After realizing that typical case studies for MBA students always use examples from major corporations and never consider small businesses, a trio of college professors in 2010 began a series of road trips to see how small businesses get the job done. The result is a book called "Roadside MBA."
"One of us — we all take credit, but nobody actually recalls whose
idea it was — pointed out that owners and managers of small and
medium-sized businesses might benefit from a dose of MBA knowledge, but
that business schools don’t always serve that market very well," professors Mike Mazzeo of Stanford University and
Scott Schaefer of the University of Utah write on their website. "So we
decided to hit the road in search of stories that we could use to help
translate MBA strategy frameworks for owners of small and medium-sized
businesses." (Map: Roadside MBA trip in 2011 from Denver to Oklahoma City)
Along the way they have "visited around 100 small and medium-size businesses," says the website. "We try to set a meeting with the owner or a general manager with significant operational and strategic oversight responsibility, and we usually start by just asking for the story of the business. From there, our visits usually turn in to a conversation in which the three of us ask questions about pricing, positioning, strategy, organization, succession, or other topics, depending on what strikes us as interesting. The people we’ve met are, without fail, creative and energetic, passionate and thoughtful, interesting and driven. It’s been really fun, and we have learned so much." (Read more)
For a review of the book from Small Business Trends click here.
"One of us — we all take credit, but nobody actually recalls whose
idea it was — pointed out that owners and managers of small and
medium-sized businesses might benefit from a dose of MBA knowledge, but
that business schools don’t always serve that market very well," professors Mike Mazzeo of Stanford University and
Scott Schaefer of the University of Utah write on their website. "So we
decided to hit the road in search of stories that we could use to help
translate MBA strategy frameworks for owners of small and medium-sized
businesses." (Map: Roadside MBA trip in 2011 from Denver to Oklahoma City)Along the way they have "visited around 100 small and medium-size businesses," says the website. "We try to set a meeting with the owner or a general manager with significant operational and strategic oversight responsibility, and we usually start by just asking for the story of the business. From there, our visits usually turn in to a conversation in which the three of us ask questions about pricing, positioning, strategy, organization, succession, or other topics, depending on what strikes us as interesting. The people we’ve met are, without fail, creative and energetic, passionate and thoughtful, interesting and driven. It’s been really fun, and we have learned so much." (Read more)
For a review of the book from Small Business Trends click here.
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