In the very fist lecture of 'Competition and Strategy in Creative Industries' I was called out as a 'smug MBA student' by my professor.
Professor: Alright, class, I would like for someone to describe in your own words, what the following sentence means, 'The market under invests in creativity due to externalities associated with ideas'. Megan, what do you think?
Me: Ummm, well, I'm not 100% sure, but I'll take a stab at it. The market isn't investing enough in creativity. Ahhh... Ummm... I would say that, perhaps there is some misunderstanding on the value of ideas in the marketplace.... ummm... ya.
Professor: Ok, I just want to comment on something that Megan just said there. She said that the market misunderstands the value of ideas. Well, it's easy to sit there and be a smug MBA student and say that the market has misunderstood something. The market, which is filled with really smart people...
What I hear: Shame on you Megan. Have you learned nothing in the past 2 years? The market is always right. Always.
What I think to myself: If the market is always right, and the statement is true, then the market is not investing what they should. Therefore the market isn't right. Why aren't they right? Well, something must be missing. If some piece of information is missing, and they are investing based on the available information, isn't that a form of misunderstanding? I'm confused!
What I write in my notes: Never use the word 'misuderstood' ever again.
What I tell my peers: that will teach me for skimming through the reading. I don't think I was being smug, I just think that it was clear that I didn't have a clue what I was saying.
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