Not An MBA is an eight-week live online leadership course for experienced leaders in New Zealand and Australia who work in complex, changing systems - and it's back for two cohorts in 2027.
Not An MBA is for experienced leaders, usually 15+ years in, who are frustrated by slow progress in difficult systems and sense a more strategic approach would help. Students come from government, councils, health, banking, tech, construction and not-for-profits, and they learn as much from each other as from the curriculum.
Students learn strategic frameworks, build decision-making skills, and take their careers to the next level.
How it works
Every Tuesday for eight weeks, we meet on Zoom for a three-hour learning sprint. Between sprints you watch a short video module, read a chapter of You Don't Need An MBA, and complete a practical assignment applied to your life and work. It takes five to eight hours a week, about half of it in work time, with no travel and no days out of the office.
What you learn
The Not An MBA curriculum teaches the five skills of strategic leadership outlined in You Don't Need An MBA: Leadership Lessons that Cut Through the Crap.
By the end of the programme, students:
- Respond more confidently to change and uncertainty.
- Set firmer boundaries around their time and energy.
- Make better, smarter decisions.
- Tackle systemic issues in their organisations.
- Build deeper, more trusting relationships.
- Lead more authentically and with greater passion.
The details
- Dates: Tuesdays from 9 February to 6 April 2027. No sprint on 30 March (Easter).
- Time: 10am to 1pm NZ time (8 to 11am in Sydney and Melbourne)
- Cohort size: up to 35 people
- Price: NZ$5,999 per person, plus GST for NZ enrolments. We invoice your organisation and work with purchase orders.
- Enrolments close: 24 January, or earlier if the cohort fills
Need a yes from your manager first? Download the 2027 syllabus or grab the PD request email template.
If February doesn't suit, the August 2027 cohort runs from 3 August.