Simon Johnson: belief

Transcript context

…My intuition is that I would rather hire people with technical training and no MBA than hire people with the MBA, maybe even now. Again, not Harvard, not MIT, where a lot of it’s selection and networking. But in terms of what you actually learn, it seems to me the other backgrounds are more valuable. I think an engineering or a science undergraduate degree is a very strong preparation for the modern world. I also find that for the right people, where it’s a match, an MBA-type qualification — and they come in many shapes and sizes, as you know — I find that that can be really quite helpful to them. I know some remarkably talented people who fit exactly that description, so I’m sticking with the business model, Tyler. Last two questions. First, when you’re evaluating students — not just who will make a lot of money, but someone you might want to work with or you think will change how the rest of the world thinks about ideas — what are the non-obvious qualities you look for in those students? Sure, they should be smart, they should work hard, but what else?…

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