担任讲师的经历，让我了解到很多人会在28岁、35岁和42岁这几个关键的年龄点，考虑改变事业的方向。大学毕业生的选择之一，就是重返学术界攻读MBA。
这一决定背后的情感动因包括：希望拓展知识的一般性愿望；提高赚钱能力的野心；以及一种通常情况下的本能冲动——希望成为一名企业家，这样就可以为自己、而不是别人打工。
我的建议是：就其本身而言，良好的教育虽然总是有价值和帮助的，但并不是成为一名成功企业家的必要前提。大多数成功的企业家都和我谈到，他们16岁时辍学，面对没有文凭的阴影。其中许多人存在阅读障碍。
各个层面上的企业家精神，更大程度上是与直觉、而非勤勉有关。多数MBA课程都以大量的调查和学术研究为特色，而当MBA毕业生面对要求即刻应对的艰难挑战时，这种方法可能导致他们的分析瘫痪。
但我对MBA课程的批评，主要集中在特定模块针对销售的内容太少。创造收入是头等大事，不能留给你今后可能想要雇用的员工；一位企业家必须对销售过程的运作有一个深入的了解。
如果你在寻找对曼彻斯特商学院(Manchester Business School) MBA项目的评价，你或许该问问约翰•麦考利(John Macaulay)。他在曼彻斯特大学(University of Manchester)拿到了高分子科学学士学位，然后他加盟Greggs和英国联合食品公司 (Associated British Foods)，在食品行业获得了职业生涯的成功。
他的业余爱好是房地产，在英国和东欧地区建立了一个小型投资组合。麦考利后来创立了一家企业，为一家以销售为导向的地产开发商提供营销、客户服务和财务控制服务。
这些事情使生活得到了保障，并为他提供了充足的收入，使他可以攻读全职MBA。他的愿望一直是运用这些知识成为一名企业家，之前他已经认定，在一家大型机构担任财务总监的职业生涯不适合自己。
麦考利发现，在一个企业家辈出的社会，MBA课程非常合他的胃口，他又很多机会在课程中展示自己的商业实力。
他曾在上海的中欧国际工商学院(China Europe International Business School)学习，专门研究创新、企业家精神、谈判和消费行为。
让他感到惊讶的是，他的同学中后来成为企业家的人很少，仅占总人数的2%。他对此的解释是，其中许多人立即被待遇丰厚的公司职位所吸引，因为他们之前是借钱来支付学费的。
一旦还清了最初的债务，这些人很快习惯了高薪，同时也变得制度化。
由于发现了一批80年代和90年代所谓曼切斯特乐队的本地追随者，当时还在上MBA的麦考利，凭借自己对中国的了解和对于音乐的激情，Puressence乐队和石玫瑰(Stone Roses)乐队前贝斯手Gary ”Mani” Mounfield邀请到了上海和北京。
基于他组织具有挑战性的原创现场活动的经历，自那之后，他与经验丰富的社会企业家马尔科姆•麦克林(Malcolm McClean)建立了一家针对小众的会务公司Bearhunt Sympo。
麦考利觉得，MBA课程的学术内容既具有挑战性，同时也与现实相关。他在曼彻斯特和上海学习时所建立的社会网络和人际关系，对他的长期发展也同样重要。
随着新公司日益壮大，他最大的挑战将是物色关键职位的恰当人选。幸运的是，他的曼彻斯特商学院校友录包含了一份理想的候选人名单。
译者/杨卓
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001033621
My experience as a mentor has shown me that many people consider a change in career direction at the key ages of 28, 35 and 42. One of the options for graduates is a return to academia to study for an MBA.
The emotional drivers behind this decision include a general desire to expand one's knowledge, the ambition to increase one's earning power, and the often-primeval urge to become an entrepreneur, to work for oneself, not someone else.
My advice is that a good education, while always valuable and useful in itself, is not a necessary pre-requisite to success as an entrepreneur. Most of the successful entrepreneurs have told me their stories of leaving school at 16 under a cloud without qualifications. Many are also dyslexic.
Entrepreneurship at all levels is also more about intuition than industry. Most MBA courses feature a significant amount of research and academic study, which can result in analysis paralysis when MBA graduates are faced with difficult challenges requiring an instant response.
But my main criticism of MBA courses is how few have a specific module on sales. Revenue generation is too important to be left to people you might want to hire later; an entrepreneur has to have an in-depth knowledge of how the sales process works.
If you are looking for an opinion on the MBA from Manchester Business School, you might want to consult John Macaulay. He completed his undergraduate degree in Polymer Science at Manchester University, and then had a successful career in the food industry with Greggs and Associated British Foods.
He had a side interest in property, and built up a small portfolio in both in the UK and Eastern Europe. Macaulay then set up a business that looked after the marketing, customer care and financial controls for a sales-oriented property developer.
These activities enabled him to have a roof over his head and provide sufficient income to undertake a full-time MBA. His ambition was always to use this knowledge to become an entrepreneur, having already decided that a career as a finance director of a large organisation was not for him.
Macaulay found the MBA very much to his liking, with a flourishing entrepreneurs' society, and many opportunities to flex his business muscles whilst on the course.
He spent time at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai, focusing on innovation, entrepreneurship, negotiation and customer behaviour.
What surprised him was how few of his classmates later became entrepreneurs, only 2 per cent of the total. He puts this down to many of them being immediately drawn to lucrative corporate jobs, having borrowed money to pay for the course.
Once the initial debt was cleared, they soon became used to a good salary and effectively became institutionalised.
Whilst still on his MBA course Macaulay used his knowledge of China and passion for music to take the band Puressence and former Stone Roses bassist Gary ”Mani” Mounfield to Shanghai and Beijing, having discovered a local following for the so-called Madchester bands of the 80s and 90s.
Based on his track record in delivering original and challenging live experiences, he has since formed a niche events company, Bearhunt Sympo, with experienced social entrepreneur Malcolm McClean.
Macaulay found the academic content of his MBA challenging and relevant. Just as important to him for the longer term were the network and connections he developed while studying in Manchester and Shanghai.
As his new company grows, his biggest challenge will be finding the right people for key roles. Fortunately he has an ideal list of candidates in his Manchester Business School Alumni list.
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