On the Benefits of a Business Education

On the Benefits of a Business Education

photo credit: jacky_oh_yeah

photo credit: jacky_oh_yeah

In 1986, when Russell Ackoff, a pioneer of management education, retired as Professor at the Wharton Business School, he was asked what were the benefits of a business education. With savage irony he replied that there were three.

  1. To equip students with a vocabulary that enabled them to talk with authority about subjects they did not understand.
  2. To give students principles that would demonstrate their ability to withstand any amount of dis-confirming evidence.
  3. To give students a ticket of admission to a job where they could learn something about management.

There’s Nothing Wrong With You

We all do it. It’s almost ingrained in us. We focus on the bad things people have said about us. The bad things we have thought about our self. In those words we see areas for improvement. Areas we can work on to be a better and happier person. We have been taught that the key to achieving our goals is improving on our weaknesses.

Why do we believe the bad things about our self more easily than the good?

We go to therapy to focus on improving our weaknesses. We do it so we can be happy.

But here’s the thing…the good stuff – your talents and strengths, what makes you, you, your ‘je ne sais quoi’ – it’s the key to your happiness. Because it’s what’s right with you that matters. It’s in exploring what’s right with you that you’ll find the joy you seek.