Have you heard of Richard Branson? My guess is that you have. Because you know, he is only one of the most successful businesspeople in the world.
Photo Credit: Virgin.com
How many people do you know that started their own record store, recording label, airline, space tourism company, and other ventures? He is estimated to be worth almost five billion dollars … and oh, by the way, he is also a knight in the United Kingdom for his contributions to entrepreneurship; so he is technically, “Sir” Richard Branson.
Not bad for someone without a college degree.
Not bad for someone without a college degree.
That’s right, one of the most successful entrepreneurs and humanitarians today does not have a college degree. Which means that for some of you, Richard Branson would not qualify to be a high level leader, manager or executive in your company.
There is a property management company that I know of that is moving towards requiring that their community managers have college degrees; which means that Richard Branson, he of the “I spoke to the National Apartment Association a few years ago because I built a business empire worth billions of dollars!”, would not be eligible to manage a 150 unit community for this company.
Does this make sense to you? It doesn’t to me.
#SMH
Listen, I’m not criticizing a college education or minimizing it’s importance or value in today’s world. What I am criticizing though, and challenging ,is the belief held by some companies that ONLY employees with formal education are eligible to move on and up; while those with lots of real-world experience, but no degree, are left on the sidelines.
I mean, so Joe Anderson, age 22, with a degree in political science can be a community manager, but Richard Branson, or Steve Jobs (when he was alive), or Bill Gates couldn’t?? (Let that sink in… again.)
Here’s the message…you may be thinking, “Yeah, well, if Richard Branson applied to work for my company, I would hire him!”
But~if you head straight to “education” on a resume and promptly dismiss any candidates that don’t have a degree, how will you know if a Branson, Gates, Disney, Zuckerberg, or Dell is currently in your organization? (Yes, none of those folks have degrees.)
Don’t Miss the Gold Mine
One of the smartest people I know in business has successfully managed a multi-million dollar real estate portfolio for years. She has forgotten more in the property management world than I ever learned and I owe much of what I know to her. But, she doesn’t have a degree and I find it utterly ridiculous that a company would be so beholden to a “requirement” that they wouldn’t even consider her if she happened to apply for a job with them.
So if it's possible, don’t limit your company’s potential by limiting the places where you “look for gold.” After all, not everyone’s journey in life has taken them on the route that the “powers that be” consider to be the one accepted way of achieving success!
When you’re open to all of the possibilities, you’ll never know what treasures you’ll find. What a shame it would be for your company to miss the gold mine because it didn’t look the way you thought it should.
There is a property management company that I know of that is moving towards requiring that their community managers have college degrees; which means that Richard Branson, he of the “I spoke to the National Apartment Association a few years ago because I built a business empire worth billions of dollars!”, would not be eligible to manage a 150 unit community for this company.
Does this make sense to you? It doesn’t to me.
#SMH
Listen, I’m not criticizing a college education or minimizing it’s importance or value in today’s world. What I am criticizing though, and challenging ,is the belief held by some companies that ONLY employees with formal education are eligible to move on and up; while those with lots of real-world experience, but no degree, are left on the sidelines.
I mean, so Joe Anderson, age 22, with a degree in political science can be a community manager, but Richard Branson, or Steve Jobs (when he was alive), or Bill Gates couldn’t?? (Let that sink in… again.)
Here’s the message…you may be thinking, “Yeah, well, if Richard Branson applied to work for my company, I would hire him!”
But~if you head straight to “education” on a resume and promptly dismiss any candidates that don’t have a degree, how will you know if a Branson, Gates, Disney, Zuckerberg, or Dell is currently in your organization? (Yes, none of those folks have degrees.)
Don’t Miss the Gold Mine
One of the smartest people I know in business has successfully managed a multi-million dollar real estate portfolio for years. She has forgotten more in the property management world than I ever learned and I owe much of what I know to her. But, she doesn’t have a degree and I find it utterly ridiculous that a company would be so beholden to a “requirement” that they wouldn’t even consider her if she happened to apply for a job with them.
So if it's possible, don’t limit your company’s potential by limiting the places where you “look for gold.” After all, not everyone’s journey in life has taken them on the route that the “powers that be” consider to be the one accepted way of achieving success!
When you’re open to all of the possibilities, you’ll never know what treasures you’ll find. What a shame it would be for your company to miss the gold mine because it didn’t look the way you thought it should.
