This is an interesting article that rings true.
The dot-com boom was largely about “genius” MBAs coming up with brilliant ideas for online companies, for example. They spent ages in meetings blowing hot air, drawing up financial charts, and coming up with marketing plans. The actual technical implementation was considered so unimportant that they took it for granted they’d just pay some “geek” to put the finishing techie touches on their fabulous creation. The reality was that the techie-implementation was where they usually failed. Meanwhile, techies built websites like Google, EBay and Yahoo simply because they knew how all the nuts-and-bolts worked.
In almost every successful IT project I’ve ever been involved with it’s been a nuts-and-bolts techie that’s had the most important impact. More often than not, the “business skills” types were more hindrance than help. Many times their superiority and arrogance led to project failure.
I would only add that is the combination of entrepreneurship and technological expertise that makes it all happen. It’s unclear precisely where the MBA fits into that.
