<p>Are you saying that there is something wrong with going somewhere for the name?</p>
<p>Look, that's what brand-names and icons are all about. Let's face it. How many people really understand the engineering differences of cars such that they can tell you, from an engineering perspective, the difference between a Mercedes and a Chevy? Or, consider this thought exercise. I take a Mercedes and a Chevy and I remove all the identifying plates, hood ornaments, decals, and defining interior features, and I change all the body paneling such that you can't tell which is which, and then I let you drive each of these cars around, let you inspect the powertrain, brake system, electrical system, and whatnot, and then I ask you which car is which. Could you do it? Probably not. In fact, most Mercedes drivers couldn't do it. They don't really have any idea why, from an engineering perspective, the Mercedes is a better car than the Chevy, or even if it is a better engineered car. They drive a Mercedes because they think it's cool to drive a Mercedes. It's a status symbol - a symbol of success. They are basically doing it to show off.</p>
<p>This happens everywhere. Lots of women would like to wear Gucci just because it's Gucci. Is Gucci really that much better than something you can pick up at the mall? They don't know, but who cares? It's Gucci. The entire multibillion-dollar fashion industry as well as the entire high-end car market thrives on this notion of 'luxury goods' - generating demand based on scarcity. </p>
<p>Adults supposedly know better when it comes to resisting demand for these sorts of things. But do they? Would your dad mind driving a Benz or a Lexus to work every day? Would your mom mind having a couple of Versace and Vera Wang dresses in her wardrobe? Of course not. They would love it. </p>
<p>The simple fact of the matter is, competition is inherent to all human beings. All of us feel a compunction to outdo everybody else. And I see nothing wrong with that - in fact, it is precisely through competition that mankind achieves great things. One need only look at professional sports, another multibillion dollar industry. Is professional sports about going out there and having fun? Not really. It's really about going out there and competing for the championship - which means being better than everybody else. We don't want to see our hometown athletes going out there and just "having fun". That's not why they're getting paid millions of dollars. We want them to go out there and beat the other teams. THAT'S why they're getting their millions.</p>
<p>And besides, look at it this way. Harvard is, if nothing else, a career move. It looks good on a resume. Lest you think that that's shallow - bear in mind that lots of people make career moves to improve their future employability. For example, lots of people prefer to take a job with a big famous employer like General Electric or Microsoft even if they don't really want to work there and don't see themselves staying for very long. Why? Because it looks good on a resume. So they figure - I'll just be here for a couple of years, and then I'll have something valuable on my resume to snag future jobs. </p>
<p>A couple of years ago, I was talking to a guy who was graduating with his MBA from MIT-Sloan, and he was saying that he got an offer from a plum investment bank, but he hesitated to take it because he doesn't really like the investment banking lifestyle. What he really wanted to do was get into private equity or hedge funds. But eventually, he took the I-banking job. Why? Because, he said, it will look good on a resume, especially to get the kinds of jobs he does want in the future. So in a sense, it's a matter of 'paying his dues'. Yeah, he knew he wouldn't really like it, but then again, he was only going to be there for a couple of years anyway, and then he would try to jump to the job he does want. And that's exactly what he did. He now has the job he wants in private equity, and he credits his investment banking experience with opening the doors for him. </p>
<p>The point is, sometimes you gotta do some things you don't really like to do in order to get to do the things you do like. That's life. You don't always get to do everything you like to do all the time.</p>