I believe companies want capable, competent, creative producers. They just don’t know how to find them. MBA on a resume catches their attention.

But what is that MBA worth? Business schools have always been a bit behind what was actually happening in the real world. Today, most business schools are way behind because the pace of change has so greatly accelerated. In response, business schools have resorted to preaching, not teaching, canned programs that they can easily formulize into a class structure.

Students are not learning to think. They are learning very rigid tracks. They believe learning the dogma of nonsense like 6-Sigma or ‘Supply Chain’ Management (glorified buyer) makes them smarter than the people with whom they work. This false knowledge breeds an intolerable arrogance accompanied by bureaucratic red-tape ‘policies’ that remind me of the old Soviet Union.

It doesn’t matter if it works, it matters that the steps are followed and the proper forms are processed. Dare not question the wisdom of these certified bureaucrats or they will remind you of their superiority in spite of the general chaos surrounding their compartments of responsibility.

They have a need to secure compliance from every other department and they will insert a procedure into every department to be sure to have a hand in every area of the company. But never make a suggestion to these wise night school sages about saving time or reducing steps. Everything they do is just too important to trim! They know best, they took that class.

Ignore results. Measure paper. Look at the impressive amount of work produced! Ignore results. Look at how busy they are. Ignore results.

It’s time we quit paying homage to this nonsense. Look at the mess made by Timothy Geithner, representative of this class of know-it-alls who cannot do-at-all. All talk. And you’d better not question his wisdom.

You’ve probably got a Timmy at your business. Tell me, do you see his area streamlined and efficient or always under pressure, bound up in processes and short of patience? Does your Timmy work well with others? Probably not.

Because the business schools cannot teach competence, the MBA has little value and in fact, may be a serious detriment to your business. Why not create your own MBA program?

Allow employees to submit plans for real change and real improvement. Facilitate their plans if they seem viable. Should a measurable contribution be made to your bottom line, consider that an MBA or a step toward an MBA. Make more of them. Let everyone at your company earn a real MBA and you’ll get more than forms and procedures. You’ll get results. And those abrasive know-it-all, morale busting, night school MBAs? They’ll leave. After all, they could never work with “fake” MBAs. They know so much more than the rest of us. They will seek a safer nest among their own kind where staying late is valued above getting things done.

You can create your own MBAs. Think about starting your own MBA program. Seriously.

Chris Reich, Marketing and Business Consultant of TeachU