Does an MBA Pay?

by Dale on July 26, 2010

I received this email from someone just the other day….

I recently graduated from …. MBA program and have not really found it to be providing any of the opportunities that  I had hoped for, even given the current economic and employment conditions. I have a desire to change careers and would like to ….., but unfortunately, I have no technical training or experience. I am currently …………. I have been doing this for 10 years, and I have hit the wall. I have to do something else, but I am having a very hard time finding what that something else is exactly as well as how to get there. I just know there is more out there, and I know I am capable of so much more than what I do or have done up until now, I just have no experience in anything else. Constantly surfing employment boards and firing out resumes is not getting me anywhere. I thought that a MBA would provide these for me, but …..

I have left the details as …. to protect the particular programs they are talking about. Fact is, the details do not matter. I hear this from so many people in so many career paths. It has become the mantra of the current tech community.

A few key points here…

1. An MBA is NOT the answer. Yes, I have one – and it was not the answer for me either!

2. Firing off resumes is not the answer!

What works?

1. Change your thinking! The education system most of us were programmed by (yes – I said programmed) is broken! You need to think differently. You have to think like an entrepreneur – even if you want a job! See a reading list you should add to your library.

2. Networking. But not the same old hat networking you have been told about. For most technical people that type of blind networking strikes fear into their hearts. Remember walking into a crowded room and seeing tons of unknown faces. You search for a face you know, but your hands get sweaty and your heart starts to race. You look to the door and think about running. Guess what – this does not work – for the obvious reasons. Instead do something that DOES work.

Try Networking for Introverts! Click Below to Read Parts 1 and 2 of this process (and there are few videos in there too!)

Part 1

Part 2

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I do some work in the home school market writing DVD courses for home school math. This week we’ve really been swamped with calls and emails about parents getting ready for the Fall and needing answers to some key questions.

In getting all of this done, we missed one phone call. The lady had called us and left a message but during the recording her phone clicked out just as she was saying the last digits of her phone number. So we couldn’t tell what her number was to call her back. It was right on the day that we were updating our phones, too, so we didn’t have a record of the missed call and had no way to call her back. It wasn’t really anything we could have avoided, and she took the time to email us later so we talked eventually, but it was an enlightening moment.

Even things we can’t avoid or change will impact our customer service, which impacts how our companies are reflected to the world.  I think too many companies let customer service fall second on their priority list. Returning the phone calls or getting back on that email are not put up there as being important. But they really are just as important–if not more important.

As you are looking at your business, whether you have your own company, or you are in a contract with another company that you serve, you have a customer. And as you are serving this company or your company’s customers, remember that how you treat people matters a whole lot more than whether or not all your i’s are dotted and your t’s are crossed. How people feel they were treated by your company is what they will remember when deciding to do business with you. Keeping up good relations is always better than trying to mend broken ones. Make your service a priority.

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Pastor or CEO, Marketing is Marketing.

July 20, 2010

At a ministry meeting I discovered that the pastor was using the same marketing tools I employ in my business.

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Putting Powerful Tools To Work

July 19, 2010

A client contacting me about how the reverse interview method works for them.

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Don’t settle for mediocrity just because it’s responsible

July 16, 2010

When you look at starting a new venture–a new business, a new move, or really anything “new” and shall we say “adventurous”? — The temptation is to be reluctant on the grounds of being responsible. And you have to sort of weed between the two. Being responsible and planning are both good things to do [...]

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Why people’s jobs don’t match their degrees.

July 15, 2010

Bringing that college freshman enthusiasm to the middle-of-life establishment that is your workplace.

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Making a Job instead of Finding a job

July 14, 2010

A friend of mine and I were talking the other day and they were telling me about how their brother had recently lost a job. Not only that, but the job he had just applied for that he thought was a shoe-in, had fallen through. So now this guy was telling me about the hard-luck [...]

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Money Magazine’s Top 10 Best Places to Live: Family Values Still Good Business

July 13, 2010

Family values are not only hugely popular, but they are also good for business

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Harvey Pekar: Remembering an Entrepreneur

July 12, 2010

Born October 8, 1939, he died early in the morning July 12, 2010 at his home in Cleveland Heights. He is a famous American comic strip writer known best for writing the comic strip “American Splendor” where he chronicles the every day life of the every day man. He created an entire career out of [...]

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Want to make $800 million? Be a Scrappy Fighter

July 12, 2010

According to Nick Swinmurn, a 30 year old billionaire  the key to success is to “be scrappy”. In an interview for the BBC news blog, he talks about how it is the guys who don’t give up that succeed the most. It doesn’t matter, he says, if you don’t know how you’re going to do [...]

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