The Holy Grail

What is it in human nature that we are always looking for the easy way out? Whole industries exploit this universal human characteristic of trying to find a shortcut, a surefire way to success without a whole lot of effort. Success in shedding surplus weight, quitting smoking, getting rich quick, you name it, and companies have created a million/billion dollar business around it. Sometimes I feel that the MBA-world is also affected by this. There are a gazillion posts on the Business Week forums about which schools to choose once the offers start flowing in. Don't get me wrong, I was in the same position with LBS, IESE and possibly Wharton, and it's a serious decision to make, which should be made based on serious research. But what some people seem to forget that although it's serious business, it's also about your heart, not just ROI, NPV or any other acronym you want to throw at it. And most importantly, it's not the holy grail. An MBA is as much about what you put into it, than about the name or location. Yes, the location and name of the school matter, but why don't applicants also take into consideration what they will put in instead of what the school will give them?
An MBA will open doors that would otherwise be closed, I'm convinced of that, but it's not just the name of your alma mater that'll do the trick. Or at least I refuse to believe it is. Or to paraphrase a famous Dutch commercial, 'It's a bit from LBS, and a bit from me'.

Enough ranting for now, there's a few things on the net that caught my attention.
BritChick has written an interesting post on MBA-blogging and anonymity, which I wholeheartedly agree with.
Have a look at this blog, Your Daily Art, for a daily fix of art.
Another blog attracted my interest, Joe Wikert at Wiley and Sons is keeping a blog (The average Joe), with some interesting posts on the publishing business, including this one on improving the bricks-and-mortar bookstore experience.
The Guardian and the Times have been running articles on Nicholas Serota, the big boss of the Tate Modern.

Poweryogi posted an informative post mentioning some of the latest developments on the Internet, and I've decided to check out Backpackit. I've been using it for a few days now and so far so good. I like the way it allows me to store links I want to use on this blog (I use the notes-function for it) and keep track of my to-do list.