Matt Burgess

MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
I have considered an MBA program since I graduated from Samford University in 2003 with a dual degree in Computer Science and German and a failed attempt at the Business Management curriculum. Economics with a professor known as Dr. Death my freshman year may have had something to do with the abrupt end of my relationship with the School of Business, but I bitterly digress. Honestly, to say I've considered an MBA is a stretch. I've more or less entertained the idea with not much traction for primarily two reasons. First of all, the combination of fixed cost (ie, tuition, books, etc) and opportunity costs have seemed to be pretty high. Secondly, I would guess at least 90% of my practical skills were learned outside the classroom.

THE TIPPING POINT
As I look back on the four plus years in the marketplace I'm a little surprised by the experiences I've had and I'm not referring to the guy that could speak Klingon. Here is a quick summary:

• I've worked for four companies from the largest privately held company in the US to a three person mobile content company.
• I've worked for a company the went public, one that raised capital and one that mistakenly added a zero to its income statement resulting in the involvement of laying off of 5 people within their first week on the job.
• I've worked on an used folding table in an industrial storefront near the airport and in a new Herman Miller Aeron chair in a premier business park both for the same company within 10 months.
• I've worked under managers with the last names Moon, Lee and Ip, and only one was Asian.
• I've worked on calls with executives from Fortune Global 500 companies to adult videostars (unbeknownst to me at the time).
• I've worked through 4 office moves for a total of 8 different offices.
• I've worked for three companies that doubled in size within 12 months and one that doubled then halfed within 2 weeks.
• I've worked 36 consecutive hours in the same office on my birthday.

SEEING WHAT'S NEXT?
How best can I use my time,resources and experiences to get from point A to point B? Point A being a technician with limited control on the factors that waste my time, drive me nuts and ultimately wane relevance and meaning. Deep down I desire challenge and independence, which is the opportunity to see if I have what it takes and of what I'm made. Ultimately, I want a chance. A chance to be part of something larger than me. A chance to make a difference. A chance to make an impact. A chance to make every breath count by pushing myself to limits of performance...to use 27 years of experience...to capitalize on stengths...to empower others. I want a chance to not only live, but to thrive.

THE ELEGANT SOLUTION
The Personal MBA (PMBA) hit a nerve with me. Read the Personal MBA Manifesto and you will understand why. What I realized late in college and certainly upon graduation is that an expensive peice of paper does not get you very far in the marketplace, especially if the marketplace does not recognize the issuer of the paper. On the other hand, personally performance is the driver. The ability to genuinely learn and think and interact will take you as far as you want to go in the direction of your choice. That is why I'm excited to begin this journey known as the Personal MBA. Along the way I will attempt to highlight the good, bad and ugly of this approach to continued education compared to its more expensive, more defined and more popular alternative.

Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction (1984), Lawrence Boadt

I'm not going to lie.  The last half of this book was as daunting as it was the first time around.  Almost 7 years ago, I was quizzed on this 576 page bohemoth and the outcome was a C average.  This time around is received more attention and more understanding that the first, but it was still a lot of consume.

Lawrence Boadt does a great job at presenting the methods used to understand the ancient cultures identified in the Old Testament as well as our strategies to explore its claims.  I found the scientific methods very interesting as the tactics of several modern sciences were explained.  An appreciation of the work performed by archaeologists and historians laid the groundwork for the findings presented in the subsequent chapters.

Although there are times I felt the author put his two cents into what is mostly a presentation of cumulative research, Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction presses you to consider the cultural climates in which these ancient texts were written and by whom.  The first few chapters challenged me to see God through the eyes of those early civilizations, and consider how the perception of the authors may have influenced their writing.  All in all this book serves as a historical introduction to the Bible and the origins of the Abrahamic religions with historical emphasized.  I would caution most readers to the length of the text and what could be miscontrued as data that inadvertedly supposes errant texts.

Perhaps I'll pick it back up at some point and revisit those last few chapters that were glossed over.

Shattered Dreams: God's Unexpected Pathway to Joy (2002), Larry Krabb

Kimber and I lead a community group in our neighborhood.  On September 17, 2007, a couple in our group lost their 11 month old baby in an accident at home.  We grieved, we prayed, we celebrated life and then we listened as our group wanted to understand what had happened in relationship to God.  So, we began a study of Dr. Larry Krabb's book Shattered Dreams.  A roller coaster ride of emotion, enlightenment and human experience commenced and for almost three months we worked through understanding shattered dreams.

From the outset Dr. Krabb's candid and often difficultl writing produced frustration and opposition to the ideas presented.  Several comments and ideas were presented in the first few chapters that challenged our core beliefs and left us bitter but in wonder.  At several points I thought about dropping the study altogether considering the reactions of everyone including myself, but I hoped that by continuing we would eventually come to understand God better than we ever had.  That hope became a reality.

As we moved through chapter after chapter we began to understand exactly what Dr. Krabb meant in those introductory comments.  Through transparent exploration of our experiences we realized what sounded audacious was actually true, and what was originally dismissed as ridiculous became our accepted philosophy going forward.

At some point in your life you will experience shattered dreams...some smaller than others...but it will happen.  Read this book to understand them now.  Read this book to be prepared.  Read this book to understand God's relationship to us in the midst of shattered and completed dreams.

Go Put Your Strengths to Work:  6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance (2007), Marcus Buckingham

At this point in the game Marcus Buckingham is 1 for 2.  The first book I read by this award winning author was lackluster, I thought.  The One Thing You Need to Know didn't do it for me, but Go Put Your Strengths to Work did.  Buckingham weaves the right combination of testimony, research, examples and opinion in his book about performance.  In particular, I liked how he described his own strengths in a way that conveyed the way he arrived at the realization of them.  Even more impressive is that the book serves as an example to the point he makes in the book that we should identify and exploit our strengths instead of trying to improve on our weaknesses.

I'm not convinced that a majority of readers will be experience a defining moment upon reading Go Put Your Strengths to Work, but it will open your eyes to producing outstanding performance as the titles suggests.  Buckingham does this primarily by describing the individuals that exemplify their strengths and his search for those individuals in short interesting stories.  And if  you are like me you will gain confidence in hearing the success stories of others.

Read this book.  Achieve outstanding performance.