Return on Investment (ROI) is a funny thing, easy to calculate but not always easy to interpret. In many cases, what you can quantify pales in comparison to what you cannot. Nonetheless, these inestimable flows are real and valuable.
I call this the incalculable ROI.
The Wall Street Journal recently profiled Executive MBAs (EMBAs). Scott Thomas, a 31-year-old who was halfway through the EMBA at a Cleveland school, dropped out to enroll in Ohio State University’s EMBA program. This doubled his tuition costs to $72,500 for the 18-month degree.
The WSJ concluded that this was a good move for Mr. Thomas because the Ohio State program yields a 170% return on investment, third behind only Texas A&M and the University of Florida.
However, it's likely that Mr. Thomas had something different in mind. One of his reasons for transferring to the Ohio State program was that “the alumni network is unbelievably large, and they’re unbelievably loyal.” In other words, by moving to a program with robust community, Mr. Thomas might well connect with a future investor in some future start-up. Or his next boss. Or a partner who goes on to help him launch a world-beating product.
The ROI calculated by the WSJ is surely important for near-term cash flow, but it pales beside the incalculable ROI of an expanded, lifelong professional network.