The Personal MBA

“ You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for a buck fifty in late charges at the public library.”
Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon)
Movie: Good Will Hunting

OK, I have been Hot-n-Cold about having an MBA - there have been several times during my career that it would have come in handy and I have taken the GMAT, submitted grad school apps, and been accepted into programs. So why don't I have an MBA - because I've looked beyond who the VC's have backed in the most recent round of business startups and started looking the who's running companies - and what you find out is that most of the top, fast growth, kick-ass, companies have been started with men & women that sometimes don't have a college degree, let alone a MBA (especially from a TOP school). And I look at some of the biggest flops in Corporate history, and there have been lots of them managed by Top B-school MBAs. I have no idea whether there is a correlation, but I'm biased.

I like the b-people that have knowledge from the school of hard knocks. Those that have first of all risked, then failed, then got up and tried again. I like people that actually make decisions, that don't analyze too much (although I have been accused of analysis paralysis) - I like person that is like a rabbit running across an open field - the run like hell, stop & look around, adjust their course, and run like hell again. The key is being willing to adjust your course appropriately, not getting stuck.

But enough - here are couple of links that you might find interesting...

1. Personal MBA Site
2. Life Hacker Reference
3. ChangeThis Manifesto