More Than Money: Questions Every MBA Needs to Answer: Redefining Risk and Reward for a Life of Purpose [Hardcover]

Mark Albion (Author), Liz Cutler Maw (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 12, 2008

Can MBAs, often cast as risk-averse conflicted achievers caught in the MBA trap of "I'll make money now and then...," find their true happiness and achieve their destiny in the midst of societal and peer pressures?

Absolutely--if you recognize that what you thought were your safest career choices actually may be your riskiest. How so? Your safest choices keep you on your destiny path; your riskiest ones take you away from it.

How do you know? "More Than Money" offers four questions and twelve principles to keep you on your path and tools to help you measure where you are and what you need to do to fulfill your destiny.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

MBAs on More Than Money

"Mark nearly brought me to tears at many points throughout the book, as I deeply related to and agreed with much of what he had to say. It's comforting to read Mark's words and know that I am not alone."
-- Kristina Päster, Presidio School of Management MBA 2008

"Why do we need to suffer before finding our way? I wish I had read this book before I graduated."
-- Chiara Rinaldi, MBA SDA Bocconi (Italy), 2005

"More Than Money describes risk and reward in terms that fit the decisions of every person fortunate and driven enough to pursue an MBA. If you seek a life of value and real wealth, you must read this book."
--Aaron James, University of Michigan Ross School of Business MBA candidate, 2010

"This book should be required for all MBAs. I have shared the principles with my dean and fellow classmates, who all find them to be powerful."
--Ishita Deshmukh, Yale School of Management MBA candidate, 2009

"Don't miss this book--it's worth every penny to take the time to find your own destiny."
--Sarah Endline, Harvard Business School MBA 2001

From the Back Cover

Mark Albion's bestseller Making a Life, Making a Living inspired a new generation, Generation And, to strive for a life of money and meaning, cash and a calling--to discover a new, more fulfilling definition of "the good life." But as he traveled the country, speaking at scores of business schools and listening to MBAs' experiences, Mark found his audiences needed more than inspiration. They wanted guidance, a concrete way to clarify their values and design a life plan that combined profit and purpose, cash and a calling. The result is More Than Money.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Bk Life; 1st edition (October 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576756564
• ISBN-13: 978-1576756560
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #177,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As I've pursued a career these last 30 years, the essential question for me has been: "How can I be a Marxist and still own a Jacuzzi?"

My dream has been that I and the next generation of business leaders ' the generation our planet has been waiting for ' would find a way to have a significant impact on making the world a better place for all.

You see, I never really lost the ideals of the '60s. I just wanted material comforts, too. While I detested Western capitalism ' witnessed by my 15-month backpack around the world after college ' I returned to the West Point of Capitalism and even became a marketing professor there.

I spent nearly 20 years at Harvard Business School. A seven-time social entrepreneur, I left Harvard to develop a community of service-minded MBAs, co-founding Net Impact in 1993. I've made 600+ visits to speak at business schools on five continents, for which Business Week magazine dubbed me ' seriously ' -- 'the savior of B-school souls." I've written seven books, most recently More Than Money: Questions Every MBA Needs to Answer, with the animated movie, "The Good Life Parable: An MBA Meets a Fisherman.

I have two daughters, Amanda (1987) and Nicolette (1991), with my wife, since 1981, Joy. They are happy when I'm happy ("What does Daddy do?"... "I think he types."). I've had some business successes, some failures; we bought a big house, almost lost the big house, but somehow I just kept climbing that ladder of success, wrong by wrong.

In '97 I began the book I first tried to write while backpacking around the world, "Making a Life, Making a Living'," which became a New York Times Business Best Seller in January 2000. The morning I learned of the honor, I told my wife, who responded as any good wife would, "Congratulations, honey. Can you pick Amanda up after ballet today?" Or as Amanda said to me at a 2006 family dinner, "If you won the Nobel prize, daddy, I wouldn't love you any more than I already do."

My Favorite "Accomplishments":

1. Skied from base camp at Mount Everest.
2. Snuck into Pele's beach house when he wasn't there.
3. Viewed the Full Moon inside the Taj Mahal at night.
4. Rode a horse across Afghanistan.
5. Met Jacqueline Kennedy while wearing only a Speedo bathing suit.
6. Dove eye to eye alone with a humpback whale at 120 feet.
7. Hugged by Mother Teresa and Ronald Reagan'not at the same time.

Today, the answer to my 30 year-old question is clear: "We are all angels with one wing, able to fly only when we embrace each other." How do I hope to be remembered? I hope as, "He loved." And my generation remembered? As one that was a leaver not a taker, citizens more than consumers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Good Life, November 19, 2008

By 

Jeremy Sullivan "of BK" (SF, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: More Than Money: Questions Every MBA Needs to Answer: Redefining Risk and Reward for a Life of Purpose (Hardcover)

Length:: 3:05 Mins

14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Out of touch with most MBAs, May 9, 2009

By 

Jaewoo Kim "OB-Wan" (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: More Than Money: Questions Every MBA Needs to Answer: Redefining Risk and Reward for a Life of Purpose (Hardcover)

The author seems to be out of touch with the realities of today's MBA and everyday Americans. He fails to include that freedom to do what one wants costs a lot of money, which not everyone has.

The author says we should look at our own core values OTHER than money to determine our career choices. We should not just stick to the cookie cutter post MBA jobs such as investment banking and consulting. Rather, we should focus on what is really important to us and try to get into a career that will allow us to serve others. Moreover, making such a choice early in life is important since it becomes more difficult later in one's career.

The author seems to be removed from the financial realities of life in America. A very substantial portion of Americans live from paycheck to paycheck. Even a top notch MBA grad will make an average of low six figures which will not make him or her "wealthy". If you combine the fact a two year MBA can cost well over $250K (tuition+lost wages) in investment, it isn't surprising many MBAs cannot pay off their student loans even after 10-20 years after their MBA. If you add everyday bills such as mortgage, raising children, and retirement, then making lot money is not merely greed, but a neccessity.

Given the author's rather privileged background, it is easy to see why he lacks understanding of many of today's MBAs. The author says his family is full of big time lawyers, doctors, and CEOs. He seems to come from a rather wealthy family. The author has an MBA from Harvard and made a lot of money (probably several millions) from consulting and owning his business. Many of his examples are Harvard MBA grads who sometimes made hundreds of millions of dollars. It seems the author never had to struggle financially and always lived a financially stable life. No wonder he could easily walk away from his privileged life and do something he wants for far less money. He can afford to.

As far as the fisherman in a Mexican small village story, I think the story is cute but not pratical. Did you know that medical problems are number one reason for personal bankruptcy in America? If you have no money, you could be happy, but you certainly may not be able to pay for basic neccessities, such as medical care, when you really need one.

You don't want to end up poor and helpless?

Then you better do something else than heed the author's advice such as do smalltime fishing in Mexico unless you are a multi-millionaire like the author.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Mark Albion Speaks, Listen, September 24, 2008

By 

Kevin G. Salwen "social entrepreneur" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: More Than Money: Questions Every MBA Needs to Answer: Redefining Risk and Reward for a Life of Purpose (Hardcover)

For those who don't know his work, Albion is the dean of the school of living a work/life of purpose. His former books, particularly "Making a Life, Making a Living," have focused on those already in the work force and often well along in their careers. Now, Albion turns his spotlight on MBAs (actually on all fresh graduates, not just MBAs) starting down the career path. Until now, "What Color Is My Parachute?" was the only book most grads would read. But I think Albion's book should be placed at or above that Richard Bolles' classic.

Albion's premise is simple to say but hard to execute: Defining success must go beyond money and to the things that truly make us happy -- family, a sense of meaning in life, important connections. But so many of us defer that dream right out of the career gate, opting for the bigger bucks and promising ourselves that we'll get to the joy stuff later. Albion, using techniques he perfected as a Harvard Business School prof, simply and clearly shows us how life can be an "AND" instead of an "OR." We can build a career with money and meaning. It's not alchemy.

I'm not sure everyone who reads this book will instantly begin employing its methodology but I am sure that Albion makes people ask the right questions. At the least, that's a great place to start.