Merit Badges

This week I’ve finished another semester of my MBA program. It was a tough one that kept me from adding to this blog for the last few weeks.   As a result, I can now estimate the value of a publicly traded company by analyzing free-cash-flows and weighted average cost of capital.  I can even adjust for changes in capital structures.

Tantalizing stuff.

Now that  I have just 2 semesters to go, I’ve been  thinking about the experience of grad school, and how it might be made more fun.  I think merit badges are the answer. Diplomas are fine, in fact I have a frame waiting to be filled already hanging in my office. But they aren’t as good as merit badges because they come too late. The Boy Scouts really do a better job of recognizing educational milestones than colleges do.  Sure a diploma is the final recognition, but I’d really prefer to also get some recognition along the way just to keep my interest.  That way it wouldn’t seem like such a slog to the finish line.