Barron - The visual MBA : two years of business school packed into one priceless book of pure awesomeness

Copyright 2019 by Jason Barron

All rights reserved

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

hmhbooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-0-358-02395-1

Cover illustration by Jason Barron

Author photograph Jackie Barron

eISBN 978-0-358-02539-9
v1.0319

To Jackie, Josh, James, Jonah, Josie & Junie

(My whole world)

In short, this book contains two long years of business school, all neatly packaged into one highly illustrated volume.

Experts tell us that 60% of people are visual learners andlets face itbeyond that, 100% of people dont want to read boring stuff. Now, with this book you can understand faster, absorb better, and recall quicker the biggest and most useful ideas that you would learn from studying for a Masters of Business Administration degree.

A quick word about the illustrations that follow. Years ago Mike Rohde coined the term sketchnotes, and Ive been a fan ever since. Rather than taking extensive linear notes that no one (including yourself) will ever read again, I felt that simply capturing the main points visually would create a much more interesting and useful resource for later consumption. As they say, A picture is worth 1,000 words.

At the beginning of my MBA studies, I took on the crazy goal to try and create sketchnotes throughout the entire program. And something unexpected happened. For a class full of extremely smart people (all smarter than me), I was surprised at the high level of interest they had in my visual notes as I went along.

What you have in front of you is the end product of all my sketchnotes as I attended the BYU Marriott School of Business. Whether youve never been to business school (and never will), or have already attended, or are in a current MBA program yourself, I created this book with you in mind. Each chapter is based upon traditional business school classes, and is packed with concepts that are accompanied with a written narrative to help you better understand it all.

Feel free to skim, jump, or dive through the content any way you want. The only rules are to have fun, to be curious, and to discover on your own. You will be glad you did.

Now sit back, relax, and enjoy all the knowledge soaking into your (genius) brain.

Youre smart: I just spent 86 class days, endured 516 hours of various lectures, completed mountains of homework, and shelled out tens of thousands of dollars in tuition fees, and you can benefit from it all with this book at a fraction of the cost in the comfort of your own home. Nice business decision.

My name is Jason Barron, and Im a designer. Ive always been doodling, sometimes when I shouldntlike in class as a kid. Fast-forward 20 years and not much has changed. Except that I decided to put my lifelong doodling habit to work when I received an MBA from a top 40 business school, Brigham Young University.

Each class period I would sketchnote what the professor was saying, including key thoughts during class, and from reading assignments. I would capture the essence of what was being taught and then I would distill the complex lectures into simplified concepts.

The end result is this book, which is worth more than gold. It is the goose that keeps on giving luscious golden eggs in the form of paper pages. Save yourself countless hours and read this book in a fun, fast, and memorable way. (You will love it, and if not you can always re-gift it!)

You ready to get smarter? (If thats even possible, you genius you.) Lets get to it!

Leadership is more than management. Its about inspiring change and improving results through who you are and how you motivate others.

Strategy

Creating the future vision and positioning the company for ongoing success

Execution

Building organizational systems to deliver results based on the strategy

Talent Management

Motivating, engaging, and communicating with employees

Talent Development

Grooming employees for future leadership

Personal Proficiency

Acting with integrity, exercising social and emotional intelligence, making bold decisions, and engendering trust

When people see you, what do they think/feel about you? Thats your brand.

1) Nail down the results you want to achieve over the next 12 months

Make sure to consider the interests of your customers, investors, employees, and the organization as a whole.

2) Decide what you want to be known for

Looking at your results, how do you want to be perceived? Pick six descriptors that you want to be known for. Example: Humble, Optimistic, Dedicated, etc.

3) Combine to define

Combine your six descriptors into three two-word phrases. Example: Humbly Optimistic, Selflessly Dedicated, etc.

4) Create your leadership brand statement & test it

I want to be known for being (three phrases) so that I can deliver . Then ask, Does this best represent me? Does it create value for my stakeholders? Are there any risks?

5) Make it real

Share your brand with others and ask if they feel it aligns with how you truly behave. Make adjustments. Most importantly, your brand is a promiseso make it real and DELIVER.