Business Education
One of the big issues I have had with Lord Sugar on The Apprentice is the total lack of respect he seems to have for education as a whole. He seems to dismiss anyone with a good education as being too theoretical and lacking common sense.
This is a real shame. He is an excellent business man and I have learned a lot about business from reading his biography “What you see is what you get”. I just wish he would accept that there is a very valid role for business education and education as a whole. Education is a vital ingredient in the economic vitality of a country. The emphasis on vocational training I think misses the point of how all of us benefit from having some in society pursuing studies in the Arts and Humanities. A great education above all else teaches you how to think.
I have spent some time recently with MBA students and I work very closely with someone (who is a very dear friend) who seems to loathe MBA’s and was shocked to learn that I was an MBA!
I am a big fan of an MBA education – but there is huge difference between the quality of MBAs. If someone for example comes to me with an MBA from a less than prestigious institution and is still under 25, I am afraid that their MBA is worth nothing to me. They will not be in a position to argue for a premium on a salary over and above a normal graduate with one year of work experience.
And herein lies the greatest lie about education – all degrees are not created equal. They are not. Starting in 1992, with the John Major Government in the UK, we in the UK have been pursuing the idea that 50% of all school leavers should go to University rather than the 8% when I went (in 1989). This has led to a proliferation of institutions offering degrees. But with all due respect a degree from Oxford in English is worth much more than an English degree from the University of Bedford (or whatever it is called).
The government has made the problem worse by allowing Universities to charge up to $13,000 a year in tuition fees (the previous cap was around $5000). In the Education market price is synonymous with quality. No University will want to charge less than the maximum allowed. So students at many institutions will end up paying the top price for a very bad education. This will represent market failure and the government should intervene.
When it comes to MBA’s the problem is made worse. I was lucky enough to be a judge on a recent MBA business plan competition run by the University of Manitoba, with entrants from around the world. And the quality was simply stunning. And I know I have come across entire MBA classes that would not be able to compete at that level. And that is unfair on students who are expected to pay top dollars for their MBA.
I do not think an MBA or any business course will turn anyone into an entrepreneur; but that is not the purpose of the course. But like with all subjects, the idea behind a business education is to help you make better (not perfect) decisions. I remain deeply committed to supporting business education and do not buy into the lazy criticism of business education as all theory and no practice. Those who support this lazy view do not fully appreciate the role a good business education can play.
And to entrepreneurs my advice is to spend at least four days a year on business courses. The best feedback I get from people who attend my course is that it gives them an opportunity to sit back and reflect about the business they run on a very high level with a few different models that can help them make better decisions.
Support your own education and the efforts of those who work with you and for you to continuously improve their knowledge base. Allow yourself to be amazed at what a business education can do for you.
