Decision: Stay

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last blog entry.  I’ll start this one by addressing some of the comments and questions:

What about the Personal MBA?

Yeah, I looked into that, but part of what I liked about a true MBA program is the sharing of challenges, feedback, insights and ideas.  It’s actually the main reason why I chose Daniels/DU – their class sessions just seemed to have a better vibe than the other schools I checked out.  People actually seemed happy to be there.

What windows do I want to this open for me?

I’ll answer this two ways:

Personally, I’m at a point where I want to learn.  i have a pretty good grasp of my industry (beer) and I think I have a pretty good understanding of my field (marketing).

Professionally, I want to be able to run a business someday and by working at a small company, I’ve been able to pinpoint my weaknesses.  When I worked for a larger company, we were asked to do one thing: marketing.  That’s pretty easy.  At a smaller company, I am more involved with production/operations, HR and Accounting.  I’ve picked up a few things in the last two years, but I want to be better.

Will it destroy my life?

No, because I’m not going to let it.  I’m going to put in the work, but the rest of my life won’t stop.  I just can’t function like that.

Is it worth giving up immediate gratification to reach my goal.

I’m going to flip that question a little and say that I am going to look at school AS my immediate gratification.  I was starting to psych myself out and then I realized that I want to do this, so why question it so much?  I’ve also decided that based on my needs and desires, I’m looking at this like an 18 month seminar.  Learning is the primary objective.  Grades and a certificate are completely secondary.  By thinking of it this way, it allows me to think of the process in a completely different light – and one that is far less daunting.

Thanks again for the comments.  They helped.  Now I gotta get back to my homework.