Critic Accuses Harvard Business School of Teaching MBAs A "Fisher-Price Version of Entrepreneurship"
Arguably Harvard Business School’s least favorite MBA alum, Philip Delves Broughton is back again with still more scathing criticism of his alma mater. In a new interview with the BBC, Broughton says that recent curriculum changes requiring Harvard students to do global immersion trips and start micro-businesses are more like “playing dress up” than preparing MBAs for the real world of competition.
“When a real entrepreneur looks at (what Harvard has done), it’s like the Fisher-Price version of entrepreneurship,” claims Broughton, who is a member of Harvard’s Class of 2006. “You sit in a lavishly endowed glass building and play with blocks and claim to be an entrepreneur. That’s nothing close to what being a real entrepreneur is like. And i think when real entrepreneurs look at this, that’s exactly what they think. That’s the flaw in this. Is it just window dressing?”
Broughton, a former Daily Telegraph writer who went to Harvard for an MBA and documented his experience in a highly critical 2008 book called “Ahead of the Curve,” was interviewed by BBC correspondent Peter Day. In “Battle of the Business Schools,” Day traveled to Boston to hear first hand about the changes being made in management education at two of the world’s top teaching institutions. HBS and the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology. He reports on the growing rivalry between the schools for top students and teachers and contends that the rivalry is having an impact on the way management and entrepreneurship is taught.
Day’s critique of business education is a familiar one, more of a tired cliche’ that is not all that convincing. He claims that business schools teach graduates to be overly confident and cocky, and he notes that many outsiders have put at least some of the blame for the 2008 financial crisis “on the slickness and self-confidence exuded by the MBA graduates with a top business school education.”
Still, the most compelling parts of the report are Broughton’s criticism and an interview with HBS Dean Nitin Nohria in which Nohria strongly disagrees with an assertion by Day that the Harvard experience teaches students a “very damaging” trait: self-confidence. “I don’t believe that, retorts Nohria. “I actually think there is a big difference between self-confidence and hubris.
“You always want people to have self confidence but there’s nothing incompatible between having self-confidence and having humility. one of the things we’re trying to do for our students are all examples of saying, ‘Look in the case method, you can put yourself in the shoes of the CEO and say if I was CEO this is what I would do. And it’s easy to believe that just because you said it you could do it. Now we want to put you back into the world and teach you a little bit more of that humility.”
For more of Broughton’s criticism and why he thinks the MBA degree is less valuable than ever, see PoetsandQuants.com:
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11yEducation seems to prepare people for education. Drop-outs seem to do better in the business of real life. Garages, attics and dorm rooms seem to be great incubators. Do whatever works for you.
Assistant Professor
11yMore than my MBA, it is my current job that has best prepared me about becoming an entrepreneur. I have amazing autonomy to mess up things in a big way or do amazingly well. There are a hundred little details that I need to be on top of, and get my hands around. I also cannot shy away from getting my hands dirty in the nitty-gritty of daily messes. I don't think an MBA will teach much about entrepreneurship whether it is from Harvard or not, that is beside the question. The ability to bounce back from failure, having the gumption to proceed forward when the whole world thinks its a crazy idea - such traits cannot be taught in a school where conformity is the norm and breaking away from the norm is frowned upon.
Talent Development | Leadership Development | Organizational Development | ICF Certified Coach
11yI have never been to Harvard Business School so I have no idea whether it really prepares people to be entrepreneurs, or not. I have not seen much that does prepare people to be entrepreneurs, besides just jumping in an becoming an entrepreneur. Having business fundamentals is a great start, but success is hugely dependent on an individual's tenacity, ability to self-promote and be a go-getter, and their ability to work a lot of hours without a lot of compensation or security. And let's not forget, passion for their idea. I don't know if any B-school in the world could teach that, but I do have to say - when it comes to entrepreneurship, self-confidence is definitely an asset, not a liability, at least from what I've seen. My $.02.
President and General Manager at VATv
11yI would recommend anyone seriously considering becoming an Entrepreneur to do an internship with a real small business and start-up. They would quickly learn that there is no text book or curriculum to teach what we deal with every day. They would learn humility. Can Harvard teach sweating it out over making payroll? Is there a course on chasing receivables that are over 90 days? Its a tough life.
Attorney at The Law Office of Erin C. Callahan, PLLC
11yInteresting article and comments. This article reminds of an article posted on Linked In last week about the difference in generations in the workplace. In the sense that a lot of generation Y's graduate from B school or Law School and feel they could be CEO. Experience is important but education is key.