Great Book for All MBAs and Business People

I read More Than Money: Questions Every MBA Needs to Answer written by Mark Albion, a former HBS professor, right before I left the US, and thought that did a good job capturing some of the issues with a "business" education, particularly with measuring success with money and public recognition.  He argues that if we "put “contribution” – crucial to a meaningful life – on an equal footing with money, what we perceive as our safest career choices may actually be our riskiest, and vice versa”

Here is the cliff notes version of his book with a list of advice and questions to ask ourselves that I thought to share with everyone:

1.    Don’t get really good at what you don’t want to do

·         What did you want to do before the world “should” on you?

·         What did you love to do when you were around 11 or 12?

·         Who are your heroes, why do I admire them?

·         Do you dislike what you do? If so, why do you do it?

·         Outside your family, what do you do that gives you joy?

2.    Listen to the little voice: the word "vocation" derives from Latin vocare, which means “to call” – your calling, so listen to your authentic self, not the voice of judgement from others, if you are driven to prove your worthiness to others, you’ve handed over your life to the voice of judgement. Find your voice by following the love/passion and serving people, take a deep breath and trust in people who care about you, they will help you dig deeper and be true to the voice. Take risks and let go of control at times.  Listening to your inner voice requires you to go outside yourself and be aware of what’s happening around you. 

·         When do you feel authentic?

·         Who are your voices of judgment?

·         What do they say and how do you deal with them?

3.       Broaden your vision in life with perspective and understanding: some ways to do this are: 

       (a)  When you have to make a decision, call your bright friends to get their take….”perspective is worth 100 IQ points” 

       (b) Deepen your understanding of who you are through a range of relationships so you don’t risk limiting your potential.  Consider this, who we re is very much in relation to others, to a set of values and expectations we call “culture".  Philosopher Charles Handy said “True individuality is necessarily social”.  Labels like “I’m an engineer at Microsoft” are narrow visions of what defines us; however, it does not encompass the breadth of our life or our possibilities and potential.

       (c) Travel the world and talk to grandmas.  

·         How would you define yourself as broadly as possible?

·         When people ask you who you are, what do you say? Consider different variations depending on the situation and who is doing the asking

·         Think about who you are as defined by four different people in your life.  What do those definitions have in common?

·         Without your current job or family, who are you?  Think as broadly as possible about your definition

4.       Know how you measure success:  Warren Buffett said "Success is getting what you want.  Happiness is wanting what you have". So work to achieve a big HAVE or live to have a small WANT.  Consider the following 4 metrics when it comes to measuring success: (a) service to the community (b) service to the dollar (c) service to the family (d) service to the soul or self.  How do you score?  How do you prioritize them? Is it balanced?

·         How do you define being a “good” person? What does the “good life” mean to you?

·         How do or did your parents measure success? How have their measures and those of business school and your peers affected your notion of “success?”

5.       Money doesn’t talk, it swears: when you set a goal related to something, like money,  your price is that your attempt to reach your goal will influence who you are

·         How much is enough?  How much money do you need each year to have a decent standard of living? How much to retire? What is the impact of those numbers on your options of what you can do?

·         What are you willing to give up to make more money?

·         What do you see as the biggest risk in your relationship with money?

6.       Don’t treasure your trash and trash your treasures: B-school teach the mantra of growth and promotion, but sometimes shrinking/de-promotion may be a better plan

·         How would you handle a values conflict with your employer?  What personal values are inviolate?

·         How might you shrink the demands of your career yet have more impact?

7.       Turn your value into Value: it's your will more than your skill

·         Take a look back at your career to date. What constants do you see among your various jobs?

·         What do you see as your biggest strengths?  How do they support your passion and future successes?

·         How can you turn your values into Value? How do your values make you more valuable to your company?

·         To focus your energies, what things should you be clear to not do?

8.       Keep your walking costs low: we make changes when the pain of no change > fear of change.  There are 3 types of walking costs: economics risk (i.e. financial concerns), performance risk (i.e. resume concerns), psychosocial risk (i.e. identify concerns)

             ·         What fears are keeping you from pursuing your hopes?

             ·         What can you do to reduce your perceived riskt?

9.       Don’t live a deferred life plan

·         To make changes in your career, how do you feel about small changes vs. dramatic leaps?  What factors would affect how dramatic a change you might make?

10.    Look not at the masses but at the one: MBAs get caught up in numbers, it’s all about doing something “big”; don’t fall into that trap, instead, focus on “small deeds with great love”

·       Reflect on your daily conversations, primarily at work.  What values and life perspectives do they reflect

·         How do you think about and measure your impact?

·         What obstacles do you have to overcome to have your desired impact?

·         What “small” deeds can you do to increase someone’s feelings of appreciation and contribution? Consider one specific person as an example

11.   Surround yourself with a community of love: in Xhosa language, Úbuntu ngumntu ngabanye abantu” which means “a person can only be a person through other persons”, feeling connected to others and to a community is an essential need 

·         What would your ideal work community look like?

·         Are you a “responsible” member of your work community?  How could you improve?

12.  Plant trees under whose shade you’ll never sit: you’ll be remembered more for who you are than for what you did, more for the size of your heart than the size of your wallet, more for how much you gave away than for how much you made.  You’ll be remembered as much for your kindness as for your wisdom

             ·         How can you best balance your short-term needs with your long-term goals?