Business Intelligence

And Why They Can’t Make You Street Smart

by Mark H. McCormack (08900)

A business school can’t teach you how to be street-smart. You have to go out and get experience for yourself in the business world to start developing the ability to make the most of your business strengths.

Business is a competition, and any high-level, sophisticated competition is played more in the head than it is in the office. By keeping your eyes open to experiences happening all around you, and by thinking clearly about your own career and company, you can learn the effective techniques of salesmanship, negotiating skills, starting, building and running a business, managing people and getting things done.

The people making the most money in any business field are those who are at the cutting edge of their particular industry. Taking that edge requires innovative and creative thinking combined with intuitive business knowledge. The process is hard, but the payoff is worthwhile.

As an introduction to business, a Law degree or an MBA (Master of Business Administration) are worthwhile endeavors. However, as an education, both degrees are at best a foundation and worst a naive form of arrogance. The best lesson anyone can learn from a business school is an awareness of what it can’t teach you — all the ins and outs of everyday business life.

This is really about street smarts — the ability to make active, positive use of your insights, instincts and perceptions. Street smarts are simply applied people sense, the basis of any business association. Street smarts involves reading people and using that knowledge to get what you want.

Business demands innovation, of being on the leading edge of any field of business expertise. Intellect, intelligence or graduate degrees will never be substitutes for common sense, people sense and street smarts.

What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School
What They Still Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School

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