Written by Brett Nelson<\/a><\/p>\n

Listen up, budding Masters Of The Universe, and all those who dream of walking their path to wealth, power and spacious summer homes.<\/p>\n

At many business schools, boot-camp week\u2013where the unwashed get a taste of debits, credits and such\u2013starts in less than a month. After that, and just beneath the throb of your hangover (a B-school accessory), you will detect another inexorable rhythm\u2013a faint ticking to be precise. This is the tell-tale heart to your two-year, $100,000 investment. The relentless reminder that you better get to learnin\u2019 (or at least networking), lest you end up working for, and maybe getting laid off by, one of your classmates one day.<\/p>\n

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Image by Patricia Drury via Flickr<\/p>\n

Now for the good\u2013or totally vexing\u2013news, depending how you take it: After all the spreadsheets and cost-of-capital calculations, after all the case studies and Power Point presentations, after all the tuition money is gone and it\u2019s just you and your pedigree, contacts and gumption, guess what?<\/p>\n

You get to start over again\u2013in the real<\/em> world.<\/p>\n

As anyone who employs people and writes checks will confirm, turning $1 into a $1.10 is a real bitch. Turning that $1.10 into $1.25, even tougher. I had to laugh the other day when a former colleague, now a partner at a boutique digital-marketing firm, sent me the following text out of the blue: \u201cGenerating positive cash flow is one of the hardest f\u2014ing things in the world.\u201d And then some, Matt.<\/p>\n

For all the wonderful instruction at places like Harvard, Wharton and my alma mater, the Stern School of Business at NYU, b-schoolers should remember that making money involves so much more than columns in a spreadsheet and the ever-shifting assumptions behind them.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, here\u2019s a supplemental, 10-step curriculum:<\/p>\n

1. If It Ain\u2019t Broke, Still Fix It<\/strong><\/p>\n

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One of the hardest decisions business owners have to make is turning their backs on cash when it\u2019s flowing. But that\u2019s exactly what you must have the courage to do sometimes to protect your franchise. Think about all those aggressive mortgage underwriters who scooped up fees by the shovelful during the housing bubble, when they should have been tightening their lending criteria. Or USA Inc., which ran deficits for years\u2013because, well, our creditors didn\u2019t seem to mind\u2013and now faces a staggering $60 trillion fiscal hole (including the present value of all future obligations to its entitlement programs).<\/p>\n

2. If You Don\u2019t End Up Working At Goldman Sachs, Forget What You Learned About Finance<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Image via Wikipedia<\/p>\n

This one comes courtesy of one of my classmates, now finance chief for the unit of a large manufacturing firm, who would rather remain anonymous:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a 12-year finance career with large respected companies (General Electric, Honeywell, BASF), I can count on two hands the number of IRR (internal rate of return), DCF (discounted cash flow) and NPV (net present value) analyses I have completed, and I am pretty sure that I analyzed exponentially more balance sheets in a classroom than I ever have in a boardroom. It is obviously important to be fluent in the language of finance, but as for the finance majors I hire (graduate and undergrad alike), I spend the first year or two retraining them.<\/p>\n

\u201cA career in corporate finance is nothing like what is taught in school,\u201d he adds. \u201cThe job is largely to be the conscience of the business\u2013expecting and demanding explanation for decisions and acting as an internal chief operating officer well versed in most topics (products, customers, manufacturing process, supply chain, etc). I am sure a career at Goldman or a hedge fund is different, but my guess is that life at most large companies lines up pretty close to my experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Image by dynamosquito via Flickr<\/p>\n

3. Take Your Financial Models With An Indiana-Jones-Sized Boulder Of Salt<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another biz-school mate, now a health care consultant, chimed in with this stern admonition:<\/p>\n

\u201cToo often people in business rely upon a model demonstrating projections out 15 \u2013 30 years.\u201d I was astounded: Fifteen to thirty<\/em>, I confirmed? In school we worked in more modest 3-to-5-year increments, with an understanding that anything beyond that was magical thinking. \u201cBelieve it or not,\u201d he went on, \u201cI have seen some done out that far for deals [acquisitions] and often for public-private partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find me an industry (save for perhaps utilities) where the assumptions you make today apply for three years, let alone 30. No, really, find me one.<\/p>\n

4. Overpromise And Try To Deliver<\/strong><\/p>\n

Under-promising and over-delivering may work on conference calls with Wall Street analysts who need earnings projections for their valuation models. (GE made an art out of that game for years under Jack Welch.) But that strategy won\u2019t always cut it when chasing new business to meet growth targets (or just payroll). Sometimes you will have to bite off more than your models\u2013and your gut\u2013say you can chew just to win the business. It\u2019s an uncomfortable sensation at best, and a reputation-damaging maneuver at worst if you don\u2019t come through. Get ready\u2013and no tears.<\/p>\n

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Image via Wikipedia<\/p>\n

5. If You Don\u2019t Know Who The Sucker Is, It\u2019s You<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yet another B-school colleague of mine, who probably plays too much poker, recalled this adage, a favorite around the halls of Forbes <\/em>. \u201cPeople are happy to take your money by pulling you off your home court,\u201d he says. \u201cDon\u2019t let them. Deploy capital in ways that you understand not only intellectually, but also viscerally. Stick to home games\u2013that\u2019s where your instincts will flourish.\u201d<\/p>\n

6. If No One \u201cOwns\u201d A Project, It Won\u2019t Get Done<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most people don\u2019t put in long hours for their health, or to make shareholders wealthy, or because their families drive them nuts and they\u2019d rather grind it out in the office. (Okay, sometimes that last part is true.) They do it because their job demands it, and with any luck they take a lot of pride in doing it well.<\/p>\n

Which is why all projects need champions. Not the kind who beats his chest and spews happy mission statements. The kind who\u2019s backside is on the line if things don\u2019t pan out. More importantly, the kind who has the authority and resources to make decisions that other people have to follow, else their<\/em> backsides are on the line.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that people are lazy or incompetent (they may well be, but that\u2019s a hiring issue). It\u2019s that, over time, you get what you incentivize\u2013or don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

7. Be Clear<\/strong><\/p>\n

They actually do tell you this one in b-school, but not in so many words and not vehemently enough. The clearer you are, the more thoroughly you probably understand what you\u2019re talking about, and the more capable and trustworthy you will seem to customers, colleagues and employees.<\/p>\n

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Image via Wikipedia<\/p>\n

Being clear has immense ramifications\u2013on productivity, customer satisfaction and employee morale. If your Power Point deck contains the word \u201cideate,\u201d cut, and do not paste. In fact, eliminate all jargon from everything you do. (If you think the word \u201cutilize\u201d is a smarter version of \u201cuse,\u201d please, please read The Most Annoying Business Jargon<\/a><\/strong>.) This applies to electronic exchanges as well. The simplest, most straight forward emails can, and will, get twisted beyond meaningful comprehension. If the message is mission-critical, communicate face-to-face, or by phone, as best you can.<\/p>\n

8. Business Involves People<\/strong><\/p>\n

People are a pain. They whine, mess up and have all sorts of problems. That\u2019s why every now and again you should ask how they\u2019re doing\u2013and actually listen to the answer. It doesn\u2019t cost a cent and helps lift spirits and build trust. (For more on bucking up the troops, check out 10 Ways To Boost Morale On A Budget<\/a><\/strong>.)<\/p>\n

9. Read Forbes<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Consider the source, but here are just two justifications for following this advice: Amid Turbulence, The Flight Plan That Sets Forbes Apart<\/a><\/strong> and What Makes A Good Business Story?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Image via Wikipedia<\/p>\n

10. Entrepreneurship Better Be A Labor Of Love (At Least At First)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some final words of warning\u2013and encouragement\u2013from a fourth classmate, who runs his own small clothing company: \u201cUnless you have a partner, family member or some other person who has<\/em> to give you capital, your [entrepreneurial] experience may amount to a salmon swimming upstream in a 2-inch deep river.\u201d Inviting.<\/p>\n

That said, he adds: \u201cThree years after graduation, I have to say my life is beautifully enhanced by my MBA. Kind of like when you need it, ideas descend in a timely, light and resonant fashion to help me cut to the chase.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll second that.<\/p>\n

Have any valuable insights on business school, or on what it takes to turn a profit in the real world? Jot a comment on this post.<\/p>\n

And if you run a small business with real growth potential, or if you know someone who does, please nominate a contender for Forbes\u2019 List Of Most Promising Private Companies<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For now, class dismissed.<\/p>\n

Bonus: Am I doing this right? <\/strong>
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