Scott Allen
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Exactly right, Lorilyn. When an MBA has the attitude of using their education as context within which to frame their real-world experience, no doubt that they can probably turn experience into knowledge more quickly than someone without that education. Someone with that attitude, I want on my team. When an MBA has an attitude of knowing better than someone who's been in the trenches because their knowledge is that of "the experts", that's where I have a problem. So it's totally about the attitude.
I'm glad to hear others (even MBA's) echoing the value of it for networking. Membership in any sort of exclusive club has added networking value over a general-interest group. Credibility is automatically higher. Also, many higher-profile individuals make themselves more accessible to people who have the same marks of prestige that they do. And that's very true of the MBA community.
So back to the original question re: the value of an MBA - I'd say high networking value, high value for getting certain corporate jobs, and high educational value, but not necessarily any higher than the same amount of time spent with a good mentor, a good coach, a good peer support group and a lot of time dedicated to good reading.
And I suppose my words of wisdom for MBA's are applicable to everyone - use your knowledge to frame your experience, but enter every dealing with another person with the attitude of what you can learn from them more so than how much you can show them what you know. You'll learn more, and people will like you better. :)
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