Comments on: Personal MBA in BusinessWeek: “Can a Personal MBA Match the Real McCoy?”

By: Darren

Darren — Wed, 23 May 2007 12:04:58 +0000

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.

By: Joshua

Joshua — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 04:59:19 +0000

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.

By: Brock Eastman

Brock Eastman — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 05:54:17 +0000

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.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 15:32:02 +0000

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.

By: SUSAN

SUSAN — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 17:11:13 +0000

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?

By: Teddy Mani

Teddy Mani — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 09:59:17 +0000

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

By: Paul Shannon

Paul Shannon — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 19:20:51 +0000

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

By: SUSAN

SUSAN — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 14:38:45 +0000

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.

By: wolske

wolske — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 21:36:16 +0000

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%.

By: Lawrence Mortenson

Lawrence Mortenson — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 03:58:30 +0000

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.