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KeepingItReal's avatar

Prestige is directly related to scarcity and the exotic. This is why a Harvard degree, a Maybach automobile and a vacation villa in St. Moritz are prestigious. It reflects a need for clubbishness and exclusivity, a way to divide the "us" from the "them" in a way that precludes the establishment of any steadfast standards. What it doesn't do is give any indication of ROI - I have met more mindbogglingly inept Harvard grads than I care to remember and the Maybach is an all-time loss leader for Mercedes. St. Moritz is kind of dull unless you're really into skiing.

I have no problem with the thirst for prestige, but it should be clearly separated from the idea of high quality. It may be highly prestigious to be a Kennedy or Rockefeller, but by no means does it indicate higher quality. Prestige is social currency in much the same way that a letter of introduction from the king was back in the 14th century. It granted you an audience and marked you as an important person who hobnobbed with the prominent and the  powerful. To my mind the only worth of a degree is ROI - will this degree or this institution get me to where I want to go? If not, it is worthless.

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Overcoming Bias Commenter's avatar

If you want to make money in business - start a business.

Have you ever done it? Speaking from experience, I can say that most small business owners -- including myself -- are over-worked and unhappy, not to mention they blow their savings on high risk and low return.

If you want to make money in business, convince people with money that they need to have you around.

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