What They Teach You at Harvard Business School: My Two Years Inside the Cauldron of Capitalism is Philip Delves Broughton’s story of his two years studying at Harvard Business School on their prestigious MBA course. He joined the Harvard MBA course following a career in journalism, working for the Telegraph, which perhaps explains why the book is so well written and easy to read.

So what will you get from reading this memoir? Well you won’t gain and understanding of the material taught on the Harvard MBA, but you will get an insight into some of the topics, courses and teaching methods used. You’ll learn about the sort of person that applies for and excels at Harvard Business School, the types of companies that recruit from the Harvard MBA course and that even with the Harvard MBA on your CV you can still fail to get a job if you don’t have the relevant real world experience.

As I’m currently studying for my own MBA I found it a fascinating read. I empathised with Philip Delves Broughton, like him I couldn’t see myself working for the big consulting firms, hedge funds or investment banks and jumping through the hoops that come with such jobs. The course itself sounds very different to my experience, Harvard focuses on case studies (over 500 throughout the two year course) which are debated in class and class participation contributes to 50% of a students final mark. In contrast my MBA places more emphasis on academic essay writing and assessment by examination. Which makes me think that perhaps my MBA has more of an academic focus while Harvard’s MBA has more of a vocational focus, which surprised me. I do think the case study approach has a lot of merit and I wish I had the opportunity to take part in more of them as part of my course.

I think Philip Delves Broughton does a good job of presenting a balanced (well as balanced as any personal memoir can be) view of his time at Harvard Business School and the faculty and students that shared the experience with him. If you’re thinking about doing and MBA at any of the top business schools I’m sure you’ll find it a compelling read. Alternately if you’re wondering why some people are prepared the pay the $150,000+ fees (as well as giving up two years worth of income) for an MBA that people like Seth Godin may mock as poor value then you might find some answers here, although personally I still wouldn’t spend that much on an MBA.

You can buy it from Amazon UK or Amazon USA.

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