It's the Seinfeld School of Business (SSB).
Some refer to it by its more common name, "Tuck School of Business," but I call it something more appropriate. Seinfeld was known for being a paternless, meandering sitcom about nothing. The humor was in the ordinariness of the show. The Seinfeld School of Business or "Tuck" is just that -- ordinary. Show me a good business school, I'll show you SSB. What makes SSB different from the rest?
Before you think I've declared war on our business school, think of it this way: SSB suffers from the same problem as Dartmouth -- the brand is visible and "elite" when one considers the hundreds of colleges and business schools, but yet invisible when one considers only the best of the best. In my previous column, I discussed why Dartmouth should increase its brand awareness. Today, my focus is on SSB. In order to compete with Harvard, Stanford, Wharton or even Kellogg in terms of reputation and image, SSB needs to teach itself a business lesson -- build a powerful brand.
"Hey, wait a minute! Tuck is ranked first by the Wall Street Journal and 10th by the U.S. News. Tuck isn't ordinary," some say. This is somewhat true: SSB is reputable and respected. It has educated many leaders, but it still lacks the punch and prestige of other graduate programs, chiefly Harvard, Stanford, Wharton (Penn), Kellogg (Northwestern) and Sloan (MIT). How many students do you know that aim for a Tuck MBA? You'll find some, but many more aim for the alluring "Harvard MBA" or "Wharton MBA." I don't take issue with Tuck providing a mediocre education -- no, Tuck offers one of the best educations in the world. I take issue with SSB not doing more to promote its image, not stepping forward into a higher league.
If SSB wants to play with the big boys, it should look at the elite's history. Harvard is the goliath when it comes to B school, so how did the Wharton brand become as reputable as Harvard's? Wharton narrowed its focus. It specialized. Instead of trying to be the best in every business category, it chose one: finance. Wharton was the first to "preempt the finance category." Branding gurus Al and Laura Ries write, "You compete with Harvard not by being the same as Harvard, you compete with Harvard by being different." Ask a Fortune 5 exec: "What is Wharton the best at?" I guarantee 12 out of 13 will respond, "finance." Ask a Fortune 5 exec: "What is Tuck best at?" I guarantee 17 out of 18 will ask for a lifeline.
Kellogg is no different. It preempted the marketing category. Kellogg and Wharton follow a branding principle: "set up a new category you can be first in." Being first in marketing or finance doesn't mean you have to specialize or shrink curriculum. Both Wharton and Kellogg offer business courses in just as many areas as Harvard or Stanford Business School. Wharton and Kellogg are "better off because they created the perception of being leaders in narrow fields."
It's not enough to learn from history. We must profit from it. What exactly is Tuck the best in? What is it synonymous with? Wharton owns the word "finance," Stanford is synonymous with "Silicon Valley." What word does Tuck own? You don't have to look too far to find something that Tuck could become the best in. It was only a year ago that American companies were embarrassed and humiliated by ethics!
Say Tuck starts to position itself as the leading business school in business ethics. I don't mean Tuck should just offer more classes in ethics or hire more ethics professors. Tuck should be pro-active about its niche field. Every brochure should have "leader in business ethics" on the front. Tuck should go to companies such as WorldCom, Enron, Tyco, Arthur Andersen, and say, "We are the leaders in business ethics. You should hire our graduates." The execs at these embattled companies are looking for something -- anything -- to make themselves look better; therefore, they might issue press releases saying, "WorldCom is committed to hiring strong ethical professionals. That is why we are partnering with Tuck, the leading business school in ethics." Pretty soon, Tuck will become known as the leader in business ethics. And we at the college can ride the coattails of our now-more-reputable business school.
You can't be satisfied with second place. Harvard Business School and its ilk will continue to be more attractive schools unless Tuck can become the best at something. Carpe Diem, Tuck. Become a leader.
