What is cheaper? What is better? Going through an academic program to learn how to lead a company or just… do it yourself? Turns out, going out in an entrepreneurial project is less expensive and brings higher value!
I just received an advertisement for an exciting program at Tuck executive education center at Darmouth.
It is a nice color booklet including a lot of testimonies from high-ranking Vice-Presidents of large companies. The programs also features some well-known speakers.
Price tag for 3-weeks seminar? 33,000 USD including accommodation; include travel and some costs on top and it comes to a nice 36,000USD or so.
Thing is – that’s quite cheap! Want to go for INSEAD executive MBA? That’s even more hefty – quite more than 100,000 USD!
Companies around the world seem to be sponsoring these programs by registering their promising employees – it is also for them a way to retain them, of course. Isn’t it also a way to keep them in the Industrial Age?
Now let’s look at it in another way. Wouldn’t it be better to give these 100,000 USD to the person and tell them that they have 1-2 years to create a startup and learn by themselves, hands-on, what they need to learn about themselves and building a great company?
When I did my financial projections for my start-up service company, I figured out what my financial risk was, compared to staying in my cozy employed status. I am still relatively young, and I believe the entrepreneurial experience can only increase my visibility, my network and my employability; thus I suppose that I can find a job easily if I decide so. This taken into account, I will earn less, at the start, than being employed; and I have had to commit some funds as start-up capital. So I calculated that my exposure over 2 years (the time I give myself to decide whether that will work for me or not) was 50,000 – 100,000 USD, maybe worst case 130,000 USD – in relative terms, compared to a situation where I stayed employed and I save some money.
So, for the same kind of investment – and it is not money out of my pocket, but the possibility that I might get a bit less money than if I stayed in my executive career – I get a fantastic hands-on education. It is also a similar type of time-investment as most executives MBAs are one year full-time or two years part-time.
And there is a bonus too… if my entrepreneurial venture works, the sky is the limit: not only do I get the education and the experience, much more fun on a daily basis, I might also get a positive return in the form of a great value creation for my clients, myself and my company!
So, my conclusion was simple: dump the academic executive education. Go instead in the real world and figure out how to create and run a company from scratch. For the same price you’ll learn more about yourself, about leading, marketing, selling, networking, than in any kind of academic environment. You’ll be more engaged, focused. Just read books by the teachers of these executive programs to complete your education, that’s all!
It won’t cost you more money. It will bring you much more value in all its dimensions. Do it – get the experience in the real world!
