WHO REALLY NEEDS AN MBA?

If you will recall, my last blog recounted a conversation I had over dinner with a couple of professionals and their wives about the merits of an MBA for one of their sons. What follows is a slightly different angle and exchange on the same subject.

I was at lunch the other day (I try not to miss too many meals) with three graduates from our undergraduate business program, all of whom were successful 30-35 year olds. One of the three was contemplating an MBA degree to “further her education” and was asking some general questions about our new program.

She was interrupted by one of the other two who laid the following egg/statement on the table: “An MBA is for someone who doesn’t know what they want to do, hasn’t made it yet, and/or has money/time to burn. Bill Gates (Microsoft) and Larry Ellison (Oracle) didn’t need business school, Zuckerberg (Facebook) and Jobs (Apple, Pixar) dropped out of college, and Brin and Page (Google) dropped out of their Ph.D. programs in computer science at Stanford (they didn’t have MBAs) – all to start successful companies. So, therefore, why does anyone need an MBA?”

As I looked around the table, all eyes were on me wondering, I suppose, how I would respond.

“Well, there are two important dimensions to your question,” I began, “And they both need to be addressed. First, you are absolutely right. There are several high profile CEOs who don’t have MBAs and you’ve named most of them. These are the Kobe Bryants and LeBron Jameses of the business world. Most NBA players go from high school to college and play at least a year or more before going to the NBA. Less than 10% of all NBA players come directly from high school to the NBA. Kobe and LeBron, however, did just that and have been pretty successful.”

“The other side of the equation is this: of the 100 largest, most successful companies in the U.S., 42 are run by CEOs with MBAs. In fact, the MBA is 5x more prevalent than the next closest degree (JD [law]). CEOs with MBAs include Jeff Immelt at GE, Phil Knight at Nike, Warren Buffet at Berkshire Hathaway, and Indra Nooyi at PepsiCo, just to name a few. So if your goal is to ever run a successful company, an MBA is one of the best investments you can possibly make.”

The woman who had been asking the original questions sort of laughed and said, “Well, I’m not Kobe or LeBron, so I’ll be applying.” Two days later, I had a follow-up email from the graduate who had asked “Why anyone needed an MBA”, thanking me for my time at lunch and asking if I could talk to the MBA Admissions Committee on his behalf. He had also decided to pursue an MBA.

So, contrary to what my wife likes to tell me, conversations over lunch sometimes do make a lasting point…..