Why you can't get an MBA from a book

An MBA is a serious investment in time, money, and personal commitment. Some MBA’s from the top business schools can cost more than $100,000, so it comes as no surprise that many turn to alternative methods to gain an MBA education. Some choose to go it alone in the upper echelons of the corporate world, learning business skills from their own mistakes, whilst others are never offered that luxury. For many though, the plethora of MBA books available are the temptation. It’s easy to see the attraction too; these books promise an MBA education in a single volume. Gaining an MBA education from just a few hours of reading sounds like a great prospect, and an attractive alternative to paying the high fees for a real MBA education, but do these books really offer the same value an MBA does? In this article we take an in-depth look at the concept of earning an MBA by book.

The majority of MBA books that are available promise the reader a full MBA education in just a few hundred pages. Ignoring the obvious question of ‘how do they fit all of the required information into these books’ for a moment, the well written and heavily researched books can offer a great overview of an MBA programme. You’ll find the majority of MBA books are written by graduates of a particular MBA programme, and in their book they give a summary of each of the key areas of the education they received. As such, these books can provide a nice framework – an overview – for studying an MBA at that particular institution. By packing a sizeable amount of material into a relatively short and readable format, MBA books provide a simplistic approach to a very complex subject.

Unfortunately, MBA topics shouldn’t always be so simplistic. Part of the attraction of MBA books are their relatively short length; they are generally only a few hundred pages long. But this is also one of their biggest downfalls, as they lack the detail that is required for much of an MBA. In order to gain the depth of knowledge provided by a real MBA, you’ll find yourself having to read many more books than just the one you originally pick up. MBA’s encompass all aspects of business, from finance to marketing, so you could realistically expect to have to read further books on each of these subjects.

Whilst many people love reading and learning from books, an MBA education doesn’t lend itself overly well to being taught through reading alone. You’ll be missing out on student-lecturer discussions, and debates with your peers, something that a simple book just cannot replicate. Of course, you’ll also miss out on the networking that a real MBA can provide, arguably one of the most attractive parts of the MBA education. Many MBA’s, particularly in the UK also offer the opportunity to complete workplace based experience, another aspect that MBA books cannot reproduce in written format.

Perhaps an attraction of an MBA book is that there is no entry requirement or high fees. Whilst this can be seen as an advantage, because of this, there is none of the MBA prestige associated to MBA books. Anybody can read or buy an MBA book, whereas only a select few can achieve a real MBA. This is reflected in employers opinions too, who regularly voice their opinions on such matters, disregarding self-taught students of management. Obviously, you won’t receive a qualification after reading an MBA book.

The biggest concern for potential MBA students to consider before reading one of these books however is that they may find themselves being put off doing an MBA after reading only a few chapters. Many of the authors of MBA books are rather cynical of the MBA education, claiming that the course fees are too high, or that the education could be gained from reading. You could choose to believe them, but these comments are intended to sell their books. Another serious consideration is that in fact, anybody could write a book on the subject, without being qualified in the first place.

In summary, MBA books can be an excellent resource to gain an insight into different MBA programmes. They can offer an introduction to a variety of management concepts and can be enjoyable to read, especially if an MBA is what you are looking to study in the future. They are also an excellent option if you are only ever planning to work for yourself. Whilst you won’t build a network of great contacts, you may find that you could build a similar list of contacts outside of an MBA education. An MBA book may also be right for you if you’re feeling a little stale in your own management practices and want some new ideas. Ultimately though, MBA books won’t come close to the experience of a real MBA and there really is no substitute for a properly applied MBA programme where you engage with real people in the real world.