MBA Skills and Small Organic Industry
One of my favourite shows on television at the moment is Mathew Evans as the Gourmet Farmer. Its also one of the most inspirational shows on television.
My life has taken several directions to date (some worse than others, including life-prisoner, fisherman, farmer, lawn-mower and fruit picker). In the last decade I’ve up-skilled to obtain numerous qualifications in Information Technology (including a Bachelor of Computing and IT certificates in web design and web administration). These qualifications have seen me work as a web designer, web developer and consultant in various public and private sector organisations around Australia and overseas. Over the last year I have completed 9 units of the Master of Business Administration and will graduate with the MBA (Journalism and Media Studies) at the end of 2010. But what then?
The main take-away from the Gourmet Farmer is that high quality niche locally produced products will always have a future. I am a great believer in the Slow Food Movement and in Jamie Oliver’s message about the lack of food and nutritional education provided to our children. And I’m very much against the MBA mantra that the purpose of business is to maximise shareholders wealth.
How’s this: The purpose of being in business is to meet society’s unmet needs which aren’t already being met by the government.
An offshoot of meeting that need, if it is achieved effectively, is economic profit.
So this year with at least a day or two up my sleeve for part time work I am very interested in getting involved with the right small-to-medium-sized organisation. I’d love to learn the whiskey business or the cheese business or gourmet beer or wine or organic farming, for that matter. I’m looking for a small-to-medium-sized business where a fresh MBA’s skills can be put to wholesome use – rather than pure globalised greed. I’m looking for lifestyle, not super wages. Just a living.
If you’re just such a business that could use a studying MBA (Graduate in December, 2010) then I’d love to hear from you. Maybe Mathew Evans would like to hook up for a few malt whiskeys and a bit of a country yarn about this sometime to give me some pointers… who knows? I just know its time for a sea-change into something worthwhile. After all, you only live once.
