The Personal MBA Program

It has been a couple years since I stumbled upon the concept of a “Personal MBA”. The idea was initially a manifesto of sorts aimed squarely at the uber popular institution of “professional” business schools. The jist of the PMBA focuses on the basic idea that a highly motivated individual (or small group) could embark on a personalized and self paced curiculum powered by a reading list of the best business books currently available. By combining an agressive reading list and real world experience it should be possible for an individual to acquire the same level of knowledge as offered by a more traditional MBA program.

“Business schools don’t have a monopoly on worldly wisdom. If you’re serious about learning advanced business principles, the Personal MBA can help. The Personal MBA recommended reading list is the tangible result of hundreds of hours of reading and research, and features only the very best books the business press has to offer. So skip the fancy diploma and $150,000 loan – you can get a world-class business education simply by reading these books.”

If you can read it you can learn it…

For the most part, the books listed on the reading list really are some of the best known and highly regarded business books of the modern age. They cover a diverse range of topics including sales, marketing, people management, finances, personal organization, and professional growth. The best part of the reading list really is the fact that there are great ideas combined with a great set of tools. By reading the books and applying the compounding knowledge to real world challenges, the PMBA “candidate” should have everything they need to maximize their abilities in the business world. In it’s simplest form, the PMBA “mashes up” book smarts with street smarts resulting in a very well rounded individual.

Getting to the goal…

Seeing as the PMBA is heavily based on an agressive reading list and requires a significant amount of dedication there are a few things to be considered before embarking on the journey:

1. Reading Skill – With a list of 69 books, the ability to plow through content and retain knowledge is critical. It has been suggest that anyone embarking on a PMBA should consider some sort of “speed reading” or rapid comprehension approach to injesting the materials.

2. Time – With 69 books there is definitely a challenge to finding enough time to actually do all the reading. A good suggestion would be to focus on consuming a single book per week. A weekly deadline should be enought time to injest the material as well as provide some buffer and allow the individual to mentally lock in the new bits of knowledge. Realistically, it should be possible to finish the full PMBA reading list within a year and a half.

3. Motivation – Without the structure of a business school and classroom time, motivation will become a challenge for many who embark on a PMBA. One way to keep the juices flowing is to partner with other PMBA-ers. By tackling the workload with a small group of people, it not only makes the goal more attainable but the group also benefits from having the opportunity to discuss and debate concepts and learnings. Just like in a traditional business school, that discussion and debate can be very important when it comes to really digesting new information.

A truly useful education…

If the daunting reading list and motivational challenges don’t scare you away, you may be ready to embark on a PMBA. For a few hundred dollars worth of books, some focused reading time, and a little dedication you can walk away with a valuable education uniquely focused on what real world business people actually find useful.

Related Links:

PMBA Manifesto

The Official PMBA Reading List

Business Week April 2006 Article on PMBA