Citation
Wollard, K.K. (2012), "A review of The Mobile MBA", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 26 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/dlo.2012.08126aaa.002
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
A review of The Mobile MBA
Article Type: Book review From: Development and Learning in Organizations, Volume 26, Issue 1
Dr Karen K. Wollard is an HRD Consultant at Kelly Wollard & Associates inc, Hollywood, Florida, USA.
It is no surprise that Jo Owen is author of the UK’s number one book on leadership (How to Lead). His writing is precise, his comprehension of his subject is broad, and he doesn’t mince words. The Mobile MBA delivers on its promise to demonstrate how to apply MBA ideas in your daily work. This is a book for anyone who wants to succeed in an organization. The book is full of simple, powerful concepts. For example, in the Human Capital discussion in chapter 3, Owens defines HR strategy: when growing, increase job specialization; when in decline, combine jobs (p. 73). Simple, actionable wisdom appears throughout this book.
What is worthwhile?
The Mobile MBA addresses today’s work style by providing versatile content. The book is also linked to an online website at www.mobile-mba.com The book comes with 11 free video vignettes called “Skill-Pills” that are brief applications or discussions of a section of each of the 11 chapters. The content can also be accessed and downloaded using QR codes in the book and a smartphone app, making the online content “mobile.”
The book can be used in a variety of contexts. It is an easy cover-to-cover review of business concepts, beginning with five chapters on MBA theory, followed by six chapters on how to survive and thrive as a manager. Dipping into a chapter can clarify a way forward in an ambiguous or unfamiliar situation. As a handy reference, there are strategies and models to help managers frame a situation, make the most of a big win, and manage their career. The book and associated videos could also provide solid support for a training series for new managers, or as a self-study and discussion guide for a team or group looking to be more strategic, effective and competitive in the workplace.
The book uses helpful formats to make the content easy to grasp. The chapters have numerous, bold headings. There are lots of bulleted lists (i.e. the 4 Ps and 3 Cs of marketing), sidebars with numbered ideas or tips, and plenty of acronyms for remembering theories.
What is inside?
Chapters 1 to 5 lay out the major principles of the MBA education. Chapter 1 introduces strategic reality, offering Michael Porter versus C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel comparisons. The chapter gives a manager enough information to look smart and strategic in a discussion, and defines the terms of strategy. Chapter 2 tackles the techniques of marketing, sales and market strategy, concluding that people do not buy when there is too much risk or uncertainty (p. 34), a good lesson for lean times. Chapter 3 presents finance and accounting for the math adverse, including some excellent advice on how to manage a budget and how to make the numbers look good. Chapter 4, Human Capital, takes on the love/hate relationship between managers, human resource types, and even the training department. Owens holds managers responsible for everything – culture, compensation, training, coaching, terminations, quality, cost and development. Chapter 5, while officially titled “Operations, Technology and Change” is about how to get things done, whether that is improving quality, managing projects, or changing the game.
Chapters 6 to 11 present the self-management skills every corporate player needs. Chapter 6 includes great, simple, useful approaches to goal setting, delegating, motivating, coaching, praising, criticizing and managing other MBAs. Chapter 7 addresses the tension of dealing with colleagues who are also competitors. Chapter 8 teaches the arts of network building and wielding influence, including this advice, “You will not be fired for being part of the consensus, even if the consensus is wrong” (p. 131). Chapter 9 tackles self-management, with strategies to manage time, stress and adversity. Chapter 10 presents the “daily skills” of management, including listening, presenting, communicating and reading, all with a focus on maintaining the look and feel of a winner. Finally, the last chapter covers career management, which means building political skill. Owens recommends “a claim to fame, to stake your claim and to have sponsors” (p. 177). This chapter is essential reading for people who are ready to move ahead.
Here’s an example of why Jo Owens has been successful in business and as an author. On pages 103 and 104 he addresses motivation. First, he summarizes Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the quintessential management theory. Then he adds his own interpretation in italics of each level of the hierarchy as it relates to the workplace (i.e. 1. Physiological: food, water. Having a job, any job. Owens agrees that there is always something more that people want, so Maslow can be helpful in predicting what someone wants next. That said, Jo Owens then presents his list of motivators in practice: greed, fear, sex and idleness. He goes on to ignore sex (“has been used as a career weapon with great effect down through the ages”) and discuss succinctly how to use greed, fear and people’s willingness to take the easy route to greatest advantage.
What is the recommendation?
This is a book worth having nearby if you are a corporate player, or want to be. Jo Owens shares wisdom about what works, and helps the reader think through the application of theory. This is not a book for people who like textbooks, there is not a lot of in-depth discussion here. A successful manager with an MBA may be surprised to learn some practical ways to apply theory. Organizational development professionals may have an issue with the “training by tips” appearance of the content, though managers faced with novel or ambiguous situations might disagree. In a world that is changing fast, Jo Owens has penned an approachable book full of wisdom from the front line. Check out the website. Read the book, and go create your success.
Karen K. Wollard
References
Owen, J. (2011), The Mobile MBA: 112 Skills to Take You Further, Faster, Financial Times Prentice Hall, Harlow, ISBN: 9780273750215