The MBA.Todd Henry, in his recent 'book bully' pod cast, recommended that Accidental Creative members read the book "design" by Tom Peters. I don't know if you've heard of Todd Henry yet, he is the founding genius behind "The Accidental Creative" web empire, an interactive lifestyle site designed to appeal specifically to creative thinkers of all shapes, sizes and art forms. If you aren't familiar with his work I have a feeling you will be soon. This special pod cast was called "the book bully" because, he explains, his friends often call him a "book bully" who will beat up on you until you read what he thinks you should read. In this case he is dead on right, this is a seminal book every person in business/advertising/marketing should be required to read, and perhaps read twice.

One of the ideas in the book Peters discusses is the idea that the "MFA is the new MBA". This statement made the rounds a couple years ago and then died out. I never gave it much weight until I read it in the context of this book. I became entranced by the boldness of that statement. I wrote one of my college professors about it and asked her what this concept might mean for someone about to embark upon an MBA (as I am). Perhaps, I thought out loud, I should be pursuing an MFA instead of an MBA? My second reaction was conditioned by my education. I researched the income levels of current MFA's to try and find a trend indicative of what Peters was writing about. Certainly there must be some hidden economic story behind the statement by this great business guru (named the "über-guru" by the Economist). I found no such evidence and I began thinking that maybe old Tom was missing a few nuts and bolts in that old engineers head of his.


The quote itself, it turns out, originated from someone other than Peters. It is attributed to Daniel Pink, a writer at Wired Magazine (among other outlets) who first wrote it for the Harvard Business Review. I went back to reading Peters' book. Then I read the last chapter of the book and came upon a new understanding, a satori (a moment of enlightened insight).When I read the final chapter I got it...the proverbial 'light bulb' went off in my head.


I realized that the point of it wasn't about the money, at least not directly. The truth that I awoke to is that business people can get so caught up in the numbers (as I obviously had trying to understand the philosophical idea he is putting forth) that they miss the most fundamental building blocks of branding. Passion, passion for who you are, what you stand for, and what makes you unique? These questions apply to you as an individual and your company as well. Whether you are the CEO or the janitor, it's about the Vision, it's about buying in to the company Vision and helping to make that Vision work in a brand. That brand can be yourself, or the company you work for. Business is about more than just quarterly reports and advertising ROI. Sure, those things are important, but its' also about caring passionately about what you're doing, and why you're doing it.


That's the lesson that MBA's should be learning from MFA's. It's not about which Masters Degree makes the most money (which is where my mind was all along). In fact it's not about the degree at all, and it's not about the dollars...it's about who you are. It's about communicating "who you are" and what that means to helping other people achieve their dreams. The takeaway from his book is: Being passionate about who you are and what you have to say helps other people reach their dreams. Helping other people achieve their dreams will make you fulfilled, both spiritually and as a businessperson. Understanding how to make a dramatic difference in people's lives by being your authentic self is the challenge of melding the spiritual and material together. Being able to do that will allow you to be as wealthy as you choose to be... in either world.