MBET vs MBA

Ryan pointed to a good article in Canadian Business on the MBET program at Waterloo. The article has makes a couple of interesting points.

First, a gym not on the cluetrain:

The computer program, which pumped out graphs based on body composition measurements, and strength and endurance test data quickly made Nickelchok the most popular trainer at his gym–and prompted his employer to ask him to stop using the tool, because other trainers were growing envious of his success.

“It was ridiculous,” says Nickelchok. “The company could have negotiated with me and bought the software. I would have developed it for them.” Instead, because it couldn’t figure out how to leverage Nickelchok’s entrepreneurial zeal for its own benefit, he quit, and the majority of his clients followed him.

And a student who gets it:

“I noticed that my friends in MBA programs, their goals are to be consultants or managers,” he says. “Everyone here wants to build something.”