MBA? My Top 5 Reasons

The usual MBA article focuses on ROI or even addresses the question: why bother?

As an antidote to the usual MBA article or post ‘out there’ I would like to share with you some practical benefits gained from this degree:

The goal is you: There’s a lot written about the ROI in terms of how much higher your salary can become or the host of new opportunities and career options the degree can open up. The goal though begins and ends with your self-development through the engagement you’ll have with both topics and working with others. If your employer can fund it great – otherwise I suggest researching good quality programmes at a reasonable price. You’ll also need an accredited MBA to give that parchment a bit of leverage (look out for AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS accreditation). Most of my degree was taught online with one weekend workshop per month. 100% online programs are worth considering as long as they are accredited. Learning platforms, such as Blackboard, give you access to the resources you need and the means to contact the lecturer and other students.

1. Self-confidence: The standard of assignment work expected is very high. My American degree meant 75-percent achievement just to pass with grades having to reach the 90’s in order to score more highly on the GPA. You’ll be pushed, you’ll be stretched and you’ll practice time-management skills when juggling demands of work, personal life and MBA commitments. It’s a character building experience.
2. Focused learning: I’ve read many articles that question the MBA and refer to gaining a similar experience from a handful of MOOCs and delving into Porter’s Five-Forces. MBA modules have you looking in the right places, at the best sources and making active use of information. You come out of it having written a business plan (or two), an operations plan, a project plan and many other focused tasks that aid your learning.
3. Focused thinking: Precisely because you’ll have to write that business plan and many other in-depth documents these activities really do help to focus your thinking. Now I’m much sharper and quicker at getting to the point and the heart of matters. That’s useful in meetings and when time is of the essence. The degree also reacquainted me with a lot of mathematics.
4. Aced Presentation Skills: With its emphasis on effective communication the MBA programme has many opportunities to present, both individually and in teams. In the symphysis of thoroughly researched ideas, skills in making knock-out visuals, effective speaking, projection and body language the MBA has taken me further and farther in honing these skills.
5. Connecting outside your field: Cohorts are diverse with people from differing backgrounds, industries and skills. Expertise is shared in workshop discussions and informally and tapping into this has been very beneficial given my own narrow focus in education. Networking brings lasting connections and a widened pool of people to call on and consult.

I’ve enjoyed the journey, though it was tough at times to fit it into available time or even to begin to understand a task. It gets you outside your ‘comfort zone’. That can be scary but it’s always good. If you are considering an MBA I hope my Top 5 has been useful in helping you to decide. Onward and upwards. Here’s to your success!