After graduating from Wharton in 1985, consultant and venture capitalist Peter Cohan plotted a typical MBA career path: Start in consulting, join a big company, then rise to the top. Except there was one problem: "I wanted to be my own boss."
The realization was good not only for Cohan, who started a management consulting firm 14 years ago, but also for the companies who have benefited from his sage advice: AT&T, Fidelity Investments, Microsoft, Oracle. He has also written seven books on everything from the DNA of leadership to analyzing stocks. His picks in the monthly Cohan Letter consistently beat the S&P 500. He's an adjunct professor at Babson College, and a perennial TV talking head. "At the center of what I do," says Cohan, "is tackling complex problems, gathering data, analyzing it, reaching a conclusion, and then persuading others that those conclusions are valid."
Q: You've praised the value of teamwork in your books and lectures. Yet MBAs remain self-consumed and ultra-competitive. Does your spiel fall on deaf ears at Babson?
A: Well, if teamwork is good enough for Goldman Sachs, it should be good enough for MBAs, many of whom would love to hang their hat there. Goldman was one of the only successful banks in 2007, avoiding much of the subprime mortgage slime. Last year, Goldman's top management was concerned about being overexposed to subprime mortgages and thought it would be wise to hedge their position. Midlevel managers had the same fear. They worked together and debated, discussed, and developed strategies to short their subprime position. In other words, information didn't flow from just the top down, but from the bottom up. Together they came up with a winning solution.
On the other hand, Stan O'Neal, the recently deposed CEO of Merrill Lynch, saw that Goldman was loading up on subprime securities, and ordered his subprime group to do what Goldman was doing. He didn't solicit feedback from the mortgage desk and apparently didn't know that Goldman was shorting their position. As a result, Merrill is in a very tough spot right now.
Q: Are B-schools driving home the concept of teamwork?
A: When I went to Wharton, I was graded on my individual contributions: Teamwork wasn't on the front burner. These days, teamwork is a sought-after commodity. I know at Babson I want my students to work as a team and present as a team. However, just because business professors push teamwork doesn't mean that companies necessarily do.
Q: Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, believes that humility and vision, more than a towering personality and extreme charisma, make for a successful CEO. Your opinion?
A: Both can work. Jim McNerney, the winning CEO of Boeing, fits Collins' description. But the charisma and genius of Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett drive their companies, Apple and Berkshire Hathaway, to the top of the heap. If you're planning to work at a company, know its culture really well before joining. Some companies thrive on the star system. Others believe that team players are stars.
Q: Babson has turned out a slew of entrepreneurs. What is the biggest misconception MBAs have about starting their own business?
A: It's not enough to have an exciting idea that addresses a big market. The most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who go out and talk with potential customers and listen closely to what they have to say. They're willing to get a prototype in front of their potential customers, get their feedback, and design the product so that before they launch, they know that customers will actually want to buy it. If you don't like to do that, you're probably not an entrepreneur at heart. Go work for an established company.
Q: What is the best-run Fortune 500 company right now?
A: Procter & Gamble jumps out at me. It's a great place for an MBA to start a career. A.G. Lafley, the CEO, is a strong manager; the company consistently creates new products and new markets; and it doesn't have any accounting or governance crises. PQ: Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, believes that humility and vision, more than a towering personality and extreme charisma, make for a successful CEO. Your opinion?
