The amazing advantages a street-savvy near-illiterate hustler has versus a fancy MBA with years of book-learnin’ under his Gucci

I’ve never held a grudge against anyone with a fancy Master’s degree in business. I’ve never trusted them, and gotten a few fired. But I’ve never held a grudge.

I just can’t understand what sort of moron would look around and decide that, yeah, that’s the ticket: Academia must be the place to go learn how to make a fortune in bidniz.

Listen: If you’re a surgeon about to cut me open, then I want you to have a dozen years of schooling behind you at a good teaching hospital.

But if you’re going to launch a marketing campaign to sell something, I’d have to take you out back and knock the MBA bullshit out of you before I’d feel safe having you make even the most harmless decision.

I love the scene in the comedy “Back ToSchool” where Rodney Dangerfield (an experienced contractor trying to get a retro degree) shows up the professor in business class... by patiently explaining how the prof forgot to add in bribes, kick-backs, hidden salaries and pay-offs to the list of expenses needed to do any job in New York.

The prof, of course, is outraged over such uncouth “real world” suggestions to his nice, clean Ivory Tower paradigm.

Wrong, but outraged.

That’s why I’ve always maintained that a semi-illiterate street hustler (with some real salesman’s blood in him) could become a hot copywriter much easier and faster than a fancy MBA with four years of Harvard on his resume.

People generally smile indulgently at me when I say this... but now I’ve got proof. In the July 25, 2002 issue of The New Yorker (my favorite magazine), there’s a great article titled “The Talent Myth”, by one of best investigative journalists now writing, Malcolm Gladwell. And he finally -- finally -- got to the bottom of all these gruesome corporate financial scandals that have rocked the nation.

The culprit: Unquestioning acceptance in thebusiness world of the “superiority” of high IQ guys with MBAs. These yahoos were rushed into positions of absolute authority right out of school... and felt entitled to rob investors, cook the books, and ignore even the faintest ethical twinge that may have rippled through their cold hearts.

They screwed things up without regard to consequence in stupid ways no self-respecting street-wise salesman would even consider.

Personally, I hope they all do serious jail time. And no matter how high up the crookedness goes,

I want to see ‘em all fry. The terrorist acts of 9/11 shook our economy... but these corporate jerk-offs at Enron and WorldCom and Tyco gutted it.

You probably wouldn’t want a garden variety street hustler to know your ATM PIN number...

but then, if he does rob you and gets caught, he’s off to the pokey. Your local CEO scum knew how to access your entire pension fund... and feels misunderstood because everyone’s angry he spent it all.

Wanna bet if he’ll do any time at all outside of a cozy Club Fed vacation? Greedy idiot. So, okay, fine. What’s the lesson for the rest of us here? There are two, actually:

(1) Never underestimate the greed -- or the need -- of the other guy. Not your partner, your brother-in-law, your accountant... nor the guy who swore on his mother’s grave to protect your investments.

You don’t have to live in a paranoid sweat... but don’t walk around thinking bad things can never happen to you. If you lost money in any of the recent corporate scandals, you can console yourself with the fact the moolah went to a good cause -- mansions, mistresses and Armani for aristocratic con-men with MBAs from the finest schools in the world.

(2) Therefore... never overestimate the “superiority” of someone with fancy credentials. This applies to people you work with... and it applies to YOU, in your ads. Your reader is seldom impressed with anyone who brags about their education. Yet, she desperately needs to be convinced she can trust you. Your credibility requires a salesman’s touch, not arrogance.

That’s why you use believable testimonials, and why it’s so important that you get simpatico with your audience. Talk like they talk, walk like they walk. Think of that college prof spouting theory, and Rodney D. in the back row calling him on his bullshit and rattling off the truth.

Who would you want to do business with?

John Carlton, http://www.marketingrebelrant.com/

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