Vision and Mission Statements are a waste of time! Or are they ….

Recently, vision and mission statements have become so watered down in the corporate world that they are basically meaningless. If your company’s mission statement is anything like “we will constantly exceed our customer’s expectations”, having your business development team arrive at a sales call with a marching band will probably “exceed customer expectations”, but not necessarily increase sales, or assist your business achieve its goals. Because of this, vision and mission have been largely painted with negative connotations. When used properly though, vision and mission statements can be very powerful tools, especially for developing firms. Just as a sports coach has a vision for putting a dream team together and plans for winning games, vision and mission provide direction for a business, without which it is difficult to develop a workable plan. A workable plan allows the business to engage in activities that lead the organization forward and avoid allocating resources to activities that do not.

Vision Statements

Vision statements and mission statements are different. A vision statement spells out goals at a high level and should line up with the owner's goals for the business. The vision should state what the owner ultimately wants the business to be, in terms of growth, values, staff, contributions to society, and so on; therefore, self-reflection by the owner is a vital activity if a meaningful vision is to be crafted. Once the owner(s) have defined the vision, you can begin to develop strategies for moving the organization towards that vision, and part of this process would include the development of the company mission statement(s).

Mission Statements

The mission statement should be a concise statement of business strategy, developed from the customer's perspective and it should fit with the vision for the business. The mission should answer three seemingly simple questions:

1.    What do we do?

2.    How do we do it?

3.    For whom do we do it?

1.What do we do? 

This question should not be answered in terms of what is physically delivered to customers, but by the real and/or psychological needs that are fulfilled when customers buy your products or services. Customers make purchase decisions for many reasons, including economical, logistical, and emotional factors. An excellent illustration of this is a business that imports hand-made jewellery from East Africa. When asked what her business does, the owner replied, "We import and market East African jewellery." But when asked why customers buy her jewellery, she explained that, "They're buying the story behind where the jewellery came from." This is an important distinction and answering this question from the need-fulfilled perspective will help you answer the other two questions effectively.

2. How do we do it? This question captures the more technical elements of the business. Your answer should encompass the physical product or service and how it is sold and delivered to customers, and it should fit with the need that the customer fulfils with its purchase. In the example above, the business owner had originally defined her business as selling East African jewellery and was attempting to sell it on shelves of boutique retail stores with little success. After modifying the answer to the first question, she realized that she needed to deliver the story to her customers along with the product. She began organizing wine parties that included a slide show of East Africa, stories of personal experiences there, and pictures and descriptions of the villagers who make the jewellery. This method of delivery has been very successful for her business.

3. For whom do we do it? The answer to this question is also vital, as it will help you focus your marketing efforts. Though many small business owners would like to believe otherwise, not everyone is a potential customer, as customers will almost always have both demographic and geographic limitations. When starting out, it is generally a good idea to define the demographic characteristics (age, income, etc.) of customers who are likely to buy and then define a geographic area in which your business can gain a presence. As you grow, you can add new customer groups and expand your geographic focus.

An additional consideration with mission statements is that most businesses will have multiple customer groups that purchase for different reasons. In these cases, one mission statement can be written to answer each of the three questions for each customer group or multiple mission statements can be developed.

As a final thought, remember that your vision and mission statements are meant to help guide the business, not to lock you into a particular direction. As your company grows and as the competitive environment changes, your mission may require change to include additional or different needs fulfilled, delivery systems, or customer groups. With this in mind, your vision and mission should be revisited periodically to determine whether modifications are desirable.

Version 8 would love to help you develop a clear vision and mission statement for your business or team. Leave us a comment below, or head on over to www.version8.com.au and fill in the Contact Form, and we will get back to you ASAP.

I think I just invented a word! “VISION-A-LISATION”

In my last post on this subject, I made the following two statements –

“vision and mission statements have become so watered down in the corporate world that they are basically meaningless”

and

“vision and mission provide direction for a business, without which it is difficult to develop a workable plan”,

and then dug quite deeply into the mission statement side of the equation, which was putting the cart slightly ahead of the horse! So, in this post I’d like to take a closer look at the vision statement, without which the effective mission statement is almost impossible to develop.

The company leaders or directors usually develop the classic vision statement at the annual leadership retreat, because "it is the right thing to do" and it formed part of the CEO's recently acquired MBA. The whiteboard is cleaned, the water jugs are refilled, and everybody in the room is expected to contribute "visionary" words that are applicable to the company. Once the creative momentum expires, everybody votes on the words that they believe are the most applicable, and then those are shoehorned into a sentence that has everybody nodding furiously once it is complete. Two weeks later, nobody can remember the entire sentence, and after six weeks in the real world of business, most of the people who created the sentence have forgotten that they were even part of the process!

This kind of vision statement will never work, primarily because it is not founded in reality. And for most of us in business today, spending time on things that don't work, is a luxury we cannot afford, and just plain dumb. So let's deconstruct the process and see if we can save any of the pieces.

Getting out of your office is a great idea, so let's keep the company retreat or something similar. You need to create an environment that is free of interruptions and the limitations of everyday activities. Going "retro" or "old school" and turning off laptops, tablets, and associated tech so that you can revert to pen and paper will also help to marshal your thoughts. Now you need to answer one seemingly simple question – where do you want your business to be (three) years from today? Depending on the current state of your business you may want to adjust the time period, but keep the focus on "where". The mission statement exercise will take care of the “what”, "how" and "for whom" questions, so make sure you don't get bogged down in those at this point of the exercise. Allow yourself to jot down random thoughts that you can structure more coherently later, and if you are comfortable with the process, this is the perfect environment in which to do some mind mapping.

Now, for those of you who are starting to smell incense, and hear finger cymbals and gongs, relax! All we are trying to do is to vision -a- lise (visualise) the future, and we will turn that into a very focused and practical exercise in just a second. For now I want to draw your attention to your favourite sporting code, and the top performers in that arena. Top athletes use visualisation all the time, and it is clearly evident whenever a significant level of individual skill is required. Whether it is a golfer putting to win a Masters event, or the deciding penalty to win any one of the football codes, you will see the individual stand very still, often close their eyes, and then make small movements that mimic the activity they are about to perform, before opening their eyes, taking a breath, and then putting, serving, kicking, throwing, or jumping. And their subsequent activity is a mirror image of what they have just visualised.

If you are not into sport, let's talk architecture. Architects spend hours interviewing their clients to develop as specific a brief as possible, from the building owner's description of what they want the finished product to look like. In most cases, the owner of the building does not know how to build the building, but they know exactly what they want it to look like at the end of the process. The architect then uses that brief to develop a series of sketches and drawings until eventually the building owner is satisfied that he is looking at an accurate representation of what he wants - in other words his…… vision! The architect then draws the exact plans that are necessary for the building to be constructed (mission) and the builder then brings the owners vision into reality (execution).

Now let's get practical. When we answer the " where do you want your business to be (three) years from today?" question, we need to visualise ourselves running the business we want to build. As you walk around your “3 years from now” office, write down what you see; what do you hear your staff talking about? Who are your clients and what are they saying?; What do your marketing materials look, feel,  and sound like?; How is the business running day-to-day?; What are you doing on a daily basis?; Are you getting any kind of media coverage, and if so, what are they writing about?; What do your financial results look like?; I think by now you are starting to get the idea, and hopefully the finger cymbals and gongs are getting quieter, and the aroma of incense is fading.

Now you need to take the rough notes (or the mind map), and put together, in as much detail as you can, what your business will look, sound, smell, feel, and (if applicable), taste like. Your final document needs to cover every part of your business, under the headings of Human Resources, Marketing, Financial Management, Operations, and Research and Development, and as many subheadings as you need to adequately describe the picture you have developed, and the interactions between your business areas.

Now you have a document that will allow the rest of your team to develop the “what”, "how" and "for whom" questions in order to craft the Mission Statement we spoke of in the previous post. Once you have your Vision and Mission statement in place, your team is easily able to create the necessary plans to make the future come true, and that is when effective alignment happens almost automatically.

The final, and hugely important, step in this process is communicating the Vision, Mission, Purpose and Values constantly and creatively. Everybody needs to always be able to see what the future looks like, so that they can do what is necessary today to bring that into being. Leaders need to develop systems that communicate the same message constantly to employees, suppliers, and customers in such a way that culture is created.

 To go back to our earlier architectural example, when the building plans are signed off, they are handed to the builder, and his workers just follow the plan day-by-day, to make the owner’s vision come true. When the vision is clear, and the plan is practical, the future happens because everybody is literally on the same page.

Because I know that explaining the process is easier than doing it, I would love to help you develop a clear vision and mission statement for your business or team. Having an objective and experienced facilitator walk you through the process is far easier than struggling through it on your own. If you would like some help, or even just a chat on some of the pointers, leave us a comment below, or head on over to www.version8.com.au and fill in the Contact Form, and we will get back to you ASAP. 

How hospital ER procedures can make you more effective as a leader!

In the late 1960s, expert testimony was given to a US Senate subcommittee on the effects of the then developing technologies. Their experts predicted that due to the advances in technology, America would have to radically change the way it did business before the end of the 80s. The subcommittee heard testimony that employees would have to work only 22 hours a week, nobody would work for more than 32 weeks in a year and, because of the efficiency of the new technology, people would be forced to retire at the age of 40!

How do you think the experts went in their predictions? The obvious truth is they were completely wrong. The opposite of their predictions is actually true. We are all working harder and longer, and every year average vacation time shrinks worldwide, and retirement ages get pushed out further and further.

Demands on our time have increased exponentially, and the technology that was supposed to save us time, makes it possible for us to send and receive a tidal wave of communication 24/7, 365 days a year. Most of us are faced with a list of things to do every single day that we would battle to finish in 16 hours, and definitely will never get done in an eight-hour workday. So guess what happens? Everything we didn't do today gets moved to tomorrow - which already has just as long a list. The net result is that one of the highest priorities we have as business leaders is to master the tyranny of time.

Peter Drucker, writing his book "The Effective Executive in Action" over 40 years ago made this comment – "Everything you do requires your time. This means that your accomplishments and your effectiveness are set, or limited, by the way you manage your time, your scarcest resource. Unless you manage your time, you will not be able to manage anything else. The management of your time, therefore, is the foundation for your effectiveness." (Drucker, 2006, page 11)

Let's take a look at some of the realities of time.

Firstly, as Mr. Drucker reminded us we all get 24 hours in a day, seven days in a week, and 365 1/4 days in a year. Nobody gets any more and nobody gets any less. No matter how much money or influence you have, you cannot get yourself an extra hour in the day. Even with the greatest exercise of will power you will not be able to add an extra day to the week, and irrespective of the level of demand, the supply of time is never going to increase. Ever. This is a reality. Brutal reality I know, but one that every single one of us has to deal with. You can always find more money to get something done, or even hire more people to help you finish a project, but the single most limiting factor in your ability to complete your objectives, is time. We need to recognize that time is our scarcest resource, and we need to manage it from that perspective.

Secondly, we've all been taught that time is money, but we've actually all been lied to. It is perfectly possible for you to save money, and in fact it's a great idea! Having money in the bank means that you can replenish your wallet whenever you need it, but unfortunately you don't have the same option with time. A minute lost, or wasted, is gone forever. Although I don't recommend it, you can borrow money and pay it back over time. But nobody can head off into the future to grab some time for you, so that you can use it today and pay it back when you retire, or find some spare! Time is relentless, ticking away minute by minute, day by day. Added to the fact that it is our most limited resource, it is also our least flexible resource. And that double constraint should make us think very carefully about how we use it.

Thirdly, the double constraint of the limited supply of time and its lack of flexibility produces demands that we will never be able to meet. We all cling desperately to the hope that one-day we will manage to catch up with all the things we have to do, but the stark reality is that there will always be more to do, than can be done. And this reality is made worse by all of the technological wizardry I spoke about earlier. Mobile communications systems, the Internet, digitization, broadband communication, instant messaging and fibre networks, have all played their part in multiplying the things we are expected to do every day. Most of us who travel on business, or are brave enough to take a week off, return to hundreds of e-mails waiting for reply, a bunch of voicemail messages to answer, and probably even a bunch of appointments in our calendar, that were created for us while we were away.

Most modern time management systems offer to help us do more in the day than we need to. "Do you have 10 things to do today? We can show you how to do 20" is the kind of claim that is made. The problem is that most of us have 30, 40, and in some cases 50 things we need to do every day, and that kind of load can simply not be handled by a system that promises, and is based on, greater efficiency.

So what are we supposed to do? There is actually only one thing we can do, and that brings us to the final reality on the subject of time.

We need to apply the same principles that are applied by paramedics, or in a hospital E R. Every day, and especially in the case of a disaster of some sort, doctors, nurses and paramedics are faced with making hard choices. When paramedics arrived at the scene of an emergency, or ambulances start arriving at an emergency room after a disaster, a filtering process known as "triage" is applied. Medical personnel do not start helping the first person they come across, followed by the next, and then the third. They establish a system that sorts through the injuries, and creates an order of priority that decides who should receive help first. "Triage" simply means "sorting", and for us to be effective with our time means that we need a filter that allows us to sift through our growing list of things to do and forces us to choose the thing which is the highest priority, leaving undone, the things that are not.

When we take our "To Do" list and start working away from the top to the bottom, or get into a routine of answering email at the start of every day, we are definitely not applying triage to time. Despite all of the modern technological advances, there is no list that can tell us how to best use our energy, which of the things we need to do hits the sweet spot of our talent and ability, and which will have the most impact on our marketplace. The only way we can achieve that is by applying focus. And only focus can help us make the decisions that we need to make to live a life that is based on significance, and importance, rather than on urgency.

Peter Drucker warns us again - "concentration – that is, the courage to impose what really matters most and comes first – is the executive's only hope of mastering time and events instead of being their whipping boy." (Drucker, 2006, page 142)

This subject forms part of the Management and Business Accelerator program that I have developed and I’ve put together a couple of tools to help all of us apply the focus we need to get through the things that are actually important. In the Management & Business Accelerator we spend an entire session on this subject, but if you would like some help in this area quickly, you can download the FREE Time Triage Blueprint™ here - http://bit.ly/1TtorUY , and start building your effectiveness right away. If you would like any help putting it together, or would like more details on the Management & Business Accelerator program, leave me a comment below, or follow one of our “Contact” links, and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

The one thing that war, sports and business have in common!

Let’s talk about strategy. A subject easily related to war and sports, but a little hazy when it comes to business.

So, here is the time poor summary for those of you who are still not planning your time effectively! There are entire books devoted to the definition of strategy in business, but a simple definition would be “Working out how to succeed in the upcoming business period”. In a business context, strategy must be applied simultaneously across the 2 primary levels of the business – corporate leadership (the whole organisation) and business unit (division or market) – and then applied practically and tactically at team level in order to achieve the relevant definition of success. Each level requires a different starting point and skill set in order to be successful. Done. (Oh by the way, there is a link to a great free tool that will help you decide on your strategy, at the end of this post.)

And now we can dive a little deeper for those of you who have decided to stay.

“Working out” ties back quite nicely to my previous blog on planning, and this is really the flip side of the same coin. Strategy at the corporate level is a natural progression from the vision and mission development process that defines the long-term scope and direction of the organisation as a whole. The vision and mission will also determine the fundamental configuration of the business in order to meet the needs of the target market and the stakeholders. The scope, direction and configuration, together make up what is commonly defined as the “corporate strategy”, and this is what is used to shape the big picture of what the business is and does. The individual business units then work out the part they play in achieving the big picture, and this is then cascaded down to individual team level to ensure that the day-to-day activities support the big picture, and keep the organization on track. The beauty of our simple definition is that it applies equally at every level, so let’s look at each of them individually.

Corporate strategy is the overall direction of an organization that is usually made up of multiple facets, operating in multiple markets. This can range from all of the functions of a one-person home business carried out by that “one person”, all the way up to the corporation running multiple business units operating in multiple fields. Corporate strategy needs to be aiming at the unicorn of synergy in it’s purest form – how to combine all the different elements in a way that creates greater value than the sum of the individual parts. This is normally achieved by building robust core competencies, developing and growing a strong brand identity, capitalising the business in a cost effective way, and applying the economies of scale by sharing resources and technology across multiple business units or functions. Corporate strategy should merge seamlessly with organizational design to combine the different functions and business units together in a way that allows the available resources to be applied most effectively. This then creates competitive advantage and supports the business goals, both of which deliver the success the business is after, in the period under consideration.

At a business unit, or functional level, strategy needs to focus on competing successfully in the specific applicable market. We can tweak our definition in this context to “Working out how to succeed in this market or function, in the upcoming business period”, whilst supporting the corporate strategy. Clearly analysing your core competencies and applying these effectively to meet your prospective customer’s needs is a great starting point. Gathering as much information as you can on your competition, their strategies, strengths and weaknesses, allows you to work out how to exploit your competitive position. And all of this can be done very efficiently using a simple SWOT analysis of your, and your competition’s, businesses. In a small business context, there will be a significant overlap between corporate and business unit strategy, but as a business grows and starts operating in multiple markets, each individual business unit will need to work out it’s own unit strategy, whilst staying aligned to the corporate strategy, in order to develop brand identity. People involved in the individual functions, or business units, need to be able to see the obvious link between the work they do every day and the business unit strategy. A clear understanding of how what they do helps the business unit “succeed”, creates a motivated and, therefore, productive, workforce.

At a team level, strategy needs to create the environment in which teams work together effectively. Every team contributes something different to the overall business, and the team strategy must link all the different activities and contributions in a way that achieves, and where possible enhances, the business unit and corporate strategies. KPI’s, SSF’s and even an MBO system help to define both the team’s boundaries and purpose. Optimizing service quality, operational excellence and managing relationships with suppliers, all work towards efficient teams that contribute to the strategic goals set at the corporate and business unit level, and underpin an effective team strategy.

On a practical level, “Working out how to succeed in the upcoming business period,” means that you know what to change and what to keep doing, in the next season of your business. To help you get to the root cause of some of the issues you are facing, I’ve put together a quick and easy-to-use tool called The WHY Analyser™, that will help you clearly identify what is ACTUALLY slowing you down, and let you prioritise the order in which you resolve the issues. You can download it here.

If you aren’t sure what all of those 3 and 4 letter acronyms stand for, or if you are not sure how they apply to your business or team, give us a shout at www.version8.com.au, or through our Facebook page or Twitter feed, and we’ll be happy to walk you through it. Alternatively, if you need some help with any level of your strategic planning, we have a number of ways of helping you and your team.

The one skill that is not negotiable for success in business, or life is.........

I  was told recently that I take too long to get into the meat of what I want to say in these posts or blogs. If you are time poor and don't want to read the whole blog, I'll remedy the problem up front. Planning is the most fundamental skill required for success in business - without it, you will waste time and money, expose your business to unnecessary risk, underutilize your team, and not achieve your goals. Done. You can now get on with the other things you need to do, and I'll ramble on to the rest of you who probably have the time to read the whole blog because you have PLANNED your time properly!

 A plan is generally defined as "a detailed proposal for doing, or achieving something", and in most cases the "something" referred to in business terms would be a "goal". Building on the original definition, we could then say that planning is " the definition of an organized program of steps, or actions to be taken, in order to achieve a desired outcome". So let's knock off each of the issues I attributed to a lack of planning, one by one.

No matter how big or small your business or team is, you do not have unlimited resources. Utilizing those you do have efficiently is one of the primary roles of management, and planning delivers the kind of information that leadership needs in order to allocate people, time, money and equipment in the way that has the greatest chance of delivering the success they are after. The outcome of effective planning is that available resources are channeled into the projects with the greatest chance of success, and productivity is boosted significantly.

No matter how big or small you are, you also cannot control the external environment in which you operate. Risk is a factor in every business, and to be successful, it is an element that needs to be managed effectively. Every plan must be "stress tested" using "what if" scenarios to build redundancy and contingency into the plan. Unfortunately, the greatest stress test will utilize only predictable events, and in every business cycle there will be unforeseen events that require rapid responses to prevent, or at least reduce, the negative effect of those events.And even if you only encounter the predictable bumps in the road, the rapid pace of new technology and systems require teams to be able to quickly adjust both strategy and tactics to deal with the new conditions. Robust stress testing in the planning process helps reduce the number of possible unforeseen events to the absolute minimum, and therefore increases your chances of success significantly.

Planning also removes the rose tinted glasses, as it requires leaders and managers to develop a realistic understanding of the present state of the business or team. Strengths and weaknesses need to be defined, and a balanced view of the competition needs to be developed, as the starting point of the planning process. Proper analysis will also reveal areas of potential weakness in competitors offerings and service delivery, which allows product, sales and marketing strategies specifically designed to exploit those weaknesses, to be developed. Competitor analysis will often reveal emerging markets, or previously unknown opportunities, that can then be included in the current planning cycle.

Once the starting point has been accurately determined, the "destination" needs equal clarity. A vision of the "desired outcome" needs to be developed so that the steps required to arrive at said outcome can be decided upon.

Setting "desired outcomes" (goals) that challenge the organization to deliver better performance or service, is a key element of planning, as long as the goals are realistically achievable. Over-aggressive goals will have the effect of demoralizing most teams, so keep them within the bounds of reasonableness for them to achieve the desired effect. In today's fast paced business environment, leaders need to be stretching teams continuously, or they will find themselves playing second fiddle to the competition. Goal setting that stretches, also serves as a wake up call to leaders or team members who may have become complacent, spurring them on to function at an optimum, rather than comfortable level.And finally, having the goal in place allows leaders to measure actual outcomes against the planned outcomes, and apply the necessary remedies to the exposed variances.

A plan that is properly conceived, thought through, and then effectively communicated to the members of your business unit creates an environment in which cooperation grows and the team builds naturally. Involving team leaders, managers and supervisors in the planning process reduces future resistance, and potential conflict, immeasurably, and even budget reductions will be more easily accepted when the person affected had a say in the process. Each person knows not only what is required of them directly, but can also easily identify other areas of the process or organisation where their skills and experience will add value and momentum. Seeing that they can contribute productively to the success of the endeavor as a whole let's them take pride in what they do, and encourages the type of collaboration and responsibility that builds synergy.

So there you have a quick overview of the headline points that make up the fundamental skill required for success in your current business or team. If you would like help applying these principles in your specific situation, or would like a deeper grasp of the concepts, give us a shout through www.version8.com.au, or via our Facebook page and Twitter feed.












.

That canapé crumb, or unasked question, might mean that an MBA is NOT for you......

A couple of weeks ago I accompanied my amazing wife to a presentation by a prestigious Australian Business School aimed at prospective MBA students. She had been invited, as a recent graduate of the school, to come and share her experience of the program, and it's benefits since graduating, in what was an obvious attempt to add an element of "I was just like you (4) years ago and look at me now". By now, you have hopefully worked out that I am married to an MBA graduate, and that may be making the title of this blog, just a little confusing - but stay tuned, all will be revealed!

The evening started with attendees being given a very impressive folder filled with equally impressive documents that explained, drew, graphed and illustrated why this particular Business School should be where one obtained one's MBA. All of the information is true and all of it is impressive. The obligatory drinks and canapés were circulating smoothly as the room filled with more and more people, most of whom were in their late twenties and early thirties. 5 minutes before the scheduled start time of the presentation, staff of the School started "suggesting" that attendees take their seats, and spot on go time, the "Head of Admissions" stepped up to the lectern and pressed the clicker to move on to the 2nd slide of the Power Point deck and we were away. The next 20 minutes were filled with beautiful images, more graphs, deep and meaningful quotes from previous graduates, and regular opportunities to name drop current captains of the business world who, you guessed it, we're all graduates of said business school. Once again, all of the information shown and presented was true and accurate, and then it was time for my wife and the other selected recent graduate to confirm how amazing, life changing and financially beneficial the process had been. Which both of them did very well, which added the required ring of authenticity to what had been shared, and gave the whole process the rubber stamp of "we have nothing to gain by you signing up for this School, so you can trust the fact that we appear to be confirming all the other things you have already heard" Then came the obligatory wrap up and thanks for attending content, and everybody was invited to stay and have a few more drinks and more impressive canapés, while asking any of the admissions staff, or selected faculty members in attendance, any questions they may still have had. We stayed for about 45 minutes after the end of the presentation, and many, many questions were asked and answered in that time. But nobody asked the critical question, that everybody should have been asking. You see, what had just happened was a sales presentation by an organisation whose product is academic content. The presentation was really good, and the academic content they offer is also very good, but nobody was asking if that specific academic content was what anybody in that room actually needed!

And it never will be asked. Because the business of a Business School is to present academic material of a business nature, and the job of the Admissions Department is to sell the sizzle of that particular pile of academic material. Whether you need it or not. So surely then, the critical question for very one of those prospective customers should have been "is this what I need?" And for every one of them that answered "yes", I can highly recommend that particular business school - but what about the ones who answer "no?".

Despite the fact that you have so many MBA options available - full time, part time, executive, on line, and the latest one - "blended", most MBA programs are aimed at creating corporate executives. I learned that night that the MBA as a qualification was originally designed for undergraduate engineers who aspired to management positions. Their technical qualification would get them to the top of the Supervisory ladder due to the technical nature of supervised projects, but they needed something to enable them to cross the rubicon from "technical" supervisor to "business" manager. Whilst you no longer need to be a graduate engineer, you do need to be a graduate something, in order to satisfy the entry criteria to any credible MBA program. So, if an MBA delivers a fully qualified corporate executive, and you need an undergraduate degree to gain entry to an MBA program, it follows that all successful businesses should have been started, or run, by a graduate of some description. But most of you reading this are hopefully already thinking about some of the most successful businesses in the world and the people who started, and run them. Apple, Virgin, Walt Disney Studios, Microsoft, Facebook, Dell Computing, Segway, Ford, and many more were started and run by people who do not have an MBA, or an undergraduate degree, and in some cases, they didn't even finish school!

Which then seems to confirm that an MBA is not for everybody, definitely not for anybody who doesn't want to be a corporate executive, and particularly not for anybody who has entrepreneurial aspirations. Every one of the companies listed above employs MBA's, so I need to make it absolutely clear that I am not in any way advocating against an MBA, but what I am saying is that it is not the right option for everybody. Many entrepreneurs realize they need "something" more, and fall prey to the usual MBA sales jargon, because it looks and sounds like what they need. But here we have to go back to the reality that the Admissions Department of the XYZ Business School, cannot sell said entrepreneur what he/she needs, they can only sell what they have! And what they have is designed to create a (usually competent) corporate executive.

So, to wrap this up, if you are considering an MBA, ask yourself these questions:

Do I want to be a Corporate Executive?
Is this the best way to invest my next 3+ years?
If I invested the $60 - 100K into my business idea instead of an MBA, would I be worse off 5 years from now?
Am I a loner?

If your answers are anything other than "yes, yes, yes and yes", I might consider wiping the canapé crumb off my lip and leaving the room to explore some other options.

If you need some help with answering these questions or knowing what some of the other options are, feel free to leave a comment below, on our Version 8 Coaching &amp Training Facebook page, or jump across to our contact page at www.version8.com.au and we will do whatever we can to help.