I didn't know that the word "credential" was so commonly verbaged.
My bishop is a very successful lawyer. He seems a good guy anyway. I was talking to him last night and I mentioned that I had started my own business and was entertaining the idea of obtaining an MBA - starting a business has made it very clear how little I know about it, and I thought that an MBA might shore up some of my deficiencies.
My bishop was all for the idea, but not for the reasons you would expect. He suggested that business school really wouldn't teach me anything, that in terms of knowledge gained, an MBA would be a waste of two years. But he suggested I do it anyway, not for the knowledge, but for credentials. Imagine that!
He obviously loved this idea of "credentialing," probably because it worked well for him. As he perorated about the vast benefits of building up your portfolio for its own sake, I couldn't help but feel that he was missing the boat entirely. He has this screwily common perception that success is measured in terms of wealth and prestige. I'm sure he would disagree with that statement because I worded it in a disagreeable way, but his enthusiastic diatribe was quite revealing to me.
I wanted to argue the point with him, but I understood that the topic was deeper than our casual conversation warranted. Besides, I didn't expect to convince a successful and wealthy lawyer that his world-view occupies so narrow a slice of the human experience.
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"I didn't know that the word "credential" was so commonly verbaged."
ReplyDeleteThis makes me laugh. Kind of a lot.
"My bishop is a very successful lawyer. He seems a good guy anyway."
As does this.
Also, I'm remembering that time when you used to write super long posts that went into great detail. I miss those days.
That being said, this whole post amuses me.
I would lean towards your point of view. In my mind, the main reason to go to school for 2 years is the knowledge obtained, especially if you are running your own business and don't have a boss to impress with your degree (or pedigree)...
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, not long ago I was thinking about you. I decided that when I get ready to start my own business, I want to take you out to dinner and ask you about your experience and gather some of your knowledge.
I agree with you Caleb. When I tell people that I am doing a PhD - the first thing most people say is something about how "well-off" I will be. I dislike those comments - that was not my reason for doing it. Most people completely miss the point.
ReplyDelete@Rob
ReplyDeleteI always like to say that people should pursue their passions regardless of the pay. Money makes living easier, but happiness is less a function of wealth and more a function of how you approach life.
That's easy for me to say, though - my passions have the potential to make me a lot of money.
I probably fall into the "credentialed" category and MBA is soon to be mashed into there. Caleb, you are awesome, I would say that the best way to learn business is to do exactly what you are doing. Read some theory books on your off time and you will be much further ahead. I am reading a great book: The Millionaire Next Door by Stanley and Danko, according to their research the vast majority of millionaires own their own businesses something like 83% and the great majority has some college experience, but that is it. You are already more educated... credentialed than most the wealthy in their research. So keep living the dream, the lessons will come your way with time.
ReplyDelete@Chad
ReplyDeleteHey, I read that book. I thought it was great.
To clarify, I don't know whether I buy the idea that an MBA is "worthless." I imagine that the educational process produces a certain kind of thinking that is well-suited to business management. Granted, I have never been to business school, but... I get the vague feeling that saying an MBA is practically worthless might be akin to saying an engineering degree is worthless because you don't learn specific, practical skills.