Most of management theory is inane, writes our correspondent, the founder of a consulting firm. If you want to succeed in business, don’t get an M.B.A. Study philosophy instead
The strange thing about my utter lack of education in management was that it didn’t seem to matter. As a principal and founding partner of a consulting firm that eventually grew to 600 employees, I interviewed, hired, and worked alongside hundreds of business-school graduates, and the impression I formed of the M.B.A. experience was that it involved taking two years out of your life and going deeply into debt, all for the sake of learning how to keep a straight face while using phrases like “out-of-the-box thinking,” “win-win situation,” and “core competencies.” When it came to picking teammates, I generally held out higher hopes for those individuals who had used their university years to learn about something other than business administration.
By Matthew Stewart
Don’t make too many plans for your life, so as not to ruin those it has in store for you
Agostinho da Silva, Portuguese philosopher, professor, novelist and poet
Inditex, owner of the Zara clothes brand, has overtaken Telefónica to become Spain’s most valuable listed company as market turmoil shaves billions from the capitalisations of the country’s more established corporations. The Galicia-based retailer, 59 per cent owned by its founder Amancio Ortega, Spain’s richest man, overtook the telecoms operator on Tuesday. The retailer closed with a market capitalisation of €43.1bn, almost €1bn more than Telefónica.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/18216e6a-a961-11e1-9972-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1wtos3qz5
PS This is the difference between being a commodity (Telefonica, Repsol, Endesa, Santander) and having a product, a position in the mind of the prospect. Zara stands for something (Cheap, trendy clothes), Telefonica no. If you have a strategy like everybody you will probably share the destiny of all your peer’s. Execution, the mantra of the 90’s is good when there is business for all. When you have to fight for business is better that your strategy is not “execution”.
