60% of Professionals Agree With Musk: MBAs Pollute The Industry

Tesla’s chief executive blames business schools for lack of innovation; an overwhelming majority of professionals share his opinion.

What is wrong with American corporations? Elon Musk says too many M.B.A.s. are polluting companies’ ability to think creatively and give customers what they really want.

On Blind, the largest anonymous professional community with 4.1M users from big tech, unicorns, and startups, a Salesforce employee asked, “Do you agree with Elon Musk about MBAs polluting the industry?”

Here are some key learnings from over 4,400 professionals:

- 60% of professionals agree that MBAs are polluting the industry
  - Tech professionals (63%) think MBAs polluting the industry more than finance professionals do (53%)

85% of Netflix professionals agree that MBAs are polluting the industry

- - 92% of Roblox professionals agree that MBAs are polluting the industry

Only 35% of JPMorgan Chase & Co.professionals agree that MBAs are polluting the industry

See the raw data here.

His comments criticizing M.B.A.s came amid a broader conversation about leadership before an online audience during The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council annual summit, where he also encouraged executives to step away from their spreadsheets and get out of the boardroom and onto the factory floor.

A Facebook employee shares their opinion, “Elon is right, but misses a lot of nuances. Here are my experiences with MBAs

They provide strong performers in different industries a chance for a fresh start and access to six-figure jobs with good companies (typically found mid-ranked programs working at middle America F500)
They can also be for a reprieve for folks in high burnout industries (Consulting, IB, PE) before they take their next lap to partner or for “exit opps” as they call it (their equivalent to rest and vest, aka 50 or less hours/week, $ over 200k, as the “North Star”)
MBAs definitely are overly expensive business training to paraprofessionals who clearly needed the costly lesson (dual MD/MBA & JD/MBA the prime example) who then go on to theoretically open their own practices one day.
Another check box for career climbers who can’t get that promo otherwise (again consulting, ib etc. but also F500 lackeys trying to chase that cheese)”

“I have nothing but the utmost respect for Elon, but he’s wrong to focus the blame on M.B.A.s,” said Robert Siegel, a lecturer in management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. “I think he’s got a strong element of truth of what leaders should be focused on, but he is completely off base talking about M.B.A.s.”

Another user fired back, “Elon likes to say things like “MBAs aren’t useful” and “college is unnecessary because you can learn anything you want for free” yet every Tesla software job I just checked required a BS (or even MS) in CS, and there’s no apprenticeship program, just university internships. Not sure who he’s trying to cater to when he says these things.”