Funky

Tomorrow, I take up a new assignment at a Dutch multi-utility in Middelburg (Zeeland). My responsibilities center on rolling out an Enterprise Social Software platform, creating awareness on "het nieuwe werken" and engaging my co-workers in a conversation.  Het nieuwe werken is the Dutch cover term for Enterprise 2.0.  It is a three-pillar program that focuses on 1. New facilities, 2. Human Resources and 3. Technology. 

Fortunately they only asked me for the latter two as building new offices is not my strongest asset.  I'm very curious to see how I can fit the program into the job. Well, I guess that macro-economics is not the first to spring to mind but certainly, other program modules will help me to deliver a better job.  Looking at the agenda, I look forward to the 2 modules on managing people and organizations, market and customer understanding and the April course on market strategy.  Although this a seen it, been there, done it thing - I am convinced that I will learn new insights and practices that are off-the-shelf implementable.  Talking about insights, we have to do a 360° assessment - again a seen it, been there done thing.  But this was 3 years ago so I can benchmark myself now.  On the brink of turning 35 - I wonder how some of my old friends see me.  Because there is no role for boss, direct reports and colleagues in my particular situation I asked Captain Starbucks, DC Comics, Boy Wonder and Zappos to evaluate me.   Together with some close friends they will evaluate me on a variety of personality-related topics. 

Curious to see how my personal profiling and self-assessment is put in a perspective of them assessing (and perceiving) me.  In the light of 2009 coming to an end, it might be useful to use that input and add some extra bullet points to my new year resolutions list. And just FYI, even in 2010 the internet will still be hot -  it's going to be an exciting year!

 

black swans do exist

What is - that is statistically speaking - the chance that a right-brainer gets a good grade on a typical left-brain discipline like statistics? Well depends on the perspective you want to take.  If you see statistics as a science...then, the odds that us - RB - get a good grade is quite low.  It requires analytical, sequential and other left-brain neuron connections to work out the equations.  On the other hand - if you look at it as an art and take the more creative approach to it... somewhere along the dotted line some funky magic happens.  It took me a while to grasp that statistics is all about the way you "define" your statements and hypotheses - and then use the numbers and graphs to illustrate your point.  Having a background in linguistics and communications of course does help to beef up my case.  It is about interpretation pur sang and that's my playground.  Never thought that I would be so into the matter - I now see a wonder wheel of outcomes and interpretations, associations and translations, hypothesis and proof...samples and self fulfilling prophecies. And black swans do exist: they are called google, amazon.com as well as Lehman Brothers, AIG, Ford and GM... what were the odds that these companies - please fill out your anwser on the dotted line.
Statistics is about connecting the dots but in today's world, the dots lead everywhere.  Who gives a banana about statements such as "the likelihood of ocurring... the probability that or we have 95% confidence that". You only need one exception to the rule to make the bubble explode.  That's why change is the new normal... and why statistics all of sudden makes sense.  Numbers are great when you are living in an ideal world - but then again, there are no black swans in an ideal world.

SPSS - not OK

>Error # 19186
>Cannot produce high-resolution chart - too many control values.  The maximum
>number of categories is 500.
>Execution of this command stops.

The 80 minute MBA

Just returned from a trip to London: business and pleasure that is.  This Stan had a plan which was to run a two day workshop on the topic of business/IT alignment.  Business/IT alignment is still a hot topic for CIOs and more importantly for CEOs.  The sad thing is that the matter seems to be exclusively reserved for IT people.  Business/IT alignment is not an IT thing, it is part of a sound enterprise governance eco-system.  Technology is a board room imperative but I'm afraid many executives remain blissfully ignorant. Hence I was running the show for birds of a feather that - as Darwin would put it - flock together. And we had fun as well - the group dynamics were there and also some right-brain-training exercises: In this perspective I introduced role-playing games, brainstorm sessions and elevator pitches. The weekend was reserved for city-tripping and a museum day.  Tip for London visitors, the Science Museum is a definite must for space explorers, computer nerds, families and curious monkeys. This is research but with a big "R". Went to see the differential engine by Babbage, saw the first Apple ever produced (it's just a wooden box with a tiny screen), tabulating machines and other technological game-changers.

And nowadays, it's all about changing the game right?  Enterprises have to bend the curve in order to survive.  It is not about predicting the future in this case but about common sense and seeing what is going on out there.  Technology is ubiquitous and will penetrate our lives even more.  Augmented reality is one example of this blending.  Being digital is part of our identity: both on the corporate and personal sides.  Linking this to taking up an executive MBA should equal a couple of courses on the following topics: Technology, sustainability, social responsibility, community building are key words that I will want to see in my course.  The book I bought in the train station actually inspired me to write this post  and at the same time reassures me on the topic of analytical thinking.  After a... well tough three days and of course when the going gets tough... Nope, not looking forward to the exam I have to hand in next week.  I am absolutely not convinced about the added value of analytics and the fact that the 80 minute book spends nothing more than 3 pages on the damned subject, gives me hope. The terms statistical significance, "what are the odds that ", P value and other correlated terminology have only one effect on me: number will be numbers.

Ground rule # N +1 : If today's and tomorrow's leaders will not include variables such as technology, demographics, globalization and the like in their scenario planning... well, then they are as dead as the dodo.  The dodo is a typical case of being unresponsive in times of serious change. I see the Fords, GMs & company as preys for a new generation of game changers: they come up with sustainable solutions for a brave new world.  Innovationalism as my dearest colleague would put it. That also means that you put in some more right-brain thinking in the business context. Bring in Creativity, Sociology, Communications into the Equation.  And that's what this 80 Minute MBA is trying to tell you... and what statistics cannot tell you.  Because the Internet, a greener world, fair trade or equality can never be converted into figures.  Even Monkeys can tell you that.

IT still matters

In today's business climate of rapid change, technology can make or break deals. (IT) Technology as a business driver is on the MBA agenda - but scheduled for winter 2011. Does this mean that you have to wait to get into technology? Nope, as some may know, I'm part time working/part time studying boy and technology is one of my key domains of expertise. In this light, I am invited to run a workshop on aligning business and IT strategies Fall of this year.

For those who are not in the matter, business/IT alignment has been consistently topping the charts of CIOs reunited. Aligning business and IT strategies means that you understand how to create value with IT, enable business initiatives, reduce costs and improve operational excellence. Effectively managing IT means that you can improve corporate performance by leveraging your IT investments. But we don't stop there, we'll look at leadership, building collaborative teams, revamping corporate processes and introducing a new kind of corporate culture. A wholatta of stuff but then again we have two days to understand how to tailor technology strategies and make them fit like a glove.


Curious to find out more about the program? Just click here or follow the next curve on Twitter - Otherwise, let's catch up in London,  I know some good tailors around.

Information Asymmetry - it's about you and me

In retrospect, what really triggered me in the modules on Performance management was the concept of information asymmetry. In economics and contract theory, information asymmetry deals with the study of decisions in transactions where one party has more or better information than the other.
This creates an imbalance of power in transactions which can sometimes cause the transactions to go awry. Most commonly, information asymmetries are studied in the context of principal-agent problems.
In 2001, the Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to George Akerlof, Michael Spence, and Joseph E. Stiglitz "for their analyses of markets with asymmetric information.

This made me wonder how Enterprise 2.0 could improve corporate performance in the long run. Building a Strategy-focused organization with strategy maps & BSCs was one of the topics of our last course so I started on my paper (actually it is an exam) to find out how information asymmetry reduces throughput in the organizations.  This is the starting point for my thesis that Enterprise 2.0 can drastically improve corporate performance - through the dynamic of social software - because it centers on knowledge as the most sustainable component in value creation.

For those interested in the matter, you can download my paper here - for free - with thanks to... social software of course.
Happy reading

PS to DC Comics - Hope you managed to introduce some right-brain thinking in your paper - when the product is stuck, the creative keep going (LOL)

Enterprise 2.0: reducing information asymmetry in 21st century organizations.

The ROI of an eMBA

Why on earth would you do an MBA - well, that's for me to know and for you to discover. We will be dealing with modules such as accounting, finance, business economics, technology, marketing, operations, managing change,  strategy and entrepreneurship over the next two years.  That's long you might think but actually, it's not.  Not if you look at it from the perspective of a lifelong learning experience.

Learning has always been one of the fundamental drives in both my personal and professional lives. I do not see this MBA as an assignment but as an experience.... a journey with no destination actually.  And because there are so many beautiful sayings with the word journey in it, I want to share some of these with my fellow students.  We're seventeen of us - most are in their early Thirties, like Soulsister - mother of two, sings jazz and works in the hospital.  Then we have Boyscout - works as a sales engineer and is a natural born leader.  Oh yeah, then there's Boy Wonder - who already managed an internet company at the age of 12 and is the youngest in class (roaring Twenties).  Here we go with the first batch of "journey" mantras that you can use for your next reflection moment:

Life to me is a journey - you never know what may be your next destination. (D. Russell)
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. (Lao Tzu)
Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home. (Matsuo Basho)

Now, whom else have we got in class? Well there's Donald trump, works as a project manager in the health care industry and loves to cook. Mr. Oiseau is a lobbying ornithologist - early Thirties and quite introverted (but we're working on that). Beckham works in insurance and is a passionate soccer fan.  Then there's Miss Moneypenny, a caring mother of two who's always in for a dinner party. I mean, in the possible event of us throwing a party: we have cooks, musicians, party makers and cocktail shakers - that's gonna be a real bash.

And if we ever get on the wrong train, we still have Dr. Phil, our trusted adviser and counselor - married with children and whose mantra always makes me laugh: "a dirty mind is a joy forever".  Now, if you ask me - this is the ROI of my MBA - it is not a monetary thing, it is not a prestige thing, it's about going with these people on a journey where we focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it. (Greg Anderson).   Remember that we are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey. (Stephen R. Covey) and to close with the famous words of philosopher Captain Jean Luc Picard: Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived.
And now it is time to boldly go where no one has ever gone before: the first take home exam on Integrated Performance Management, BSC, Management accounting and control.... Beam me up Scotty.

A case study about the case study

Today the penny dropped - the reason why we use the case study method in the program is to make you curious. It is supposed to light your fuse and wonder which solutions are out there to solve the mystery.

We had to do two case studies for Integrated Performance management before the end of this week: Paper & Carton versus Detroit automobiles. The case study method was in fact introduced by Harvard Business School some time ago. It usually starts with a 2 to 6 pager you have to read on a given case - it is well built up, structured and has exhibits. Either you are to do the assignment yourself or in group but the purpose is to solve the problem before you really know how to solve the problem.

Case studies urges you to discover new ways of looking at information, facts or data. In fact, the student is faced with a murder mystery like situation and first has no clue who-has-donnit. Then you start analyzing, let intuition play a role, revive past experiences, talk to some people, apply some common sense, look for links and whatever is left as a solution - how irrational it may seem - is the solution.

But sometimes the course does not end in class - you have to put in some extra study hours at home to read and work on the cases yourself. Depending on the subject this might take from a couple of hours to a full day of hard work. Now, you still have your fellow MBA students as a safety net. See it as a buddy system - get in some feedback from the group, find the expert... leverage the knowledge of the crowd seems like an appropriate statement here. It's just like in the corporate jungle: you need a network that you can rely on - and on the flip side a network that can rely on you - it's all about reciprocity.

Now our class of seventeen is a network that is mainly composed of decision makers - in fact, it does not matter if it is on operational, managerial, executive, IT, sales or whatever level - we all have to take decisions in our daily professional lives. But nowadays we work with teams to analyze situations, dive into cases and prepare decision making. We don't do solo-slims anymore... we have to look for synergy - ever since ancient Greece, syn-ergos, συνεργός i.e. synergy has stood for: a situation where different entities cooperate advantageously for a final outcome. Our Greek philosopher friend Aristotle summed it up pretty well in 2300 before Google when he stated "the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts".

That's what the case study method is all about - Ground rule # 4: case studies are about putting the individual parts together without the manual. And sometimes this implies old-fashioned RFTM work and do some self-study. This week, I had transfer pricing, incentive-based transfer pricing, marginal costs, optimal quantity, allocation of indirect costs, responsibility centers, equity considerations and the holy grail of management accounting: ROI and Economic Value added. Mighty residual if you ask me... but Yes - I get the point - I now see how I should investigate my murder mystery at Paper & Carton and Detroit automobiles! And Yes, my first ideas were pretty much aligned with the theories - it only needed a couple of ratios and formulas to calculate it - but hey, that's what Excel is for right?

Mumbo jumbo in the basement

Right, will have to put in some extra study hours and home work for the module on Corporate Performance. Frankly, I was a bit worried to see this as the first track on our 2-year agenda. On the flipside, this course is taught by Dr. Professor Werner Bruggeman who has a very refreshing approach to making you understand the ins and outs of management accounting. First, You have to see financial accounting, management accounting and long-term profitability management from a holistic point of view.
In this particular case, financial accounting is like the building plan of your house: in theory and on paper it looks fine.  But when making short & long term decisions, FA cannot deliver the intelligence required to making the right decisions from a profitability point of view.

Mumbo jumbo in the basement

Management accounting focuses on getting the right information to the right people at the right time. Managers and CEOs make decisions based on a number of factors, parameters and hypotheses.  Having the right data in terms of profitability, overhead costs, cost breakdown are essential for good decision making. The question whether you want to (dis)continue a certain product or service requires an understanding of the contribution management fundamentals.

Contribution management is the mumbo jumbo that managers do when making short-term decisions.  They look at hedging the overhead costs of the organization with incremental orders.  Thus they can consume unused capacity at a marginal cost: the variable cost.In order to reach your full capacity potential, you might want to hire some black-belt ninjas that deal with bottlenecks inside your organization.  This "Theory of Constraints" was introduced in the Seventies by Goldratt and focuses on optimizing your production capacity. Obstacles along the road (overbooked people, jams in the througput, means,...) are skillfully removed in order to maximize your capacity.

This mumbo jumbo can go on until you have reached your full capacity.... producing more will become counter-productive.  You need to make considerable investments to  grow your capacity but your overhead costs now grow exponentially... Time for another approach I'd say.

 No ABC without technology




Now, if you want to optimize and sustain long-term profitability, you're talking about Activity Based Costing.  The principle behind ABC thinking is simple: allocate a ratio or percentage to each of your activities.  The grand total of all activities can be expressed in hours or man days  and that's the total (operational) cost.  Now each activity will account for a given percentage of the overal cost et voilà: We have a cost per activity.  That's OK if the process is straight-forward and you don't have Murphy wondering around the work floor.

Complex organizations rather opt for a time-driven ABC approach where you can include multiple parameters  into the cost equation. These parameters are called drivers and they... euhm drive the overall cost per process, product or service up or down. This approach allows to identify new (structural) bottlenecks or efficiency accelerators.  The problem I see with ABC is that it takes more than two to tango: you need ERPs, CRMs, BIs, BSCs and CIOs; If the going gets tough, the technology has to keep on going; There is a critical dependency on several core IT systems to make it all work - and still has to be easy on maintenance. Not easy of you are dealing with legacy systems or a lack in web service capability.

But then again, if you want to know: who is your most profitable customer, which products or services yield high margins or what is driving corporate overhead costs, organizations need Aayooh - technology.

I think that I have a grip on it: there's full costing but that's not the same as pricing, you have variable costs that can be fixed and fixed overhead costs that become variable. And in the long run, you end up with a whale in your showroom: Aha, so that's what management accounting is all about - if we can't convince them, we'll confuse them.

Will the real Jean Jacques Cousteau stand up!

Anyway, how I see it, optimizing profitability is for sissies. A true entrepreneur explores new worlds - these Jacques Cousteaus are constantly on the outlook for greenfields, unknown territories and blue oceans. They don't settle for a marginal profit increase, they go for the big kahuna with their innovative service offerings and unserved audiences. So ground rule #3 seems evident: Would Jean Jacques Cousteau take the plunge into the ocean or would he sit back and stay on board?

Why you should not worry and be crappy

Ground rule #2  - I suggested to work around two mantras for my professional and personal objectives.  Mantras are good to keep the focus and visualize your goals. For my personal life I have borrowed Guy Kawasaki's "don't worry, be crappy" to remind me that sometimes good, is good enough - as long as you keep churning yourself. The mantra driving my professional objectives will be Seth Godin's "small is the new big" - in essence, remain an independent thinker, survive the journey in the corporate circus and finally find my blue ocean... Who can do better?

Master in (Monkey) Business Administration.

Last Wednesday, I started my life-changing journey together with 16 fellow students. With these people I will spend the next two years of my life learning, sharing, debating, working. No wonder that the first module of the program from Group to collaborative Team focused on two aspects: Self-awareness (know thyself) and learning communities.
Although most people think that an MBA course is a rather individual track, our school pays a lot of attention to the community aspect as well.


In other words, the group you start with is the same group you cross the finish line. The group is our safety net when you need a sparring partner or buddy. But before you know how to handle the group, it's rather important that you also know how to handle yourself. That's why we had to fill in this Myer-Briggs test. It's a classic test for assessing your personality and personal preferences in 4 domains:

1.Where do you get your energy from i.e. are you an Extraverted or Introverted personality
2. How do you prefer to take in information or do you work by iNtuition or by Sensing
3. How do you make decisions: based on logic Thinking or on personal emotions and Feelings
4. How do you deal with the external world: do you Judge or do yo prefer spontaneous Perceiving

Of course, it's not an either/or story but (a very accurate) attempt to categorize your personality along these 4 main axes. Now my MBTI is ENTP so I prefer to be Extraverted, follow my iNtuition, Think and Perceive.

The good thing about the test is that it also helps you to understand the dynamics of dealing with the other 15 MBTI types. Consequently, it does not only increase your self-awareness but also the community-awareness. Now through individual and group coaching we will be helped to see this as the core of our personal and professional development plan.

What I take from the test is that I am Extraverted Intuition with Introverted Thinking and can be described by tags - and I quote - like "creative, enterprising, theoretical, conceptual, curious, adaptive, challenge-able, assertive and outspoken". Fine, been there, seen it, done it... but the test also tells me how I can be perceived by the outer world and this is where it really gets interesting. "If I do not find a place where I can use my gifts (...), I tend to become rebellious, combative, scattered and become a (nasty) critic".
In respect to my Feeling and Sensing counterparts, I forget to listen, show empathy, ignore other opinions and ideas. In their eyes, I can be perceived as excessively "challenging and stimulating" or coaching on steroids.

If there is one take-away from this test, it is that in relation to others... there is still room for improvement.
I was wondering if I would share these results here but then again, if you want to survive an MBA, you have to know these things. Be honest with it and deal with it, otherwise there is absolutely no point in doing such a program. I think this is ground rule #1 of an MBA: know thyself and let people take part in what's going on in your little own arena.

Meet Miss Havaianas

Now, when I write about fellow students - I have decided not to use their real names for the sake of confidentiality. To make the dynamics work, we will read sensitive business cases, discuss professional hurdles and personal feelings - so we have agreed to subscribe a psychological NDA with the faculty and our fellow students. However, I still want to share personal highlights, reflections, take-aways, conversations and moments with the reader. These will definitely involve other people from my tribe so have thought of using Pseudonyms. In the following chapters, I will introduce some of the main characters in my story including Faculty, Staff and Professors. The latter will be quoted by their real names as all of this information is publicly available.
This is how the system works: in the following 6 months, I will work closely together with Captain Starbucks : male, early thirties and export manager for a coffee company. Then there is Miss Havaianas; 32 and Brazilian with an impressive knowledge of Dutch and four months pregnant. Finally we have Zappos, father of two, engineer and working as a project manager for a Swedish manufacturing group. After six months, you form a new group and get three other working mates.

From November onwards, we will be coached by Peter, Swedish and father of two who lives in Brussels. Peter will be my personal coach for two years and I am looking forward to sparring with him. He will also help us through group coaching and surprise surprise, we are gonna mix and mingle because this group is based on a fair distribution of the MBTI types. So we can learn from each other: the introverted from the extroverted and vice versa.
This learning group consists of 6 students and is composed of Miss Pixar, early thirties, married without children and GM, Iron Man who is also in his thirties and a real sports-addict. Then there is Furry Coat, an ambitious, single and sharp just-turned-thirty go getter. I like DC Comics, he is also independent, clever and likes to write and draw. Zappos is also in the group so seems like we'll be spending a lot of time together. Finally we have Mr. VC - late thirties and entrepreneur. Mr. VC is looking to invest in companies and make the jump to the next curve in roughly ten years. And I believe I have not introduced myself yet: I am Monkey bizz, born in the Seventies and ready to make the jump to the next curve: become a Master in (Monkey) Business Administration.

There is always a magical quadrant...

Just did the Myers-Briggs test and found it quite amusing. In a way it polls your "average feeling/acting/thinking" abilities... but then again, I wonder, aren't it the exceptions to the rule that they are after?

I mean, You can be sociable and talkative but at other times prefer to be lonesome and just by yourself. There are times when you like to get things done in an orderly way and times when we just want to go with the flow. There are moments when you want to invent and situations where you want to build. Everybody will recognize these "dual" feelings when dealing with people, situations and moments.

In the test, you have to slalom around ninety personality questions and at the end of the parcours, there is one more question before you hit the finishing line:

Would you have liked to argue the meaning of
A. a lot of these questions, or
B. Only a few

Bloody yes that I want to to argue the meaning of A. a lot of these questions.... It's all about context and that's what I don't find in the MBTI - the survey centers on how you perceive yourself vis à vis others, the world etc.
Now, On the brainoids site, I found a "magical" quadrant, mapping out the different MBTI types into four colors read segments.
The upper right blue quadrant appeals most to me.. guess because these are more right-brain thinking types although can't seem to place the Field Marshall in here.
But types like inventor, architect or mastermind do appeal. So curious to hear whether it is going to be a blue day tomorrow... will keep you posted.

Myers-Briggs and yourself

On Wednesday 7 October, we start with module 1 of the MBA Class: the objective of this module is "To accelerate the process of creating a group of participants committing to supporting and enhancing the coming learning journey." One of the topics that day is Myers-Brigg. I remember having done this MB test a couple of years ago when doing a "Manager for Managers" course at the ING Business School. So what's the fuzz about this Myers-Briggs test? Well, quoting the official website:

The purpose of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) personality inventory is to make the theory of psychological types described by C. G. Jung understandable and useful in people’s lives. The essence of the theory is that much seemingly random variation in the behavior is actually quite orderly and consistent, being due to basic differences in the ways individuals prefer to use their perception and judgment.

The questionnaire basically centers on 5 questions:

1. Favorite world: Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on your own inner world? This is called Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I).

2.Information: Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning? This is called Sensing (S) or Intuition (N).

3.Decisions: When making decisions, do you prefer to first look at logic and consistency or first look at the people and special circumstances? This is called Thinking (T) or Feeling (F).

4.Structure: In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get things decided or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options? This is called Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).

5.Your Personality Type: When you decide on your preference in each category, you have your own personality type, which can be expressed as a code with four letters.

After filling out the survey, the data is translated into 16 personality types of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® instrument.

Me and my fellow MBA'ers are to take the test this weekend - the result will be discussed I guess on Wednesday but I predict that my personality will be something like EIFJ:
- Extraversion
- Intuition
- Feeling
- Judging

I'll post the result of the tests later on next week - let's see how self-aware I am.

Wake up and smell the coffee sunshine

Yep, in about a week I'm starting an executive MBA at the Universiteit Antwerpen Management School (long for UAMS). We are talking about a two-year program with an intensive schedule - 8 days per month in class and some lonesome study hours that come as a perk with the job. We're kicking off with two modules:

- from Group to collaborative Team
- Integrated Performance Management

I still have to Google my lecturers though but for the moment, I'll just stick to paper. When I was in Hong Kong for a reporter's assignment; I saw the following book in the stand which drew my attention: What They Teach You at Harvard Business School: My Two Years Inside the Cauldron of Capitalism... Now, the blurb states that it is "Witty and revealing... For anyone thinking of doing an MBA, this is a must read (Luke Johnson, Chairman of Channel 4 Television)
I guess Luke is talking from experience and that he survived an MBA - actually it's pretty easy nowadays to check someone's credential nowadays... just google the person and yup this is what I found in a spit-second:

Luke Johnson. Chairman. Channel 4 Television ... After graduating from Trinity College, Cambridge, and gaining an MBA at the Wharton Business School, ...www.50lessons.com

Anyway, the book I just mentioned, is written by an English journalist Philip Delves Broughton who abandoned his career to do an MBA course at HBS. HBS is short for Harvard Business School so we are talking about the big boys here. Curious-to-read type of book so I will take it along on my "first school day" next week. En résidence for four days and can do with some bed literature - will keep you posted as the chapters and classes pass but do want to share one review of the book with you:

Fascinating read, but interestingly in the 2009 postscript, the author claims he was "too timid".
He argues that aspects of the school which were unsettling to him at the time because of who he happened to be, should in retrospect "have been unsettling to everyone".

Furthermore, in the shadow of the recent financial crisis and the role HBS alumni have played in the meltdown, he comes down heavily on the prevaling mentality at HBS that all the world's ills can be solved by the leadership methods of the School, its alumni, and by "what we [HBS] do".

Food for thought...