Think for yourself
See more clearly
Make better decisions
Live on your own terms
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People come to Not An MBA for different reasons - strategy tools, time management, help with organisational frustrations. They leave with those things, and more - like a peer group they'll keep for years, a new understanding of their contribution to a problem, and a calmer appreciation of a bigger system.
But rather than have me tell you about it, I'll let them do it!
Hundreds of people have been through Not An MBA since 2021. Here’s what twelve of them said when we asked about their experience.
These grads are senior leaders who run teams in energy, infrastructure, farming, governance, biosecurity, health, justice, manufacturing, recruitment, food, and policy. Every one of them was great at their job before they came to naMBA - and everyone one of them got something they needed from their time on the course. Their full stories are linked below.
They stop saying yes to everything
Busyness is a trap. Not An MBA turns busy leaders into savvy strategists - not with time management hacks, but with perspective.
“You’ve stopped saying yes to everything. You’ve stopped going and dropping into the detail.”
- Sarah Manley, Chief Executive at Mitey (quoting her EA, a few weeks into the course.)
“Before, I’d come and sit at the corner of the table and not say very much. Now, I take my place in the middle of the table.”
Donna Ross, Director Strategic Policy & Programmes, MBIE
“Learning to say no is a big thing for me.”
Nathan Smith, Group Manager: Security, Nurse Call Solutions
They get out of their own way
Most senior leaders got where they are by being diligent, knowledgeable, and hard-working. These are great qualities - but at a certain point in their career, those strengths can become overused. Learning a new way means unlearning some old stuff, and that process isn't always comfortable.
“It’s confronting, in a really good way, to realise you’re in your own way.”
Jo Kearins, GM Retail Change, Contact Energy
“My personal relationship with myself was probably the biggest bit that I got out of it.”
Hamish Thompson, New Product Development Manager, HamiltonJet
“Picking up some of the tools that we’ve learned along the way through naMBA got me out of a funk.”
Chris Jones, Regional Manager, Downer NZ
They apply their learning along the way
In naMBA, all things point to action. There is no outdated management textbook, no case study packet, and no thesis to write. Instead, every week features an assignment you apply to your life and work.
“It’s practical and applied knowledge. You’re not wading through a textbook, you’re not reading about case studies that don’t feel relevant to you and your work.”
Karla Davidson-Brown, Head of Procurement, Landcorp
“It’s really practical, simple stuff that you can implement, talk to people about, and they get it as well.”
Warren Landles, Sustainability Manager, ofi
“All of a sudden the things you’re being asked to do and the assignments actually become part of the real world and real life!”
Guy Beatson, General Manager, Institute of Directors
They find a place to belong
People sign up for the curriculum, but when we chat to them afterwards, it's often the cohort they can't stop talking about. Not An MBA attracts a certain kind of clever, curious person. They're values-led, growth-orientated - and excellent company.
“We’ve got to the point where I would rely on these people as a sounding board for my future ideas, and they can hold me to account.”
Melissa Bailey, National Manager: Quality, Compliance and Assurance, OSPRI
“I feel like I belong somewhere, and I will stay connected with this group.”
Grace Fox, Operations Manager, Haines Attract
“Knowledge is power, right? Too often we sit with something, protecting our secret.”
Arie Hutflesz, Contractor, Ministry of Justice
Learn more about Not An MBA
Not An MBA is eight weeks, live and online, for experienced leaders working in complex, changing systems. You’ll get three-hour learning sprints, a practical assignment every week, and a cohort of smart, curious people from every sector you can think of.
If you read these and recognised yourself somewhere, that’s probably a sign.