Is an MBA a game-changer for entrepreneurs?

So much of business life is about differentiation. It pays – literally and figuratively – to accentuate your USPs and stand out from the crowd. This applies to entrepreneurs every bit as much as it does to individual employees.

Does an MBA help in this respect? This is a question I’m repeatedly asked in academic and professional circles alike. Forward-thinking students and those already making their way in the “real world” are frequently united by their interest in this qualification – and by their nagging doubts as to its actual worth.

My own belief is that an MBA can make a huge difference. It can serve as a major stepping-stone for getting ahead in your chosen sector or getting under way in another. It can present myriad opportunities and equip you with an excellent background in numerous essential areas of business.

It’s vital to recognise, though, that whether it achieves any of these things is very much up to you. An MBA has to be approached with the right mindset and an authentic sense of purpose if it’s to deliver all the benefits it should. So let’s briefly consider how to maximise the MBA experience.

The first point to grasp is that you can’t expect an MBA to shape your own trajectory or that of your business if you’ve no idea what that trajectory ought to be in the first place. In short: you need a plan, and you need to know if and why an MBA should be part of it.

Some people seem to bank on an MBA to magically propel them towards success. Such an outcome is unlikely if you don’t possess the remotest notion of where you might like to be in, say, five years’ time and what success might therefore actually constitute.

This isn’t to suggest you should have everything worked out in meticulous detail. But you must have some sort of meaningful roadmap that allows you to envisage an MBA as a springboard for achieving your goals.

This sort of framing should at least allow you to choose a business school, a programme and your preferred electives. While nothing has to be set in stone, the entire undertaking is likely to be flawed from the outset if you embark on it without some clarity about the path you wish to take.

One of the most compelling attractions of an MBA programme is that it enables technical specialisation in the context of a strong, business-oriented education. By taking full advantage of a broad miscellany of modules – ranging from the life sciences to property, from environmental studies to digital media – you can greatly enhance your skills.

Relatedly, MBA programmes tend to bring together an international array of extremely talented people with vastly varied backgrounds, aspirations and perspectives. This is why business schools are sometimes referred to as melting pots.

You shouldn’t make the mistake, however, of treating this as a splendid opportunity to network, because that really isn’t what you ought to be looking to gain from it. The far more important point is that all these people enrich the learning experience and encourage diversity of thought, which is good for the mind.

I prefer to think of business schools not as melting pots but as mosaics. Rather than striving for homogeneity, they assemble disparate elements to produce a beautiful and sometimes challenging whole.

Different business schools have different teaching styles and cultures. It follows that they produce different sorts of entrepreneurs and managers. How you fit into a specific programme or environment will have a significant impact on the outcome of your MBA.

Smaller schools can be inclusive, cohesive, close-knit communities, and some might provide unique specialisations. Larger schools are likely to offer more electives, more customisation and very probably more in the way of intellectual demands.

Before choosing between these options, of course, you need to determine which type of MBA – part-time, full-time or executive – is best for you. And the truth is that each requires very considerable commitment. It’s only when you start weighing up the respective pros and cons that you realise an MBA isn’t just a career-changer: it’s a life-changer.

That’s a thought you should keep in mind at all times, because signing up for an MBA programme may well prove to be one of the most momentous decisions you’ll ever make. It should also prove to be one of the most beneficial – but only if you treat it with the care and respect it deserves.

David Falzani MBE is a Professor at Nottingham University Business School’s Haydn Green Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HGIIE) and president of the Sainsbury Management Fellowship.

Nottingham University Business School are one of the leading UK business schools delivering the Help to Grow: Management Course. For more information, click here.