Know Thyself

Last month I wrote a piece titled “The MBA Conundrum” which has subsequently appeared on more websites than I have the time or patience to continually check up but most of which are ironically disguises for cheap marketing operations for purchasable “Online MBA’s” using genuine articles on genuine MBA programmes to give the impression of authenticity.

Whether purchasing an online degree is technically fraud or just a misleading con is currently the subject of intense debate, but one thing is for certain: if it doesn’t defraud an unsuspecting employer looking to hire on the basis of academic qualification, it certainly defrauds the purchaser of the online degree.

In the midst of the current workload of my MBA programme at the BI in Oslo, there has been some considerable complaint from some of my contemporaries that it is difficult to actually “learn” anything when one is being required to read and write far beyond what appears to be a rational schedule. To this criticism, the Harvard educated teacher of our Strategy class responded last week that although it seems as if there is no actual process of “learning” taking place, there is actually far more than if courses were just structured in a steady, leisurely format with plenty of time for analysis and interpretation of every assignment. “I don’t mean to be unsympathetic,” she announced to a belligerent ochlocracy, “but this is the way it ‘goes in’ best”.

As much as I am reluctant to admit it right now, sitting up at two in the morning between three unfinished assignments, there is a degree of truth to what the Professor says, and it is the same degree of truth that separates purchasing a title and actually earning.

γνωθι σεαυτον

In another class last week, an interesting discussion concerning the epistemology of Plato’s phrase “Know Thyself” came up when I mentioned that the truer interpretation of the Greek, “γνωθι σεαυτον” was probably “learning how to be oneself”. The subject came up as a result of Jim Collins’ attribution of the quote in his management bestseller “Good To Great”, which charts the development of organisations that have consistently returned successful results over a fifteen year period and have at one point made a gigantic leap without using the dubious artificial processes of stock manipulation or creative accounting.

What makes for a great degree is much the same as what makes for a great organisation: the process of discovering oneself within the structure of the current climate. Purchasing an online degree is akin to bolstering the balance sheet of a company through illegal means – such as Enron, Worldcom and numerous others in the competitive market climate of the turn of the century: while there may be some fantastic short-term benefits, the consequence can only ultimately end in tears.

The confusion comes from people’s inability to distinguish between success and experience. Success is what comes out of experience, which is ultimately, what leading a full, complete existence is about, whether one ends up with an MBA, a PhD, or host of stories which make for fascinating telling. It is a sad fact that a competitive society spawns such vagrant hoaxes in the infrastructure, for, predictably enough, it is not the hoaxers who end up missing out – they usually pay penance and end up cashing in again at some point - but those who are hoaxed.

Comments

[samuel mckinley]

Very nice blur. I for one however feel slightly alienated by your discourse on Greek Philosophy.

[Heiko Schulz]

It is a painful realization, but, yes, I agree; The intense pace of the NSM (BI) MBA-program makes for a lot of learning, not just of stress-management, but real skills needed to cope with real life situations. It would of course be much more pleasant to just sit back, criticize the school and think one self to be at a higher level (might have been there myself), while putting in a survival mode effort. As it is, I, for one, can't handle that. I have to strive for perfection, and when confronted with scarcity of the time there's only one way to go about: -Get smart! Get efficient! Get going! :-)

In this respect, I can't help to mention some 'between the classes' discussions that I have had with both Mr. Kriger and Mr. Skoe (two of our most excellent teachers in my view). In talking about what it takes to cope with change and set the foundation for efficient business management, their experience alignes with my earlier study of educational research. What I have come to understand is that in our Western 'advanced' world, we often confuse knowledge for wisdom and competence. But, to have the knowledge of how to bike is very different from the competence or skill of being able to bike. Similarly, facilitating a corporate turnover is something many people can have knowledge of, but very few actually possess the skills needed and the competence and wisdom to successfully carry through.

When we hence feel that the program is going too fast to acquire all the knowledge, I don't think we should worry. You can always look up how (and why) to calculate Net Present Value in the Corporate Finance book (or just use Excel). But how to finish an assigment that truly reflects the sum of the capacity and understanding from within a study group, and deliver it on time within a very intense program with every member of the group feeling like they have played a part and are proud of the result is something else.

As for me, I'll try to concentrate on the latter for the remainder of the course, and can only apoligize for any negative sentiments I might have spread around in moments of stress...