The Difference Between a Book and an Expert
This article is written by Chris Brogan, founder of Chris Brogan Media and New York Times bestselling author of ten books and counting (he’s working on his eleventh).
I’m a book author. I write things that I hope people use to change their lives for the better. You might find it weird, then, that I am about to tell you that there are times when books just won’t get you the entire way there.
A Personal Example
Tamsen Webster is a message designer. Her job is to make ideas irresistible. A few years back, I purchased an hour of one-on-one coaching with her to help me better explain all of what I offered summed up into one simple sentence. It wasn’t cheap, her hour. I paid a lot of money. But holy cats, it was so worth it.
A few years later, Tamsen published a book, Find Your Red Thread, which is basically the process she took me through to get what I needed from her. The book was like $25. I bought it because I’m a friend and to see if I could’ve recreated the experience I paid a lot more for a few years before. The easy answer? Kinda, but not exactly.
The World of MBA Admissions is Complex
Petia Whitmore* was a Dean of MBA Admissions, so not only does she know what she’s talking about, but she was front and center on what earned a “no,” and how someone could navigate to a “yes.” I have to tell you: knowing someone like Petia and working with her beats out any book, said to you by a book author. I’ll explain why.
A lot of times, in so many aspects of business, it’s not about “doing the thing.” It’s a combination of that, knowing what matters to the person receiving your efforts, and knowing how to better interact with the other people who you don’t think about immediately.
In the world of MBA admissions, you’re aiming for not just the grades, not just a great essay, not just ANY old recommendation letters. People are looking for specifics on those. Petia told me there are all kinds of “hidden” red flags that keep you in the “maybe” or rejected pool that people just don’t know until they’ve been there.
The Expert is Worth It
You don’t want to eat up tons of time trying to guess what works and what doesn’t. Sure, you can apply and try to wing it. Maybe you’ve watched a few helpful TikToks from people who say “Trust me. I know. I was admitted to a program.”
For me, the expense of having someone tell me the shortcuts and the longcuts (where I have to put in the extra effort) is worth it, because then I can focus on the part I want: getting the achievement and using it to unlock years and years of improved earning capacity.
What Tamsen Webster gave me in value for that money and time spent with an expert like her changed how I was able to operate in the world at large. I was quite lucky and my investment with her paid off and continues to do so all these years later.
It’s worth it.
Chris Brogan, founder of Chris Brogan Media and New York Times bestselling author of ten books and counting (he’s working on his eleventh).
*A note from Petia: I first met Chris when I was just a bright-eyed, big-dreaming MBA student at Babson College. I was taking a class on “Social Media and Virtual Worlds”. The class took place in Second Life. That should tell you how long ago it was! Since then, Chris Brogan’s newsletter is the only one I read EVERY.SINGLE.SUNDAY.