The Ten Day MBA

My New Years’ resolution this year was to learn business.  So I finally took off the shelf and read this one, which had been recommended to me years ago by a business school graduate.

Friends, this book is fantastic.  Funny and informative and clarifying.  Shortly after finishing it, I overheard a loud, obnoxious conversation between two young businessmen at a bar, and I was able to follow all the acronyms and MBA gibberish they spewed at each other, as well as see many flaws in their thinking.  

I thought this was a funny part.  The chapter on ethics is of course the shortest, and much of it is devoted to a “I’m telling you this so you know not to do it” kind of moral reasoning.

How about Genichi Taguchi, from the chapter on Operations?:

This book is worth the cost just for the summaries of leadership and public speaking books included at the end.  

Highest praise to author Steven Silbiger.  I don’t know how much business you can learn from a book but this felt like a good start.