Reading this story only reminds us of all those dropouts who just, kind of , were rebels. This kid was too. Today he is the CEO of FaceBook. He founded it and he seems to be on a totally different track (read the article fully, its a great read!). Oracle, Apple, Microsoft etc CEOs too dropped out BTW.
Great read for me too. I am wanting to pursue my MBA. I always wanted to do it. Why? Don't I have the guts to go amuck and run a shop like them? Haven't I lived on the edge and faced a shotgun right in my face in a vague country ( It was Nigeria, BTW, back in 1991)? Didn't I quit a career and start afresh in a country that spoke a language I couldn't comprehend? I've had my share of "excitement"! And they were all fun!
The reason today I am in need of a legit means to kick some ass is because I am not a 22 year old bloke anymore. I've got kids and won't risk walking in the dark picking up a quarrel just because some kid wants to steal my $20 Casio (that happened in Tema, Ghana 1992). But I have walked that road and can (want to almost) walk it all again.
I want to pursue my MBA from a Dutch School and will probably do it from RSM, Erasmus University. An Exec MBA. I don't want to leave home and want to be with my family. No more dark alleys. Thus the legit way to kick some ass! What do I mean by "kick some ass"? I just don't want to do an MBA to get some top notch job and go with the flow. I want to change the world!
I migrated to The Netherlands in 1999, learned the language in a couple of months, got a job (after a great and adventurous career at sea for 9.5 years) as an IT Manager. I saw a world that moved too slow. Too many loose ends. I screamed that things could go wrong and they did. Folks just didn't budge. There is something about entrepreneurship (or the lack there of) that IT (and I) missed here. How do we kick some ass and get things "straightened up". Then I dove into the core IT. Became an Oracle DBA. The coolest job on the planet! I was the dude. But not for long, too many headless folks were making decisions. Our enterprise was at the mercy of non-IT folks. I have done rally cool things in my capacity. I am a typical guy who's the director's pet. They know pretty darn well who can kick ass and make things work. Nobody likes you for you look. not in the corporate world ;)
The notion that I had at first is what I still maintain. IT needs senior management with the mind and heart of an IT dude. A geeky CEO, cool CIO and a whacky CTO. Some folks have that. Not many. I think many of those in the industry need that. I am one to do that too. At least I think I am destined to do that.
Coming back to the original topic , I think you can be a great entrepreneur (independent or within your corp, with or without an MBA). And as always a 2, 3 or a couple of heads together can make a great start. Look at Google (today they're 10,000+ and still going strong), IBM is showing signs of slowing down (they're planning to cut down dramatically, they better do a Welch 20-70-10) and is dying in the hierarchical thrust. But how to motivate and shake and wake up everyone on a sinking ship? You're a hero if you bring the ship back to its mean and not let it list!
I just hope to be an entrepreneur who can really make some significant change to this world. For the better. Starting humbly from my desk for my organization.
PS: That also says a lot about the Management schools. Maybe my going there might stir some dust ;-) Like I said, "I'll be taking ME there". I guess I have the character, now I need to know hat they have to offer to make it the "killer character" that every CEO dreams of.
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