The real life MBA

Jack and Suzy Welch

Harper Collins, $39.99 MBA QUALIFICATIONS don’t interest me (with all due respect for people who’ve taken time and trouble to obtain one). Organisations need administrators; for example, someone has to take care of ‘carparks and toilets’. But it takes a pedantic mindset I just don’t have. Joking aside, I’m wary of people who think applying templates and ‘best practices’ to strategic planning is visionary. Case studies often don’t prove ‘jack’ for any organisation other than the one which is featured.

Which brings me to Jack and Suzy Welch’s new book. The MBA reference in the title seems as dismissive as I’ve just been. In parts it reads more Suzy, a writer, than Jack.

But, in fact, it’s a useful and easy-to-read guide from a legendary business leader. Scratch the surface and it’s really a brochure for the Jack Welch Management Institute where, for a modest US$39,000, you can buy your MBA online.

Just spring for the book. (DM)