Harbus

I have a different take from the sensationalistic reviews and the mildly defensive articles in Harbus. Although I lean more towards the "sour grape" option given above.

To me the book is first and foremost an exercise in self-justification and rationalization. Unwittingly it becomes the story of someone who attends HBS with only the vaguest of reasons for pursuing an MBA and with little knowledge of HBS beyond the "brand" and ranking. Delves Broughton made a poorly informed decision and then spends 283 pages trying to justify it. The take away: MBA applicants need to know what they want to do with the degree and why they want to attend HBS -- leaving aside the brand. That Why MBA and Why HBS question is an important one to answer -- even if it doesn't appear on the HBS application and Delves Broughton managed to fake an answer on his application (when it did appear).

That's my perspective. A little quirky and different from most others who have opined on the book, but not surprising considering that I am an admissions consultant. Nonetheless, I can certainly understand why many at HBS feel that "Above the Curve" hits below the belt.

Is this the view of 70,000 Alums. I have my serious doubts. As they say ' you only get what you look for'..To me it seems Broughton missed out on the real experience.I have not read the book and I have no intention to read.

An individuals 'skewed' view cannot take away from HBS its reputation as a global leader for learning and education, something so carefully built over 100 years.

My deepest apologies to current HBS students. My generation has wrecked America, and left all of us with energy and financial bankruptcy. Ironically, it was an HBS faculty team who pioneered peak oil research in the 1970's, which they presented to us in class -- but I doubt that HBS has confronted you with what it means to be too late to the table. In a deindustrializing economy, skills requirements go forward to the past, viz, clothesmaking and food growing trump investment banking and management consulting (or anything else that involves the sweat of others' brows). And shrinking organizations don't place a premium on having new politicians join them -- the existing ones believe those dwindling slots are for themselves, thank you very much.

For the truth about the world you are inheriting, try James Kunstler's "The Long Emergency".

I'm a potential admit to the class of 2011 and just finished the book with mixed apprehension. Deirdre Leopold suggested I read it after we talked in Los Angeles about how HBS looks at applications from journalists.

PDB comes across with candor about the experience. He writes movingly at times and with insight, but I was surprised by the level of his expectations. It was as though he bought into the school's unspoken promises hook, line and sinker. Was it realistic for him to believe "I've gotten into HBS, now I'm set for life?"

Most of his stress seemed to be focused around finding a job after school, but what did he do to address it? Did he reach out to graduates to learn what he might do best? Did he go to conferences or try to meet with executives at places he wanted to work? If he did, it wasn't in the book.

PDB might have really benefited from an reality check early in his HBS experience. What did he WANT to do? It sounds like he basically wanted to make money and not travel. He describes his ideal job of working in a back office and not being disturbed by a computer or a telephone. I'm a writer and that's basically what a writer does: sits someplace quiet and writes.

What's the one thing HBS could have offered PDB and didn't? Some insight into his own psyche. Not getting a summer internship should have been a big red flag to someone at the school or at least to PDB. Would he have been happy if he'd known exactly what it was he wanted to do coming out of the school? Would he have been happy if he'd had a realistic expectation of what the job market was going to be like or if he'd realized that HBS wouldn't score him a job so much as it would open the door for an interview?

I don't know. The book has certainly caused me to think more seriously about exactly what I want to do coming out of the school and how I might use it as a launchpad for those ambitions. The application process forces one degree of introspection, but reading "Ahead of the Curve" really forced another on me.

Net-net, I took away a positive vibe from the book. He bemoans the anti-family aspect of many jobs that graduates take out of school, but I know enough about myself to know those jobs aren't for me. I liked that he got a serious dose of analytical analysis and critical thinking and am looking forward to building those skills in myself.