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Ahead of the Curve: Two Years at Harvard Business School by Philip Delves Broughton Narrated by Simon Vance (Read Via Audible.com) I picked up this book purely upon Simon Vance Narrating it. The good news is I really did like the book. It really gives a window into the experience of Harvard business school and the type of thinking the school wants students to do. Moreover he really does touch on some excellent sociology of the impacts of the HBS perspective being pushed via its graduates in high places on the world.  This book really brought up a bigger group of thoughts for me though. Which is really the more abstract questions of work, money, what we value in society. Because I really am torn on what the value of a Business Administrator is. Yes, I am not nieve they really do have a purpose in business big and small. Especially around making sure the core operations don’t collapse due to as Merlin Mann puts it “Lizard Brain Decisions”. On the other side of that, a pure Business Administrator in some ways has the equivalent value of a lawyer in the trapped on a desert island scenario. The person does not make things in the traditional sense. Does not help people like a doctor or a mechanic. So why does this type of job have such high power. Yes I did glen the point that the late Randy Pausch made in his book the Last Lecture on how Captain Kirk brought to the table leadership to the USS Enterprise. But on the other hand, in the grand scheme of things, he did not have the exponentially higher salary as other people on the ship, and the division beaten the crew and himself felt that it seemed less somehow (granted I take my Trek Perspective from more Captain Picard as I grew up with TNG and later Voyager). hmm… I will have to think about this some more for a more detailed outside of a book review opinion. Broughton really surprised me by this book by it being very good. It has a good mix of day to day life, mixed with the nature of education with the balance of his own life which makes this book a great read. 9/10

Ahead of the Curve: Two Years at Harvard Business School by Philip Delves Broughton Narrated by Simon Vance (Read Via Audible.com)

I picked up this book purely upon Simon Vance Narrating it.

The good news is I really did like the book. It really gives a window into the experience of Harvard business school and the type of thinking the school wants students to do. Moreover he really does touch on some excellent sociology of the impacts of the HBS perspective being pushed via its graduates in high places on the world. 

This book really brought up a bigger group of thoughts for me though. Which is really the more abstract questions of work, money, what we value in society. Because I really am torn on what the value of a Business Administrator is. Yes, I am not nieve they really do have a purpose in business big and small. Especially around making sure the core operations don’t collapse due to as Merlin Mann puts it “Lizard Brain Decisions”. On the other side of that, a pure Business Administrator in some ways has the equivalent value of a lawyer in the trapped on a desert island scenario. The person does not make things in the traditional sense. Does not help people like a doctor or a mechanic. So why does this type of job have such high power.

Yes I did glen the point that the late Randy Pausch made in his book the Last Lecture on how Captain Kirk brought to the table leadership to the USS Enterprise. But on the other hand, in the grand scheme of things, he did not have the exponentially higher salary as other people on the ship, and the division beaten the crew and himself felt that it seemed less somehow (granted I take my Trek Perspective from more Captain Picard as I grew up with TNG and later Voyager).

hmm… I will have to think about this some more for a more detailed outside of a book review opinion.

Broughton really surprised me by this book by it being very good. It has a good mix of day to day life, mixed with the nature of education with the balance of his own life which makes this book a great read.

9/10

Posted 8 months ago
Tagged: book, .