Business School Quotes:

I didn't leave business school to go bankrupt.

- Steve Ballmer

topic: School, Business School

Business schools reward complex behavior but it's the simple behavior that makes you successful in life

- John C. Maxwell

topic: School, Successful, Simple, Business School

The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective.

- Warren Buffett

topic: Business, War, School, Good Behavior, Investment Success

Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence." (Harvard Business School definition of leadership)

- Sheryl Sandberg

topic: Success, School, Impact, Women Leadership, Business Woman

From what I've seen, you either get grounded in that kind of positive thinking early on in life or you don't. Establishing priorities and using your time well aren't things you can pick up at the Harvard Business School. Formal learning can teach you a great deal, but many of the essential skills in life are the ones you have to develop on your own.

- Lee Iacocca

source: Lee Iacocca, William Novak (2011). “Iacocca: An Autobiography”, p.21, Bantam

topic: School, Positive Thinking, Skills, Business School

Most executives, many scientists, and almost all business school graduates believe that if you analyze data, this will give you new ideas. Unfortunately, this belief is totally wrong. The mind can only see what it is prepared to see.

- Edward de Bono

source: Edward de Bono (2017). “Teach Yourself To Think”, p.115, Penguin UK

topic: Believe, School, Data, Business School

If Thomas Edison had gone to business school, we would all be reading by larger candles.

- Mark McCormack

source: Mark H. McCormack (2016). “What They Don't Teach You At Harvard Business School”, p.9, Profile Books

topic: Reading, School, Gone, Business School

Business schools don't create successful people. They simply accept them, then take credit for their success.

- Josh Kaufman

source: Josh Kaufman (2010). “The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business”, p.46, Penguin

topic: School, Successful, People, Business School

I guess when you go to business school you never turn business off.

- Mindy Kaling

topic: School, Turns, Business School

To invest successfully, you need not understand beta, efficient markets, modern portfolio theory, option pricing or emerging markets. You may, in fact, be better off knowing nothing of these. That, of course, is not the prevailing view at most business schools, whose finance curriculum tends to be dominated by such subjects. In our view, though, investment students need only two well-taught courses - How to Value a Business, and How to Think About Market Prices.

- Warren Buffett

source: Richard J. Connors, Warren Buffett (2010). “Warren Buffett on Business: Principles from the Sage of Omaha”, p.152, John Wiley & Sons

topic: Business, School, Thinking, Efficient Markets, Pricing

Business is essentially applied rationality: a systematic process of thinking that produces a real-world result. Instead of mortgaging your life to go to business school, it's possible to dramatically increase your knowledge of business on your own time and with little cost - without setting foot inside a classroom.

- Josh Kaufman

topic: Real, School, Thinking, Business School

Creating the culture of burnout is opposite to creating a culture of sustainable creativity. This is something that needs to be taught in business schools. This mentality needs to be introduced as a leadership and performance-enhancing tool.

- Arianna Huffington

topic: Creativity, School, Opposites, Burnout, Trailblazing

In business school classrooms they construct wonderful models of a non- world.

- Peter Drucker

topic: Education, School, World, Business School

The subordinate's job is not to reform or reeducate the boss, not to make him conform to what the business schools or the management book say bosses should be like. It is to enable a particular boss to perform as a unique individual.

- Peter Drucker

topic: Jobs, Book, School, Business School, Unique Individuals

Any path you take, if you commit with passion, you can be successful. By going to business school, certain opportunities may open up to you sooner. But it's who you are and how you take advantage of your opportunities that matter.

- Dan Rosensweig

topic: Passion, School, Successful, Business School

Hiring people with diverse backgrounds brings in a flexibility of thought and openness to new ways of doing things, as opposed to hiring clones from business schools who have been taught a codified way of doing business.

- Yvon Chouinard

source: Yvon Chouinard (2016). “Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman--Including 10 More Years of Business Unusual”, p.199, Penguin

topic: School, People, Way, Business School, New Ways Of Doing Things

The problem is that many times people suspend their common sense because they get drowned in business models and Harvard business school teachings.

- Mo Ibrahim

topic: Teaching, School, People, Business School

I believe no amount of business school training or work experience can teach what is ultimately a matter of personal character. Businesses are not dishonest or greedy, people are. Thus, a business, successful or not, is merely a reflection of the character of its leadership.

- S. Truett Cathy

topic: Believe, School, Character, Personal Character, Greedy People

Business schools make a fortune forcing their students to take in a HUGE amount of information. The majority of it is theoretical. The majority of that is useless.

- Josh Kaufman

topic: School, Majority, Useless, Theoretical, Business School

Interest in business ethics courses has surged, and student activities at leading business schools are more focused than ever before on making business serve long-term social values.

- Peter Singer

topic: School, Long, Ethics, Business School, Business Ethics

My background was computer science and business school, so eventually I worked my way up where I was running product groups - development, testing, marketing, user education.

- Melinda Gates

topic: Running, School, Marketing, Business School

Business schools are failing to teach the students about the risks of market failures. We need to include some material on market failures in the core of curriculum.

- Pankaj Ghemawat

topic: School, Risk, Needs, Market Failure, Business School

In 2007, Stanford Business School Advisory committee asserted that self awareness was the most important attribute a leader should develop. The challenge for the modern entrepreneur is to take that path.

- Kevin Kelly

topic: School, Self, Entrepreneur, Advisory, Stanford

There's a rule they don't teach you at Harvard Business School. It is: If anything is worth doing, it's worth doing to excess.

- Edwin Land

topic: School, Excess, Harvard, Business School

Don't go to business school.

- Paul Hawken

topic: Business, School, School Bus, Business School

You wouldn't want to be called a sell-out by selling a product. Selling out was frowned on, whereas now you can major in it at business school.

- Alan Alda

topic: Business, School, Want, Selling Out, Business School

Most business schools are geared toward churning out investment bankers and management consultants.

- Vivek Wadhwa

topic: School, Bankers, Management, Churning, Consultants

In Business School they taught us about cash flow, not about corporate politics; about return on equity, not about egos and pride. Oh, there were optional courses on 'Organizational Behavior' and 'Managerial Skills,' but these were a little too bloodless to convey what I learned on the job.

- Mary Cunningham Agee

topic: Leadership, Jobs, Business, Ego And Pride, Business School

I run my company according to feminine principles, principles of caring, making intuitive decisions, not getting hung up on hierarchy or all those dreadfully boring business-school management ideas; having a sense of work as being part of your life, not separate from it; putting your labor where your love is; being responsible to the world in how you use your profits; recognizing the bottom line should stay at the bottom.

- Anita Roddick

topic: Running, Business, School, Intuitive, Business School

A great advantage I had when I started The Body Shop was that I had never been to business school.

- Anita Roddick

source: Anita Roddick (1994). “Body and soul: profits with principles, the amazing success story of Anita Roddick & the Body Shop”, Three Rivers Press

topic: Business, School, Body, School Bus, Business School

I was a general business major, which meant that in any business school and particularly at Smith School, which is a very good school, you do a lot of team projects. Well I was the guy who gave the presentations for the team projects.

- Kevin Plank

source: "A $10 Business". "I Am American Business" Interview, www.cnbc.com. June 24, 2012.

topic: Team, School, Guy, Business School, Good School

I teach in the medical school, the School of Public Health, the Kennedy School of Government, and the Business School. And it's the best perch... because most of my work crosses boundaries.

- Michael Porter

topic: School, Government, Medical, Medical School, Business School

I do not know whether to be delighted or outraged by the fact that Literary Theory: An Introduction was the subject of a study by a well known U.S. business school, which was intrigued to discover how an academic text could become a best-seller.

- Terry Eagleton

topic: School, Facts, Study, Literary Theory, Best Sellers

When a young woman tells me that she wants to become and actor, I say, 'No, be a writer. Or go to business school and learn how to run a studio.' The only real change will come from behind the scenes.

- Halle Berry

source: "Berry Almost Chose Bylines Over Marquees". Interview with Geoff Pevere, www.thestar.com. April 13, 2007.

topic: Running, Real, School, Real Change, Business School

The only thing I ever learned was that some people are lucky and other people aren't and not even a graduate of the Harvard Business School can say why.

- Kurt Vonnegut

source: Kurt Vonnegut (1988). “The Sirens of Titan: An Original Novel”, Laurel

topic: School, People, Luck, Business School

I went to business school but left after four months because I just didn't want to be a puppet of society, stuck in an office, craving some sunlight.

- Michelle Rodriguez

topic: School, Office, Four, Business School

In 15 years from now half of US universities may be in bankruptcy ... in the end I'm excited to see that happen. So pray for Harvard Business School if you wouldn't mind.

- Clayton Christensen

topic: School, Years, Mind, Business School

Nothing can kill the future dreams and goals of a new graduate than 50k of debt like an anvil over your head. I got to Indiana University not because I visited the campus and loved everything about it. I picked Indiana University because I saw a list of the top 10 business schools and it was the cheapest.

- Mark Cuban

source: Interview with Ryan Babikian, elitedaily.com. May 30, 2012.

topic: Dream, School, Goal, Future Dreams, Business School

I took a job at the Walt Disney Company and after 18 months decided to go to business school at Harvard. I was awestruck by the campus. My first reaction was I dont belong here. Then I said, Im here; lets get on with it.

- Jason Kilar

topic: Jobs, School, Months, Walt Disney Company, Awestruck

Very few, if any, first-generation black or white or Asian kids will pursue a Ph.D. They'll pursue the professions for economic security. Many will go to law school and/or business school.

- Henry Louis Gates

source: "Henry Louis Gates Uncovers 'Faces Of America'". "Talk of the Nation" with Neal Conan, www.npr.org. February 17, 2010.

topic: School, Kids, Law, Black Or White, Business School

Most of my writing friends are working in academia. Most of my business school friends are always talking about bringing companies public, and money, and making money, and lots and lots of money. It's just a different environment.

- Victoria Chang

topic: Writing, School, Talking, Different Environments, School Friends

Fun is at the core of the way I like to do business and it has been key to everything I've done from the outset. More than any other element, fun is the secret of Virgin's success. I am aware that the ideas of business as being fun and creative goes right against the grain of convention, and it's certainly not how the they teach it at some of those business schools, where business means hard grind and lots of 'discounted cash flows' and net' present values'.

- Richard Branson

topic: Fun, School, Mean, Business School

I've lectured at the Harvard Business School several times.

- Christie Hefner

topic: School, Harvard, Business School

I've been among their critics [MBA programs]. Much of what I've seen in business schools is quite non-rigorous. Anecdotal histories are stretched to illustrate favored slogans. Evidence of their effectiveness is similarly anecdotal.

- Charles R. Morris

topic: School, Mba Programs, Effectiveness, Business School

I never went to business school. I was just bumbling through a lot of my life. I was like the guy behind the curtain in The Wizard of Oz.

- David Geffen

topic: School, Guy, Wizards, Business School

If you're looking to become an entrepreneur then don't waste your time going to university or business school - just get on and do it.

- Richard Branson

topic: School, Entrepreneur, Waste, Business School

At the Harvard Business School, I really felt I had gained the ability to resolve difficult issues. But I also felt that I wasn't in the mainstream with my fellow students. During job-hunting season, for example, everybody shaved their beards for interviews. I thought, 'This is crazy.' So I grew a beard.

- Thomas G. Stemberg

topic: Inspirational, Funny, Motivational, Hunting Season, Business School

In the United States we have the great Harvard Business School, but America is the country with the greatest debt in the world.

- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

topic: Country, School, America, Business School

Let me tell you, very frankly, when I went to the Harvard Business School I was more or less a committed socialist.

- P. Chidambaram

topic: School, Harvard, Socialist, Business School