lastly, what qualifies the author of this list (Mr. Josh Kaufman) to do an analysis on an MBA? From what little I’ve read about him (only on his “About Josh” page), he never received an MBA. I find it very unlikely that you are able to fully assess what one learns during their MBA career without actually experiencing it for yourself.
The books seem to be a good list of reading materials, but let’s get serious - it will not give you the equivalent of an MBA.
Kevin,
Though I agree with you on the necessity of critical analysis, I think you’re missing the point of the PMBA when you compare it to the subjects in MBA.
Does this reading list replicate an MBA? Of course not.
A more meaningful question, I think, is “What’s the most effective way for me to spend my time and money?” I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all answer, nor do I think that “optimization (linear programming), statistical analysis of consumer habits, game theory” are necessary or sufficient for most people. The PMBA seems to advocate learning through experience at work and reflecting through reading. For many people, that choice may be preferable to an MBA.
Phil - couldn’t have said it better myself. This is a “getting the 80 for the 20″ approach to learning about business.
Kevin - it’s not terribly difficult to figure out the core subjects and concepts taught in MBA programs. My undergrad was in business, with a large helping of b-school content thanks to an honors program I was fortunate enough to participate in. I did quite a bit of research into MBA programs while developing this list. I think the PMBA does a pretty good job at hitting the high points while eliminating the material that is not useful or applicable for 99.5% of readers. If you really need to learn about linear programming or game theory, look it up on Wikipedia. (Statistical analysis is covered in “Principles of Statistics” by M.G. Bulmer.)
That being said, I think the bile in your post is telling. It seems that you and PMBA readers have very different priorities, and that’s fine. I hope you find your b-school education worth the money and time spent getting it.
Great stuff, thanks!
[...] There is obviously a lot of controversy about traditional v. more modern (and supposedly more circumspect) learning models which you can read all about. The traditional view goes something like this: I’m just finishing my MBA at a top 15 B-School (so I’m already biased). BUT, this is a total crock. You’ve given (as a previous reader has already mentioned) a list of books, largely including a list of airport readers. This no where near qualifies as an MBA, and the books don’t even cover half of what I learned in my MBA classes. [...]
Personal MBA, What the heck??…
I came across a great article by Josh Kaufman on the Personal MBA (PMBA) and I bet we are going to start……
Kevin and similar - When anything is just starting there are always aspects that are left out. Given time these items that are left out will be added in. When there is people wanting something there is a way they are going to get it. In time PMBA communites might be better than attending an MBA school.
Kaufman - This is an excellent ideavation (cross between idea and innovation) and I applaud you for it. Keep it up!!
For those that are interested I wrote an article on the evolution of PMBA. You can click the trackback (Thames’s Blog) or go here: http://christhames.com/blogs/thames/archive/2006/04/10/8.aspx
I think it will be very interesting and may even transform higher education for some degrees in time.
As a Duke graduate (1992) with an MBA from Olin School of Business (Washington University in 1998), I can only say bravo! While I can understand the cognitive dissonance current MBA students may have around this concept, your idea is sound.
Most of the economics professors in any good MBA program will tell you that you’re really paying for the 3 letters you can add after your name, and (more importantly) the network. For the individuals who decide not to join the big consulting firms or investment banks that recruit at thier school or who choose to pursue their interests in other companies/ fields, the $150k price tag is pretty hard to justify.
It gets virtually impossible for those students who go to a non-top-20 school (thousands each year) to justify their degree.
Love your list and the community of learners that’s developing around your concept. Congrats on a great idea. I look forward to participating, and using your program to reengage in studies myself.
Let me start by saying that I think the Personal MBA is worthwhile pursuit, and apologize that I have co-opted the PMBA name to reflect my own path (Perpetual MBA). Ever since the debut of Fast Company and my discovery of Tom Peters, I’ve been on this path, and it will continue long after my formal education. Right now, I’m also in an Executive MBA program at a top-25 school. When the program is complete, I’ll probably pick up reading the rest of the books on the PMBA list.
I understand that the PMBA is designed to Pareto’s 80/20 principle, but respectfully I agree with Kevin, I don’t think these books provide 80% of a complete MBA education.
I just did a little excercise, coming up with the top 5 things I feel I’m getting out of an MBA and rating their contribution to the total. Reading/content accounted for about 15%, but Assignments/Exams (20%) and Classmates/Interactive (30%) easily make up half of my MBA experience. Furthermore, the program often looks at the same organizations through the different disciplines (financial accounting, microecon, macroecon, finance, human capital/HR, etc) so there is a synergistic effect (15%) to a curriculum (and trust me, I hate the misuse of ’synergy’) that just can’t be matched by reading unrelated books. Guidance from and access to professors contributes the final 20%.
So while it’s a great initial effort, I’m afraid the PMBA only can claim to cover the 20%, not the 80%.
I don’t have an MBA so I’m not sure whether or not it would make a significant difference in the real world. However, one question I constantly ask myself is this: if the MBA is such an important tool for achieveing business success, (which really means making money) - why do so many of the world’s richest people NOT have MBA’s???
Bill gates
Michael Dell
Richard Ellison
Richard Brunson
Sam Walton
Warren Buffett
George Soros
Pierre Omidyar
Larry Page
Michael Brin
Martha Stewart
Oprah Winfrey
The list goes on and on and on….. in fact, it would appear that the world’s new billionaires are more and more coming out of computer science departments and NOT MBA programs!
I think if you want to become the CEO of a fortune 500 company or you want to end up being a “vice-president” of anything, then an MBA might be the route for you, but if you want to become a successful entrepreneur then it appears to not be necessary.
A friend sent me your link saying that I looked like you and sounded like you, Josh!
I, too, have an MBA and am interested in action learning, especially business-driven action learning. I am constantly extolling the virtues of MBAs for medical doctors in the UK, since their normal level of business understanding is so low.
How do you make money from your website?
Can I upload a photo to prove our resemblance?
Paul
Hi,
Susan(above) mentions that some great entrepreneurs never went to Top business schools. She is right. However, it is also a fact that these great entrepreneurs go to great extents to recruit business school graduates to run their businesses. Most Top business schools admit aspirants with a high percentile ensuring that the brightest get admitted. With high brain power, is it any surprise that they are sought after?
Teddy
Teddy says that business schools admit aspirants who have “high Percentile” grades and GMAT scores (that may be so for the top business schools) - however, my point still remains: are these graduates really the smartest? after all, they are not the one’s coming up with the creative ideas that end up making billions of dollars. I would argue that they are simply working for and executing a vision that has already been developed and created by the non-mba entrepreneurs.
I’m sure Google has a few MBA’s working for it. However, the real geniuses are Brin & Page. Besides, how hard is it to run a business? at the end of the day, aren’t you really just ensuring that your profit and loss statements balance out?
Josh - first I want to apologize for being so inflammatory in my first post. I’m not sure why my writing was so harsh, I can only hope it was because I was having a bad day (ie, it’s not my nature). But everyone seems to have responded to my post admirably - I can only say that I agree with many of the posts. An MBA (just as a “PMBA”) is not for everyone and one must decide for themselves what is right for them.
I do want to reiterate, though, that I think one of the biggest benefits of an MBA is the network of contacts you develop as a result of your education. You can’t get that by reading books. Overall, a good list of reading material … some of which I plan on adding to my personal library. Good luck with your endeavor.
I don’t have an MBA at this point in my career. I have been evaluating whether the two years worth of schooling on top of an already busy schedule are worth it.
I graduated with a Business Degree from a California state university, and was fortunate enough to start a successful company, sell it, and become a VP in a technology for another startup company. Many ups and downs have been had through the process, and I have learned a ton about life and business through this process. No amount of schooling could ever replace it.
I have to agree what others say about the ’synergy factor’. When you are younger with little to no real world experience the ’synergy’ factor is quite valuable. It’s one of those things that when it happens to you, you feel energized to learn and feel in the right place.
I like the idea of the PMBA - I think it becomes really valuable if you can attempt to apply the principals and concepts to your every day work life. For those MBA’s who already have a degree that’s 20 years old, the PMBA is probably a great ‘catch-up’ course to bring their thinking to modern day.
I wonder if in the future the PMBA can be like a ‘correspondence-masters’ degree in business with some kind of test and essays with structured literature. People could participate in online based courses twice a month and show a competency level with online tests about the current material.
Just my $.02.
hey Josh, I think this is a great idea, and am saddened that I did not look into this much more at an earlier stage. However time gone is gone and its time to start. So off I go to buy my first set of the books from this list, although Carnegie and Druker have always been around in my shelf. A couple of inputs. Would it make sense to arrange the books in a form of where to start for what? and another would be to run a forum ( have I missed one already present ) where PMBA pursuants can discuss it out and form the ‘network’ that is apprently ’so kewl’ about MBA’s. Also I am wondering on the same line as Brock on whether someday the PMBA could be something like a ‘correspondence degree’, but without great thought in the evaluation process, it would be just another distance education or online course and that path should be avoided. The peer validation model can be a great tool.
Hey - I looked at lots of MBA courses before realising I could educate myself in everything I was looking for, mainly be ingesting all the wonderful information on management, leadership and entrepreneurship to be found on the internet. Are MBAs overrated? I think so, but it obviously depends on what area and industry you are working in.