The value of 12.5% of an MBA
Having finished my first set of midterm exams at business school, it's a good time to reflect on what I've learned so far. Some of these things are reinforcements of things I once knew, but others reflect a new way of looking at the world:
1) Net Present Value is often an easy calculation, but no better than the underlying assumptions.
2) Business leaders realize that too few people know how to think (e.g., knowing when an NPV calculation even makes sense).
3) No one has yet solved the principal-agent problem.
4) Accounting is truly important, especially with regard to cash flows. Not sexy, but particularly critical to young companies.
5) In the wake of my first set of exams, it's clear that what's outside of the classroom is more important than homework and grades, as that's where people actually live, dream, and work.
Now this may not seem to be a lot of bang for the buck (12.5%*$120k equals roughly $12k), but I'd wager that it's a positive NPV transaction for me on many levels. The final point above has a lot to with that, and it's something I'll return to in the future.