Happy Friday! Today we are reviewing Steven Silbiger’s “The Ten Day MBA: A Step by Step Guide to Mastering the Skills Taught in America’s Top Business Schools: Revised Edition”. Although you can’t substitute real world experience, I’m a big fan of education by the books. This book is a must read for those who want an insight to the basics taught at business schools.

This book lays out all the fundamental concepts (as of 1999) taught in a MBA program. Each chapter (or “day”) is a different subject:

Day 1: Marketing


Day 2: Ethics


Day 3: Accounting


Day 4: Organizational Behavior


Day5: Quantitative Analysis


Day 6: Finance


Day 7: Operations


Day 8: Economics


Day 9: Strategy


Day 10: Mini MBA courses

He even provides some open class notes that were taken during his degree program at Darden Graduate School of Business. “The Ten Day MBA” is perfect for those who might not have a business degree and want to brush up on relevant business concepts. He presents each subject in a straight forward format. He provides clear explanations to the formulas and topics discussed. He recently released a 3rd Edition this past September and unfortunantlyI haven’t the opportunity to read yet. It would be interesting to see if he updated the Information Technology section as it only covered 2 pages (which I don’t think is enough!). I think it also would be pertinent to include a more detailed section on international business and how China, India, and other eastern countries have leveled the playing field. Either way, this book is useful for understanding the basic nuts and bolts concepts taught in an MBA program.

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