I did a specialized MBA, and for the experienced business owners, it did add value in the form of a "free" consultancy - they could use their own companies as c

I did a specialized MBA, and for the experienced business owners, it did add value in the form of a "free" consultancy - they could use their own companies as case studies, run things past the professors and classmates (which were sometimes much more useful than the professors), have access to a wide pool of different skills. And classes helped by forcing students to apply standard methodologies or tools to their existing businesses, you can always uncover some angle :) . It's not "just vocabulary", and yes, some of the classes can be fluffy/"soft", but I think that even the most jaded businessman can derive some value - in the case of the jaded businessman, maybe a fresh or naïve look at their business ! Or a honest assesment from outside you might not get from employees or consultants. I think that you could argue the opposite: if an MBA is made up entirely of fresh graduates looking to enter consultancy, you're losing out. I think a good MBA student mix would be made up by diverse backgrounds, and I was lucky to have that.