The Idea:

"The PMBA is more flexible than a traditional MBA program, doesn't involve going into massive debt, and won't interrupt your income stream for two years. Just pick up one of these business books, learn as much as you can, discuss what you learn with others, then go out into the real world and make great things happen."

At the site, the creator Josh Kaufman discusses the many issues and questions surrounding this non-traditional approach and its value in contrast to professional and expensive standard educational programs. It is by no means the end-all alternative to a $150,000.00 professional degree, and some career fields desire the paper certificate, regardless of whether or not you have the knowledge, but for $1.50 in library late fees...it's a pretty cool framework.


What he created:
[PMBA author's opinions]

"The core of the Personal MBA is a list of the very best books the business press has to offer . Some books will give you tools: processes or actions you can apply immediately to improve your life and work. Others will give you ideas: help in envisioning what you and your business are capable of becoming. All of them will give you mental models: useful ways of thinking about the world that you can use to your advantage in a wide variety of situations.

The Personal MBA Recommended Reading List is the tangible result of hundreds of hours of reading, research, discussion, and evaluation. By reading these books and applying what you learn to your daily life, you will progressively develop a greater understanding of business and increase your effectiveness in the working world. Each book in the list has been selected for a single purpose: to maximize your educational return on invested time."

My Takeaways:

Questioning the process and sparking a debate was a big one for me:

• Can a traditional MBA program help you?
• Will a traditional MBA teach you anything you can't learn by yourself?
• Is a traditional MBA worth my time and money?

We are all going to have different answers, and mine are not all no, but I started to see the idea at a higher level.

What Josh did was create a framework, a system, something...yes, something that he could market...but more importantly, an alternative way of achieving a goal he envisioned. I know this is pretty much common sense, everything from Harvard Business School to McDonalds is just a framework of ideas and actions, but I love how close to the entrepreneurial beginning this is. It is something that I see can being applied to other areas of development.

"The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get. "
- Jim Rohn

What are some ways we can apply this way of thinking to other areas of personal and professional development?

1. Develop a framework, create a structure, make a plan
   
   Without a framework it is difficult or impossible to predict the value of a course of action, set goals, and track progress. It's like signing up for a gym membership and showing up every once in a while, not planning a routine, what machines, weights, and exercises will target different muscles?, how much cardiovascular training? it's just an added expense.
   
   
2. Start today, and measure your progress on a regular basis
   
   "A knowledge of the path cannot be substituted for putting one foot in front of the other." - M. C. Richards
   
   Pay attention to where you stand, where you've come from, if you do not keep track and measure your progress, you are unlikely to succeed. This whole blog is a result of us tracking our financial progress and has grown as we grow.
   
   
3. Adjust the plan as you work towards your goals
   
   No one ever said you must stick to your original plan. As you learn more about what is making the most progress towards your goal, or now that you are in the middle of it, you have a completely different end in mind, make adjustments and tweak the process. Is the goal no longer as valuable as it once was?, scrap the whole thing and start over, take what you've learned and achieve the next one faster.
   
   
4. Share what you learn, maybe even make some money
   
   I have often stumbled upon someone's great idea and it sparked whole new directions for my life and my goals. If you have an idea, share it. If you want, maybe even organize it and sell it. The PMBA site gets commission if people buy the books from Amazon through him, we have ads and a few affiliates like Amazon on our site too, why not?
   
   
5. Deal with set backs
   
   Lez and I have had many setbacks and days of zero accomplishment that we would like erase and rewrite. It's easy to and it's easy not to make progress. We try to fix things, set them back on track, and keep moving.
   

If you get a chance, check out the PMBA site and especially the community (new and a little sparse, but hopefully picking up soon) where you can discuss each book and general business and personal development ideas.