The Shorter MBA

Overview

Two years of business school in one book

This 3rd edition of The Shorter MBA is a unique distillation of two years of business school packaged into one easily accessible, practical book.

A Masters in Business Administration course is an enormous investment in time, effort and money. Most people cannot devote two years of their life to study but the techniques that are taught on an MBA course are invaluable – and they’re all included in this easily digestible book.

Written by two highly successful entrepreneurs who have put their business school knowledge into practice, this book will give you a thorough understanding of everything you need to know to transform your career.

From the basics of personal development to the nuances of management skills, HR, finance, competitive marketing strategies and so much more, this book distils the theory clearly and succinctly.

Use this book to transform your knowledge and use the proven strategies and techniques from leading business schools to be successful in today’s highly competitive and often challenging business environment.

The Shorter MBA is designed for:

• Busy executives who can’t spare two years to study for an MBA but need the expert business knowledge
  
• Experienced executives who’d like a refresher course that’s expert and succinct but doesn’t short change them on any of the essentials
• Those thinking of doing an MBA in the future and wishing to get an impressive grounding in the level of skills and topics involved

Content

Introduction and acknowledgements

• About the book
• Authors and contributors
• Contributing editors
• Contributors

PART ONE: PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

1 High achievement

• Analysing yourself
• Setting goals

2 Time management

• Assessing your time-management skills
• Focusing on results and opportunities
• Using your diary/organiser for better time management

3 Personal effectiveness

• Appearances
• Handling your manager
• Delegation and teambuilding
• Meetings
• The telephone
• Email
• Personal productivity
• Personal motivation
• Business knowledge
• The effective manager

4 Leadership

• Functions of leadership

5 Teambuilding

6 Mentoring and coaching

7 Solving problems and decision-making

• Effective decision-making
• Solving problems
• Handling crises

8 Innovation

• Managing innovation
• Organisations and innovation

9 Effective communication skills

• Effective writing (letters/emails/reports/plans)
• Effective presentations

10 Personal marketing and public relations

• Within your own company
• In the wider market

PART TWO: MANAGEMENT SKILLS

11 Finance

• Understanding the essentials
• Techniques to increase profits

12 Human resources management

• The context for strategic people management
• Managing change
• Corporate communications
• Managing performance – a core people management process
• Conducting a performance management meeting
• People and organisation capability in your organisation

13 Competitive marketing strategy

• The purpose of strategy
• Market segments: from sharks to piranhas
• Costs and market share
• Revenues and costs: the activity-based approach
• Strategy formulation, planning and implementation

PART THREE: BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

14 Strategy and business development

• A practical approach to developing a winning strategy
• Turnaround of a loss-making business

15 Business plans

• Introduction
• Key ingredients of internal business plans

16 Acquisitions and disposals of unquoted companies

• Buying
• Selling
• Negotiating
• Managing post-completion

17 Management buy-outs and buy-ins

• Characteristics of an MBO or MBI
• Suitable companies for an MBO or MBI
• Making the approach
• Appoint a corporate finance adviser
• Business plan
• Negotiating the deal
• Staff

Contributors

John Adair is internationally acknowledged as having had a significant influence on management and leadership development in both the business and military spheres. He has seen military service, lectured at Sandhurst, worked extensively as a consultant, held professorships in Leadership Studies and authored critically acclaimed management and leadership books which have sold in their hundreds of thousands. He has lectured at conferences all over the world.

Neill Ross MA studied Classics at Cambridge University and after a brief spell in journalism went into publishing, which then became his career. He has spent most of this time in sales and marketing in the UK and overseas in both educational and professional books and journals as well as consumer magazines and publications. He now runs a property business.

Mark Thomas BSc (Econ), Dip PM, MIPM is an international business consultant specialising in strategy, human resource management and managing change. Mark works in Europe, the US and Asia with some of the world’s top companies. His business and consulting experience has included major organisational changes, including mergers and acquisitions, restructuring initiatives and strategic reviews.

Ralph Tiffin is a principal at McLachlan+Tiffin, chartered accountants and registered auditors. The practice has a wide range of clients, and Ralph deals mainly with the larger audit clients. With his background in engineering, Ralph spends approximately one-third of his time lecturing on accounting topics (often related to engineering), project appraisal and management issues in the UK at public events and for in-house clients.

Authors

Barrie Pearson

Barrie Pearson BSc, FCMA is chief executive of Realization, which delivers world class mentoring and coaching for chief executives and entrepreneurs, (email: realization@eidosnet.co.uk). In 1976, he founded Livingstone Guarantee, the first corporate finance boutique in the UK, and sold it for a substantial sum in 2001. Previously he had an international executive career with The De La Rue Company, The Plessey Company and Dexion Comino International. He co-wrote with Neil Thomas Me-Time, a life coaching manual, published by Thorogood.

Neil Thomas

Neil Thomas MA is Chairman of the Falconbury group of companies that comprises, Falconbury Ltd (www.falconbury.co.uk), Management Forum (www.management-forum.co.uk) and Thorogood Publishing Ltd (www.thorogoodpublishing.co.uk). He has been involved in publishing and seminars/training (especially Mini-MBAs) for most of his business life. He has worked with John Adair to produce The Best of Adair on Leadership and Management, The Concise Adair on Leadership, The Concise Time Management and Personal Development, The Concise Adair on Teambuilding and Motivation and The Concise Adair on Communication and Presentation Skills.