I have heard a few talking heads speaking about getting an MBA education without going to business school. I believe this is partially possible but people will miss out on important areas of their education. FYI: I am totally talking from the cheap seats as I never finished school.

Being that I never finished school, I have taken it on myself to learn as much as I can through books. In someways, I think, this might have made me a better “student” as I am totally responsible for my education and I am able to pursue areas of personal interest. I have missed out on benefits of greater social interaction skills, bonding with classmates and team based educational exercises. These, I believe, have great long term value.

I came across an article on Lifehacker that I thought was worth a look:

Top MBA programs don’t have a monopoly on advanced business knowledge: you can teach yourself everything you need to know to succeed in life and at work. The Personal MBA Recommended Reading List features only the very best business books available, based on thousands of hours of research. So skip b-school and the $100,000 loan: you can get a world-class business education simply by reading these books.“

I as was surprised that I have about 10% of the listed books already in my completed collection. I have added several more to the future reading list. At my current rate, my reading list will take about 3.5 years to complete. Darn it…that is a long time before I can pickup a new author.