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MBAs are fine. But their job is to take as much money as possible and give back as little as they can. This is fine when they are dealing with other equally equ
by vladimirralev 13y ago
MBAs are fine. But their job is to take as much money as possible and give back as little as they can. This is fine when they are dealing with other equally equipped parties (YC, vc funds etc). If you don't understand the game, there is almost no doubt that an MBA will try to offer you the worst possible deal for you. If you have no means to examine the details of the deal, that's a guarantee. That's how business works. It is their job and they would be doing a bad job if they do otherwise.
- jonnathanson 13y agoYou're painting "MBAs" with too wide a brush. There are MBAs in marketing, MBAs in health care, MBA software engineers, MBAs in consulting, MBAs in advertising, MBAs founding companies, MBAs in production and creative fields, MBAs in media, etc. "MBA" is not a job title; it's a degree. I think the term you're looking for is "finance" or "Corp Dev," which is more of a specific job role that often fields MBAs to fill it. Their job is to get the most favorable terms possible in a deal, but not at the expense of the deal itself. So yes, go into a deal with a finance or corp dev person with your eyes wide open -- but they lose more than they gain if they develop a reputation for completely screwing people over again and again. It pays to know what their incentives are, how their firm makes money, and what your alternatives are to a deal with them (and often, your alternatives involve deals with other finance types).
- vladimirralev 13y agoMBA is a culture and a way of thinking as well. What you enumerate are MBA specializations. The core of every MBA course is about optimization and modeling. There is no argument what to do when you can sell something at price P or 100*P, no matter what kind of MBA you have. There is a mindset associated with it. It's a personal failure if you miss an opportunity to make more money as an MBA.
- Major_Grooves 13y agoThat's just nonsense to say that applies to every single MBA. You are almost a parody of the anti-MBA Hacker News type that make me suspect you may even be trolling (without looking at your profile; not funny if you are). Do you have an MBA? Do you know the motivations of every single MBA in the world?
- vladimirralev 13y agoHold on a second. I have nothing against MBAs. I also very clearly said "may" in my initial post so I am not even claiming my comments apply to every single MBA in the world. I don't see any substance in your comments, just calling me names. It's not a big leap to assume that MBA students sign up to make more money and have more power. Why don't you tell me what exactly are MBAs after?
- jval 13y agoSure, I bet you have heaps of friends who are MBAs as well, so there's no way you could possibly be biased against them. MBAs are there to make money, same as every other profession. Do you work for free? You should just apologise instead of defending yourself.
- vladimirralev 13y agoThere is nothing wrong with making money. Like I said, this is fine and everybody can understand it. Why should I apologise? I am simply arguing the MBA programs teach a certain mindset. Just like being a doctor, an engineer or an arts person are different mindsets. The difference is the guy with the MBA brings value by identifying and taking every opportunity to make money, while an engineer's focus is to build things. An MBA is typically held accountable for missing opportunities like that. And I would be really happy to read what's your take on how an MBA brings value.
- Major_Grooves 13y ago"But their job is to take as much money as possible and give back as little as they can." Nice one with the sweeping and insulting generalisation. How dare you say that.