MBE Mastering Business Essentials Specialization

This specialization targets 3 groups of people:

1) New college graduates: get smart quickly on business essentials quickly, prepare for interviews, start strong with new jobs

2) Corporate managers: develop a broader, more executive view of the business challenges, make better decisions; persuade with data, influence others (departments / leaders), get more done with same resources

3) Entrepreneurs: find a gap in the market for your product/service, acquire customers and drive word-of-mouth, drive business profits

Albert Einstein famously argued that simplicity is difficult. "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."

As adults, we need to learn selfishly and continually relate content to our lives and careers. These videos are short, but cover the the basics very well, which allows you to take a first-principles approach to learning. As Einstein said, "Education is what you remember, when you forget everything you learned."

Business is a massive topic. There is not a simple “skeleton key” that unlocks all the answers, but that's okay. If you know the foundational 150+ "essentials" of accounting, finance, strategy, operations, marketing = you will be a great shape. This will help you to quickly figure out "oh, it's a ______ kind of problem" and I can get smart by doing XYZ.

For example, here is the basic concept of fixed costs and how it affects all businesses. Without knowing the basics, even business people can get lost quickly. Some of the key questions from this course:

“Why are companies so good at making money?”

“How to think like a business executive?”

“How can I tell my business story to strangers?”

“Why is pricing such a big deal? Aren’t prices just set?”

“What can my company do to raise customers’ willingness to pay?”

“Who are the most profitable clients?”