MBAs and Entrepreneurs
BusinessWeek recently published an article that looked at our infatuation as a nation with the MBA and suggested that perhaps we should be more concerned with the talent of entrepreneurship than with training. Rarely have I seen the contrast spelled out so clearly…
Now, I understand the use of students from elite business schools as a proxy for "talent" in the business world. But as the economy experiences the most deep-seated changes in decades, maybe it's time to change our minds about what kinds of people are best-equipped to become business leaders. Is our fascination with the comings and goings of MBAs as obsolete as our lionization of investment bankers and hedge-fund managers? Is it time to look elsewhere for the "best and the brightest" of what business has to offer?One place to look for answers is the fascinating research of Professor Saras Sarasvathy, who teaches entrepreneurship at the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia.
While I personally value education a great deal, it's hard to deny that talent and training are different things. Maybe we're coming back to a sane approach to business.
June 2nd, 2009 at 10:00 pm
I studied under Prof. Sarasvathy at the University of Maryland and she’s brilliant. She has a unique approach to interpreting entrepreneurship.