The Personal MBA^TM

I just created an information page with details on personalized PMBA coaching, which will begin when the new PMBA manifesto and reading list is released to the public.

If you are interested in participating, please fill out this online information form. Coaching slots will be filled on a priority basis that takes into account the level of plan requested and the date of information request, so let me know if you’re interested as soon as possible! I will contact you directly when coaching slots become available.

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If you're new to the Personal MBA, you'll want to check out the manifesto and recommended reading list to see what we're all about.

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(NOTE: the survey has been removed, and I’m compiling the data now. Thanks to everyone for the input!)

Let’s face it: sometimes it’s tough to stay motivated while educating yourself. As with anything that’s worth doing, there’s a “Dip” you will inevitably run into in the process of self-education: a motivational wall that must be surmounted before you really start to see the benefits of your hard work and show true mastery of whatever you’re studying.

I’ve certainly run into the “Motivational Dip” along the path of self-education. Chances are, so have you.

As I mentioned earlier, almost all of you mentioned some variation of “Keeping Motivated”, “Staying Focused”, “Committing the Time”, or “Putting What I Learn into Practice” as the biggest barriers to meeting your PMBA-related goals. After a great deal of thought, I believe PMBA-related personal coaching is a potential solution to these challenges.

The purpose of personalized PMBA coaching would be to help you clarify your goals and priorities, construct an individualized learning plan, and provide motivation and support throughout your self-education process.

Coaching is one of the most effective ways I’ve found to inject a healthy dose of structure, motivation, and accountability into what can often be a confusing and frustrating process. I’ve been working with an excellent personal coach for almost 6 months now, and it’s made a huge difference in the quality of my life and work. I know coaching works because I’ve experienced it, and I think the model can be applied to the PMBA with fantastic results.

Personalized attention and customization is something that the PMBA can offer that’s unique in the world of business education. Traditional MBA programs still use the “assembly line” model of education: you spend the majority of your time focusing on what your professor thinks you need to know alongside 20-30 other students, regardless of what you personally need to know to now to increase your effectiveness and achieve your goals. Personalized coaching is the exact opposite of the “Death by Powerpoint” so prevalent in today’s business school classrooms: 100% of the time and energy you spend is focused on you as an individual.

In addition, personal coaching will give me the opportunity to bring my experience and knowledge to bear directly on the issues that are most important to you. The PMBA reading list is, by necessity, a one-size-fits-all approach. While it’s a great way to get started, it may be entirely appropriate for you to go deeper on certain topics than the PMBA does. I’ve literally reviewed thousands of books to create the PMBA reading list, and I can help you create a detailed learning plan that will suit your needs perfectly.

To be clear, I’m not a business professor - I can’t “educate” you or give you a credential. I am, however, happy and willing to help you clarify your goals, construct a personalized learning plan that suits your needs, and help you stay excited and motivated while you put what you learn into practice. In short, I can help propel you through the Dip.

To accommodate different needs (and budgets), here are a few ideas for coaching plans. The higher the level, the more coaching you get:

Basic PMBA Coaching - $29/month. Includes 45 minutes of phone coaching once per month; 1 hour goals and priorities coaching; PMBA-focused learning plan; access to a monthly PMBA members phone conference; and access to a private PMBA forum and forum-based coaching. (Best for current college students and those on a tight budget.)

Advanced PMBA Coaching - $99/month. Includes 45 minutes of phone coaching every 2 weeks; 1 hour goals and priorities coaching; fully personalized learning plan; access to a monthly PMBA members phone conference; and access to a private PMBA forum and unlimited forum-based coaching. (Best for entrepreneurs and busy professionals.)

Intensive PMBA Coaching - $299/month. Includes 45 minutes of phone coaching every single week; 1 free book each month; 1 hour goals and priorities coaching; 1 hour habits and routines coaching; fully personalized learning plan, including deliverables to your current business; in-depth business and career consulting; access to a monthly PMBA members phone conference; and access to a private PMBA forum and unlimited forum-based coaching. (Best for anyone who wants to accelerate their learning process dramatically, as well as business that want to give their employees a real education without spending thousands of dollars subsidizing MBA tuitions.)

I don’t expect that PMBA-related coaching will be right for everyone. When it comes to coaching, I want to focus my time and energy on people who are truly dedicated and committed to learning about business and educating themselves. Before you commit to any of these plans, I’d be willing to talk with you by phone for 30 minutes (no charge) to see if PMBA-related coaching is right for you.

I’ll only offer this premium service if there’s enough interest in it to justify the time and energy I’d need to invest to make it happen. To help me understand how interested you are in participating, I’ve put together a short survey. Please take a minute to fill it out - it will really help me determine whether or not to make this happen.

(NOTE: this survey has been removed. Thanks to everyone for the input!)

If you have detailed feedback or questions about this idea, please e-mail me at coaching [at] personalmba.com. Thanks for your input!

As I mentioned in my last post, many of you told me that you think the current PMBA forums are sub-optimal for discussing the PMBA and related topics. I agree, and have looked into a few things I can do to improve the quality of the forums.

Regarding forum structure, the forums are currently managed by a software package called Vanilla. I like the package for many reasons, but the lack of a linear folder structure has made it hard for many people to find the topics they’re interested in.

To fix this issue, we’re going to need to migrate to another forum software package (most likely punBB), but there’s no good way to save the old posts and import them into the new forum. We’d likely lose all of the posts that are currently in the forum. (I could keep the forum on the server as an archive, but it’d be completely disconnected from the new forum.)

The other thing that I’d like to improve if/when we move to a new forum is the quality / frequency of the conversation.

Currently, most of the conversations that take place on the forums are relatively infrequent and superficial: links to interesting content, input on the books, etc. There’s no real personal experience sharing or asking for advice going on, which can be attributed to the forum being public. (I don’t know about you, but if I ran into a problem at work and needed advice, I’d be pretty wary of posting details on the current public PMBA forums.)

Here’s the idea: the new PMBA forum would be a private, members-only affair. Taking the forum private would offer three main benefits: (1) higher quality conversation; (2) privacy / confidentiality; (3) networking opportunities.

1. The quality of content and participation in a private forum would likely be much higher, given that each member would have to make a commitment to participate. Instead of being able to create an account, post a single message (or none at all), and never visit again, members of a private forum are much more likely to take an active role in the discussions and contribute to the group.

2. A private forum would give PMBA members the opportunity to discuss work-related experiences, problems, and ideas in a confidential space with other professionals. This informal coaching aspect of the forums could be quite valuable to the entire PMBA community.

3. Networking opportunities would increase with a private forum. The number of users in the forum would be smaller, allowing people to really get to know each other. Each member could also post their contact information, enabling direct contacts with other PMBA members if desired.

I’ve been a member of a private discussion board for almost three years now, and I’ve been astonished at the level of conversation and commitment the members show, particularly in contrast to competing free public boards. Based on your feedback, I think it’s worth a shot.

Of course, PMBA members who decide not to become members of the forums would still continue to have access to the blog and comments, enabling them to continue to participate in the discussion.

Financial details: the private forums would be a premium PMBA service, and would cost approximately $10/month, depending on how much I need to spend to set up the membership system. (I’m still researching options.)

If you’re interested in potentially becoming a member of a new private PMBA forum, please e-mail me at forums [at] personalmba.com. I’d also appreciate general well-reasoned feedback about the concept. Thanks!