MBA in a Page

My buddy Ray Schraff from Hyland Software pointed me to this site containing a comprehensive list of management theories. It is an “MBA in a page,” and I mean that in a pejorative way.

Here are some examples from the page: GE/McKinsey matrix, Kaizen philosophy, Capital Asset Pricing Model, Business Process Reengineering, and Scenario Planning.

You can use the page as a test: Anyone who knows all these theories is someone you shouldn’t hire.

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This posting has generated a lot of anger. Many MBAs unsubscribed from my feed because of it (perhaps I can now raise my CPM—I’ll check with Federate Media). That said, today my feed count is the highest it’s ever been. Tomorrow I am going to post a Truemors promotion, so I expect even more people will unsubscribe.

Comments

[John]

Guy - was it on your blog that I recall reading something like the following?

MBAs, consultants, i-bankers, etc. believe coming up with brilliant business solutions is incredibly difficult while implementing them is relatively easy. However, in a startup, the exact opposite is true. The solutions are relatively easy to spot, but implementation is hard. That is often why the above types of people are such poor fits within startup companies.

You whining, unsubscribing MBAs should consider this post in the context of the above. Sheer brainpower and work ethic will win over static management theories in nearly all situations, particularly in a startup environment. And to the person who said you need an MBA to answer the questions VCs ask... you really think you need an MBA to answer fundamental questions about your own company? Wow.

The whiners here should seek employment in executive training programs at F500 corporations and leave the startup world for another life. And fortunately, the corporate firewalls at those big, bureaucratic organizations will probably block you from reading such worthless blogs as Guy's. A win, win ;-)

**************

I don't remember if I said that, but I agree with it. And I would have said it. :-)

Maybe Starbucks was closed this morning all around the world so the MBAs were cranky.

Guy

[Jenny]

Reading these comments has been the highlight of my day!

What's with the thin skin guys? Did something said touch a nerve? Be confident in those MBA's you possess, I'm sure Guy wasn't personally referring to you...

Thanks for the humor and link to a nice site Guy!

[Don Jones]

Justin,

"Only an MBA can answer the sort of questions you VCs like to throw out..." How silly on its face.

[an ony mouse]

An MBA just teaches you a perspective and gives you a set of tools. How you use the tools is the important thing. Tools for the sake of knowing tools doesn't really help a start up. But then having too many MBAs in a start up can be detrimental, especially if they come from Stanford.

[Justin Whitaker]

Funny one, Guy. On the one hand, you say "don't hire the MBAs". On the other, only an MBA can answer the sort of questions that you VC types like to throw at startups. You can't have it both ways.

[Greg]

Reading through these comments reminds me of when I sold cars shortly after I graduated college. One day I was sitting around talking to a fellow salesman, mid-40s, non-graduate, who went on and on about how useless college was and anybody could get a degree handed to them. I am now in computers. He is still selling cars.

[Alvaro]

Good habits: adapt, learn. Pay attention to your environment, define a plan, prioritize, execute. Understand Guy is not criticizing having an MBA, but specific parrot-like behavior...

Bad habits: misallocate your most precious resource-time- in memorizing 200 "theories" and see neither the trees nor the forest...

I have an MBA, and enjoyed working in McKinsey. Yet, I found the list in that website both scary and funny...

To the people who are unsubscribing from Guy's RSS: please contrast the person who knows all those "theories" with the wisdom and pattern recognition displayed by Bill Gates in his Harvard speech this year, and maybe you'll see the light...
http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2007/06/16/on-bill-gates-harvard-commencement-speech-and-his-frontal-lobes/

[Shimon]

Guy,
I have an MBA and I agree with you 100%. What you are saying is a bit subtle, and does require some real-world business experience, savvy, maturity, whatever you call it. Seems like many did not quite understand that it is not about the content of the page and the body of knowledge it represents, but about someone who has nothing better to do in life (or business) than to diligently (compulsively?) learn all the terms. Those that know all of this crap, or close to it, I usually find that they lack good intuition, common sense, and ability to think on their own.
Now don't ask me how I found the time to read and respond to something that however true, I would have never expect it to stir so many reactions... or is it your magic that makes people obsessively read whatever you write? :-)

[Bill]

Meh,

An MBA for an MBA sake, to learn/memorize all the theories is, in fact, garbage. How many management consultants have you encountered with MBAs that simply spout off page after page of buzz word theory without having actual practical application in their past?

I believe an MBA can help people learn how to think and give them access to others from other walks of life, other industries, and other opinions that is invaluable...IF...you participate in the right program with the right students.

Students right out of college just don't have the experience to make the program valuable to the other students.

I'd hire someone with an MBA, but I'd look closely at why they wanted the MBA, and how they think.

[Nicolas Schriver]

I don't think it is fair to say these theories are wrong. I don't want to talk about the mba importance, but more about the value of these theories. To me, they are still actual even though they are not enough to market. I must admit I don't use these theories on a daily basis, but to understand them can help you out getting some ideas and understanding the market. Depending on the information you have and your problematic, you can use these theories to clarify your situation on the market, and to point out problematics.
Thanks for the link, I think it is pretty useful, especially for students who sometimes don't understand these concepts.

[Mark]

Boo hoo I have an MBA and I have been personally offended by Guy Kawasaki. Guy, I want to take this opportunity to publicly denounce you and let you know that I am removing your blog from my RSS reader. I am going to tell my biz friends to do the same. I'll even say that you are a mean-spirited person in my Facebook truemors .. oh, wait.

Guy you are an evil person - why didn't you tone down your blog post. Us MBA folks have feelings and always need to feel validated by our expensive degree and acronym nun chucks. Didn't you get that memo?

We can't be expected to deal with tongue-in-cheek stereotypical blanket criticism because we didn't learn an acronym and chart for it.

[Esmo]

Although I think you are jesting, from the tone of your post it seems like you really dislike generic MBAs.

Those theories are more of a tool than anything; they should not be used as the backbone of every decision. However, anyone who knows all these theories is bogging themselves down with unnecessary jargon and models, when I'd hire someone specialized for the job. That said, I've only graduated from an undergraduate business program so my viewpoint may be incorrect amongst business veterans.

[Christopher Richards]

If I had an MBA I might have written read this post over before I posted it. I should have said, "business school metes out", as is dole out, rather that the anti-vegetarian word. Apologies.

[Joel]

Thanks Guy for posting the link to the management theories. It is a great resource. These are only tools and frameworks, not straight-jackets. It is what people make out of them that matters and that is what is taught in all MBA classes.

[Christopher Richards]

I like to keep things positive. I think MBA’s are generally the most intelligent and evolved humans on the planet. Kindness and generosity are two words that spring to mind. Clearly, knowledge of theories is important. If not, what would there be to talk about?

Business school fosters fortitude. How else can someone sit though a fifty-slide PowerPoint presentation and still live? This is the sort of tough treatment that business school meats out.

Some say negative things about MBA’s. I would never do that. Some say that business school should practice academic birth control and there are just too many of them. But how would ritualistic corporate meetings survive if it were not for such elite training?

If you haven’t been to business school, then you may not understand the need for meeting after meeting. You may expect action. But education shows us that talk is better than actually doing anything.

And when it comes to talk, you need education to be able to speak in jargon. People give MBA’s a rough time. They think they speak like idiots. How can we "language" that, one may ask. You may have learned that language is a noun. And those who haven’t been to business school are stuck with proletarian words like "speak", as in how can we speak about that. Clarity is suspect. And plain speaking is to be shunned. If a thing isn’t world class, or excellent, or renown, then it’s not worth bothering about. I like MBA’s. People simply don’t understand that if you train to work in an institution, then having an institutionalized mind is a plus.

Our MBA’s are a national, and international, treasure. We need to protect them and wish them well.

[Dismayed Reader]

Why do you link-love these theories while disparaging the institution which houses? Seems hypocritical to me as well.

Usually disparaging remarks about MBAs are made by the ignorant and jealous. Surely, with your resume, you are not in that category... are you?

[Roger Anderson]

I was in an investment bank office one day - a $10 million check on the table. It was pulled away because the CEO of my main competitor was a Harvard MBA. The investor thought that was a more important qualification than my Caltech PhD and significantly greater understanding of the issue both companies addressed. Kleiner Perkins felt the same way.

So Guy, are telling me that you would have given us the money? Are you saying that you don't invest when too many MBAs are involved?

I see this as kind of hypocritical. You speak disdain for the MBA but your herd gives it more weight than almost any other criteria.

**************

Roger,

Let me be subtle. All things being equal, any VC who picks a Harvard MBA over a CalTech PhD for a tech company is someone you don't want money from.

Guy

[Jim]

I have an MBA (finance emphasis), and have found you really get out of it what you put in. There are many "passengers" in any program, just loking for the letters as some sort of right of passage.
Practically speaking, from my personal experience only, i do not feel my companies would have succeeded, if i did not have this education. The ability to value companies, secure appropriate financing, negotiate acquisitions etc.. all internally without having to bring in the I-bankers, leaves you with a bit of money at the end of the day. If you have to wear a lot of hats it is invaluable, with that being said most people that graduate with an MBA still do not understand a discount rate or the difference between Free Cash Flow and EBITDA.

[Javier]

Well, I personally think MBA's are for building contact networks and go deep in some subjects we already learned in college when we were too young to understand them, or read about them in a book without paying much attention.

Former MBA students feel offended by your post probably because they still have doubts about the value they are getting from spending two years' salary (or four, if you take into account CAPM) in building a contact network and have some brilliant professors make you think a bit. Actually I think it's on each person to get the value out of it, and a lot of people do.

Maybe one day I will enroll in an MBA program myself. Just kidding ;)

[An Only Mouse]

Have all the readers here had a sense of humour bypass? Looks like it.

Including me, many here have MBAs. But we do not feel offended or upset. It may be because we are secure in our identities and our capabilities beyond our degrees. Those of you who sought to redefine yourselves with a TLA of a degree are obviously unsure of why you did it in the first place.

And no, not all of us think Truemors is the lowest point in Guy's career and at any rate, he has already achieved more than any of you has done.

Get over your sensitivities, you sissy people.

And no, I am not a personal friend of Guy, I have met him just once some 9 years ago and yes, I am posting anonymously because I do not want you trolls on my blog.

Now as the Eagles said: Get Over It! And if you had doubts as to the message, look up the lyrics.

[Schultz]

I'm not sure if Guy has disdain for all MBAs or if he simply believes that an MBA is a waste of time and money if you are an entrepreneur.

I just found this interview that confirms my assumption that he does not think all MBAs are bad. Like the gentleman who commented earlier said, those MBAs who started in technical fields are the candidates who get the most value out of an MBA degree.

So, Guy makes fun of MBAs. Oh well. I have an MBA, but at least I can claim that I never started a business or website as cheesy and as sorry as Truemors. Truemors is definitely a low point in Guy's career. That is not only my opinion, but also the opinion of many others who also thought Guy was the man after he wrote Art of the Start.

******************

Schulz,

Please read this:

http://martysmind.net/2007/08/12/truemors-and-guys-clay-feet

Have you looked at Truemors lately or are you assuming the blogosphere is infallibull?

Guy

[Scott Sanders]

It's far from worthless to know all these theories, constructs, models, et al. It's incredibly useful to know how to apply them judiciously and in the appropriate context -- and best of all, to know when *not* to apply them, which is probably most of the time.

Is it worth simply discarding a variety of potentially valuable models because many MBA grads apply them indiscriminately and not within the proper contexts?

Best of all -- knowing which ones to use in which contexts can help you coach a smart MBA grad into using them at the right time and place, or when using them would cause more harm than good.

[David]

actually that is a GREAT site.

In five minutes you will know more than the management consultant your company hired, and certainly more than your boss. First meeting you just toss out a few key phrases, and you're for the re-management du jour.

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David,

I agree: the site is great. Anyone who knows all the buzzwords, however, isn't. :-)

Guy

[Viktor Prochazka]

I don't think it's "...attention-grabbing, sensationalist, anti-education rhetoric..." it's just a point of view.

[diane]

Actually, I suspect anyone who knows all of these theories is a management consultant - although why you would pay someone gobs of money when they don't understand that a 2x2 plot is NOT the same thing as a 'matrix' is beyond me!!

As for not hiring MBA's...I'm a physicist with an MBA, during my masters I studied business-to-business and high-tech marketing as well as entrepreneurship and business plan development - then went on to work with organisations like NASA and the European Space Agency helping them to commercialise technologies. While an MBA isn't for everyone, why are you so down on MBA's as a whole???