Jul 13, 2021
What if an MBA program was designed to benefit all life?
What is the Next Economy MBA?
The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.
Early bird discount! Get 20% off of the Next Economy MBA if you register before July 26, 2021
Why are you offering this course?
Many folks have approached the LIFT team over the years to ask “what business skills, knowledge, and/or resources do I need to excel in the Next Economy?”
The question, along with our observation that many social entrepreneurs need grounding in the business fundamentals of vision, strategy, culture, and operations, led us to the creation of the Next Economy MBA.
The content taught in the vast majority of MBA programs is based on outdated principles that were developed during the industrial revolution and oriented toward the outcome of producing functional mid-level managers of large multinational corporations.
MBA programs are also incredibly expensive, costing roughly $100k-$150k for a two year degree. This ultimately exacerbates the cycle of wealth extraction and forces aspiring entrepreneurs to become reliant on high-salary positions to pay down their debt.
The LIFT team has spent over ten years working with more than 250 social enterprises and organizations that are growing the Next Economy. We have identified patterns that we feel that every entrepreneur should know in order to be prepared for the future of business and life.
We also discuss topics like Indigenous economics, regenerative finance, the gift economy, self-managing organizations, multi-stakeholder cooperatives, comprehensive strategies to reverse climate change, non-violent communication, non-extractive investing, racial justice, how market rate returns are perpetuating white supremacy, and much more. No MBA program in the world teaches these types of topics.
What’s in it for me?
The benefits of participating in this course include, but are not limited to:
- Create a Next Economy business design or modify your existing business to be more aligned with creating benefit for all life
- Learn about tools, tips, and strategies that you can apply to your own business
- Increase confidence in your understanding of Next Economy business fundamentals
- Feel more confident about a career that aligns with your deeper purpose
- Join a supportive peer group that will hold each other accountable to achieving your goals and objectives
- Save time by getting insights from experts who have worked in this field — without having to find all of the information out on your own
- Build your thought leadership by learning how to publish and speak about the Next Economy
- Influence a burgeoning new way of thinking about how to structure and organize a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.
- See “Testimonials” below to see what others have gained from our previous courses. Check out our growing community of Next Economy MBA Alumni.
What does the course outline / content look like?
You can view a sample syllabus & course outline here. To give you a brief overview, LIFT’s business design process is focused on four key areas: vision, culture, strategy, and operations. We’ll discuss these four key areas and elaborate on strategies and common themes we have seen work for enterprises and organizations that are fundamentally transforming the nature of the economy. You’ll also learn how you can apply these ideas to your organization, your career, and your investments.
VISION
- Clarify, articulate, and pursue your vision for maximum beneficial impact
- Fine-tune your product and/or service design
- Learn how to enhance your social and environmental performance while maintaining sound financial performance
- Increase your confidence in the direction of the company and focus on your long-term goals
- Learn about the mindset shift needed to create a regenerative economy
CULTURE
- Strategic recruiting process to find and select the engaged, talented team you want to have
- Fully engaged company culture aligned with your objectives and values
- Defined values and cultural investments process to develop the highest impact culture possible
- Learn about racial justice, dismantling white supremacy, and anti-oppression work
- Move from a scarcity to an abundance mindset
STRATEGY
- Conduct a gap analysis of the next economy goods and services that are missing/needed in your community
- Develop a core value proposition and messaging to differentiate your brand
- Attract mission-aligned investors
- Cultivate your reputation as a thought leader
OPERATIONS
- Create or reaffirm a clear organizational structure with documented roles and responsibilities
- Create faster and more effective responsiveness to operational needs
- Reduce stress and anxiety and create the space to resume the activities you enjoy
Who is teaching the course?
The team at LIFT Economy. A few guest speakers will also be invited to help add value to the course.
What are the course dates? What is the format?
- The next course runs from September 21, 2021 through May 31, 2022 for MBA VII (nine months total)
- The course will be taught online via webinar. Anyone in the world can participate.
- Online classes will be twice per month for 90 minutes
- Office hours for student Q&A will be on the Thursday following each class at 11:00am — 12:00pm Pacific Time
- All of the bi-monthly classes will be on Tuesdays from 11:00am-12:30pm Pacific Time (the first two sessions will be from 11am-1pm):
- Tuesday, September 21, 2021 Intro to Next Economy
- Tuesday, October 5, 2021 Intro to Next Economy II
- Tuesday, October 19, 2021 Principles of Next Economy Enterprises I
- Tuesday, November 16, 2021 Principles of Next Economy Enterprises II
- Tuesday, November 30, 2021 Enterprise Case Studies by Structure
- Tuesday, December 14, 2021 Personal Strategies and Life Design
- Tuesday, December 28, 2021 Vision Alignment
- Tuesday, January 11, 2022 Culture I — Values and Team’
- Tuesday, January 25, 2022 Culture II — Communication
- Tuesday, February 8, 2022 Strategy I — Positioning
- Tuesday, February 22, 2022 Strategy II — Fundraising
- Tuesday, March 8, 2022 Strategy III — Partnerships & Governance
- Tuesday, March 22, 2022 Operations I — Organization Structure, Roles and Tasks
- Tuesday, April 5, 2022 Operations II — Operating Projection and Financial Systems
- Tuesday, April 19, 2022 Marketing I — Approach and Messaging
- Tuesday, May 3, 2022 Marketing II — Branding and Sales Systems
- Tuesday, May 17, 2022 Practicum Share, Transforming Capitalism, and Review
- Tuesday, May 31, 2022 Next Steps for the Next Economy
When is the next session starting?
The Next Economy MBA is offered each year in the Spring and Fall. If the current session has already started, you can sign up to get notified when we announce new cohort dates.
Early bird discount! Get 20% off of the Next Economy MBA if you register before July 26, 2021
Who should take the course? How many people will be participating?
The course is designed for entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, students / recent graduates, employees, and folks who want to learn more about Next Economy business principles. We aim for an average cohort size of 50–60 people to keep the discussions focused and to ensure that we are able to serve individual needs (note: see comments directly below for more details).
How are you thinking about inclusion?
One of the biggest opportunities in creating the Next Economy is increasing the amount of diversity, equity, and inclusion from the start. Indeed, how can we create an economy that “works for the benefit of all life” without including people who have faced systemic barriers to success?
With this in mind, we aspire towards 50% spots in this course for people of color. People of color are also eligible for a 50% discount on the total price of the course.
Is this an “accredited” MBA program?
The program is not accredited. Indeed, part of the reason we created the Next Economy MBA is that no accredited business school in the world teaches the breadth and depth of the topics (e.g., regenerative design, the gift economy, anti-oppression, worker-ownership, etc) we discuss on this course. We had to create a comprehensive program that we would be interested in taking ourselves.
Early bird discount! Get 20% off of the Next Economy MBA if you register before July 26, 2021
Want to speak with someone? Please email erin@lifteconomy.com or
shawn@lifteconomy.com with any questions or comments.
