The innovation DNA at business school

Following the release of QS' Innovation ratings of the Global 200 Top Business Schools Report 2010, TopMBA.com asks Howard Anderson, senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management's Entrepreneurship Center to explain how innovation can be taught to MBA students who choose to specialize in the subject...

The business world is comprised of two kinds of companies – Attackers and Defenders. And they both need you – if you have the right DNA.

Think about it. No company has ever achieved ‘sustainable’ distinctive competence, the best any firm can do is to achieve some ‘temporary’ advantage. The only real asset of a company is its ability to innovate and build another advantage before its competitors react.

Which is great. It plays to your strength if you have the Innovation DNA. Do you? How do you know?

Think about this: all business strategy is based on the idea that you want to upset the status quo. If you are a Defender, you want to increase market share, improve the position of your brand, be the product and thought leader.

If you are an Attacker, you have no customers, no reputation, no installed base and perhaps a weak balance sheet. But maybe you can develop a global strategy early; perhaps you can figure a way to imbue your products with a self servicing application that makes it easier for the ultimate customer to use. 

Business school criteria

Want a hint? Don’t go to any MBA school simply because of the professors. I have an undergraduate business degree from one highly regarded school, another degree from a second and have taught in some of the best in India, Russia, Israel, and the United States. Pick a school where you are not the smartest boy or girl in your class. Pick a school where there is hybrid vigor between technology and management, between local and international MBA students, between left brains and right brains. Pick a school where you will be sitting next to people who do not have the same background, or come from the same disciplines as you. You will learn from your classmates.

When I walk out of my classroom at MIT Sloan, the average IQ goes up. Think about it.

Now, here’s your question: Can innovation be taught or is it inherited? Answer: both.

If you have a spark, a great school can develop it. If you don’t… never mind. 

Here’s another hint. We don’t ‘teach’ anything, you learn by discovering. Instead of a silly lecture about ‘globalization’, we will send you to a different continent with a team to solve a logistics problem. Instead of lecturing about what an entrepreneur is, you will come up with your own idea, form your own team and build a company. If you are at a school that does not do that: demand a refund! 

Most people are going to get an MBA because they want to change their careers in some way – either going to a different company or pick a different skill set, right? If you are going back to that same job, just getting your ticket stamped, stay at home. An MBA program is too long, too hard, and too expensive for just that.

Innovation in business

If employers could isolate the illusive ‘innovative’ gene, they could bypass the whole interview process and just have you submit a lock of your hair, they would. But no one has yet figured that out, so companies do the next best thing - they look for people that can combine innovation with experience to find better ways to do things. Innovation cannot just come from delivering products or services; it may be in logistics, in financing, in marketing. It may be in organizational design or a better way to package.

Two points. You may someday want to start your own company, as many of our MIT Sloan students do. Here’s a hint: make sure that all of our starting team is as good in their jobs as you are in yours – as innovative, as committed, as uncompromising. Then, as you grow, you can demand that they also do not compromise.

 That is how great companies are built. If no company has a long term strategic advantage, then a company’s only real asset are the innovative people who will find better ways.

Second hint: The real advantage of someday starting a company or being on a starting team: you will never use all your talents again as intensively as you do in a startup.

Business is an exciting and evolving three dimensional multi-user game. You are going to love getting your MBA. Welcome to the club!

-Howard Anderson

The QS MBA World Tour touches down in Johannesburg on Tuesday 29 March and in Nairobi 31 March. For more information and free online registration: http://www.topmba.com/mba-tour/?partnerid=4370

Soft skills in demand, say MBA recruiters

The latest QS recruitment survey, the TopMBA Jobs and Salary Trends Report from late 2010, shows that demand for ‘soft’ skills has drastically increased in importance for MBA recruiters worldwide.

The survey of just over 5,000 MBA recruiters in 36 countries, shows that MBA recruiters already have very high expectations of rigorous finance, marketing and e-business or IT skills from business school graduates. MBA recruiters are now looking for another set of abilities to complement their businesses in today’s competitive economic climate.

The report, which predicts an improvement in MBA recruitment for 2011 in several industries, shows that the big four soft skills demanded by MBAs recruiters are: Interpersonal skills, Communication skills, Strategic Thinking and Leadership. And around 50% of the recruiters that responded are based in Asia; this is notable as MBA students from this region have traditionally been strong in the hard skills associated with business school and weaker in soft skills.

MBA recruitment

This news is unsurprising, however, as TopMBA.com has noted the rise in soft skills for several years. MBA programs globally have taken this demand on board and many top business schools are attempting what can be a tricky balancing act, shoring up MBAs soft skills while, simultaneously, trying to firm up the traditional knowledge that MBAs will need. After all, a great communicator with little idea of financial models is going to severely limit their job opportunities when leaving business school. 

Additionally, many MBA candidates I have spoken to on the QS World MBA Tour, in Asia particularly, fail to appreciate the value of such learning, even seeing it as a waste of time. Especially when compared with more classroom hours with a noted finance professor, for example.

For those MBA candidates, the need to look at the Jobs and Salary Trends Report is greater than ever before. According to recruiters, too many business school graduates hit the job market lacking the demanded skills that go beyond the qualification.

Mitch O’Brien of Emissary Pharmaceuticals in Australia says, “MBAs represent an interesting pool of potential business leaders with broad business skills, however they often come with an arrogant expectation of career progression. I would like to see more emotional intelligence taught and realistic career counselling provided.”

Sean Hewitt, a careers advisor, highlights the following nine areas as a general guide: “Keep a winning attitude; be a team player; communicate effectively; exude confidence; hone your creative skills; accept and learn from criticism; motivate yourself & lead others; multitask and prioritize your to-do list; see the big picture.”

Easier said than done perhaps? Wendy Lyons, Managing Consultant at London’s Human Assets, and an expert in the field, says: “For employers, getting the right people means identifying people with the right skills and qualities to fulfil the role and contribute to the organization’s success and it’s really important to be aware that different roles have different requirements.

"You might need to be an amazing communicator for one role but not necessarily for another so it’s important to recognize what is needed by the role in question.”

Whatever role the MBA graduate is aiming for, improving all areas of their leadership personality, including their soft skills, will greatly benefit their career progress, if the opinions of recruiters are important. And, as the TopMBA Jobs and Salary Trends Report clearly says, MBA recruiters’ opinions are the most important of all.

Basic soft skill development techniques

Despite this, I am often asked about what exactly soft skills are and how to develop them. The simplest answer is to work to your strengths, but work on your weaknesses even harder. It’s clear that the MBA is a complex program, and takes up a lot of time, so doing this while poring over complex case studies may not be everyone’s idea of a good time, but it’s evidently worth it.

The following is a list of suggestions on how to adapt successfully to a role and to learn a better approach to communication, man-management and leadership:

1)      Get specific feedback from colleagues and peers (and clients if you can) on the qualities that are important for the roles you want or may be applying for. Consider ways of capitalizing on your strengths as well as focusing on areas that need development. And prepare to take negative criticism on board as well as positive.

2)      Identify somebody who you think is particularly successful at demonstrating the skills you want to develop. Talk to them/sit in meeting with them and gain an insight into their approach.

3)      Think back to a recent time when you weren’t very successful at influencing or convincing an individual. Ask the individual how you came across and what you might have done differently to be more successful. Prepare for bad news, and accept it.

4)      Develop the habit of critically reviewing the impact you have had after any meeting. Consider ways to increase your impact and put this into practice. A top tip here? Record your thoughts and refer to them before the next meeting.

5)      Take opportunities to regularly network, within your organization and externally. Don’t just approach people when you need their help.
      Spend more time with people who you find difficult to deal with. Don’t just think about your feelings about them, but think about how they might view you. Try out different approaches with them to see if you can develop a more effective relationship with them.

6)               
Rate this article

-          Ross Geraghty

The Africa leg of the QS MBA World Tour takes place 24 March to 31 March and touches down in Accra, Lagos, Johannesburg and Nairobi. For more information and free online registration visit our website: http://www.topmba.com/mba-tour/?partnerid=4370