Episode 49: Is Harvard Making Conjugal Visits?

It is September 7th and this is the MBA SHOW!

i am lieutenant MBA - Sean Bonawitz

and i am International MBA of mystery - Stav J. Davis

We usually save our Business-Porn section for the end of the show but this is just too huge!

What is it?

HBS is in love with Bernie Madoff!

What??

yes - the New york Times finally got HBS to admit that an "anonymous" professor is working with the Wall-street con on a case study based on this life.

have they got no shame??

I actually think its brave of them to look the root of the problem in the eye.

Well, to me it seems like a populist move. it smells bad.

Well, I think this is out of the box thinking of HBS part. In any case, I have the feeling a big storm is brewing around this story.

Anyway - on to our main topic: B-school branding vs. reality!

Many times b-schools brand themselves very aggressively around a certain message, but how does that message come out in practice?

Well, lets take a look at the recent hot topic of entrepreneurship. Many schools brand themselves as entrepreneurship meccas, but a new study published by poetsandquants.com may suggest otherwise.

They used 120 million linked in profiles to measure how many graduates of each b school actually went on to found a company. And the results are:

1. Stanford
2. Harvard
3. MIT-Sloan
4. Haas
5. Tuck

Wow. I didn't think of Harvard and Tuck as entrepreneurial.

yes. There are no surprises with Stanford and MIT, but HBS and Tuck are a positive surprise. on the other side of the scale we have Babson which only reached number 8 on this ranking and Kellogg which isn't even in the top 10.

Babson always emphasizes it's entrepreneurial direction, but this study shows it may be no more than a successful copyrighting campaign.

But then again - this study may be skewed too. You have to really look into the data to know the truth.

So - our tip of the week should be pretty obvious - don't listen to slogans! Go search for the raw quantitative data concerning your areas of interest! And don't rely only on one data point like this survey - because it may be flawed. This is your life - don't let people control it with creative branding.

So - Stav, what are you up to this weekend?

i'm going to try to license a patent for my startup. What about you Sean?

I'm going horseback riding in Maine!

Great! I am Stav j. Davis - international MBA of Mystery.

And I am Sean Bonawitz - Lieutenant MBA, and you've been watching -

THE MBA SHOW!!!

Episode 48: Strengthening Your MBA Core Term

Tom: It is August 31st and this is episode 48 of the MBA Show! I am TheRealTomRose.

Christina: And I am Christina Johnson! We have a great show today. We are here to celebrate the beginning of yet another MBA year by discussing the issue of CORE TERM (print).

Tom: The Core term, which in some schools can be spread over more than one term or even a whole year, is a horrid idea that means that your school is trying to cram business fundamentals into the first few classes you take.

Christina: Like what classes?

Tom: You know, basic accounting, finance, marketing, statistics, love making.

Christina: I think that is a wonderful thing! I sure need those fundamentals. I think this will increase my chances of getting recruited for an internship!

Tom: As a matter of fact, I have a quote here from a senior associate dean at Darden: ““These classes are vital to performing well in internships.”

Christina: I bet they are so much fun! Something so important must be a lot of fun!

Tom: Oh, you poor little MBAby (pronounced: em-bi-ey-bi = MBA and baby in one word, get it?). As a veteran, I can tell you that the core courses are designed to destroy your life and eat away at your sleep-hours like little Gremlins. It is definitely not fun!

Christina: So you mean there are things in the MBA that I will not like to do?

Tom: There are plenty of things, but this will be the first of them.

Christina: Come on, is it really that bad?

Tom: That really is up to you. The core classes alone are not that bad, it’s how you mix it with all the other stuff – recruiting events, social events, group assignments. You know what they say – you have to choose two out of three: sleep, social life or studying.

Christina: Oh, well. I better get into them books right away then! Tom, what are you up to this week?

Tom: (Fill in whatever). And what about you Christina?

Christina: (Fill in whatever). I am Christina Johnson.

Tom: And I’m theRealTomRose! Don’t forget to subscribe…

Together: You’ve been watching The MBA Show!!!