CEOs pick business schools.

MORE THAN HALF the respondents to our most recent email polling have used business schools to educate or train themselves, their top managers or their board members. But they disagree sharply about which B-schools are best-suited for that purpose.

Some 259 out of 477 respondents, or 54.3 percent, said they had used business schools in one of those ways (see story, page 34). Presented with Business Week's top 25 business schools, they chose the 10 best for CEOs to use (below left). But they also nominated a sampling of a surprising array of other business schools, which we've listed (below, center).

Respondents noted it is difficult to compare business schools because they have such different strengths. "Darden is more real world and hands-on with participation by top industry leaders such as George David of United Technologies," one reader wrote. "MIT is the choice of many for manufacturing and is also highly practical. Harvard still ranks high, but it is overrated."

Harvard does seem to be a lightning rod, with other CEOs defending it vigorously. "Harvard still has the strongest brand among all business schools, and it has the best senior executive level programs," one reader stated.

As to why so many CEOs have never used a business school, it may be frustration with what is taught. "Business schools teach their students how to think and how to plan and creatively analyze problems," one reader wrote. "But they do not teach them how to manage people, how to mentor or be mentored, or how to deal with the frustrations inherent in following someone else's directives. I wouldn't hire an MBA if the government gave me a 100 percent subsidy."

Another reader added: "The gap between real-world business needs and the curricula at these branded business schools continues to widen at a frightening pace."

In other news, CEO Confidence bumped up this month after a decline the previous month (below right). The benchmark indicator, launched in October 2002 with a base value of 100, hit 165, up from 146.8 the previous month. That was largely driven by a 19.8 point increase in the Employment Confidence Index, a key component. The sharp month-to-month fluctuations mean it is difficult to tell whether the increase in hiring intentions is a short-term blip or a meaningful long-term trend.

RELATED ARTICLE: THE NUMBERS

CEO's Top 10 Business Schools    Nominations

Harvard University               Babson College
Univ. of Pennsylvania (Wharton)  Brigham Young University
Stanford University              Georgia State
Northwestern (Kellogg)           Kennesaw State University
University of Chicago            Ohio State University
Massachusetts Institute of       Thunderbird (Garvin)
Technology (Sloan)
University of Michigan (Ross)    University of Notre Dame
Columbia University              University of California, Santa Clara
Duke (Fuqua)                     U.S. Naval Academy
Dartmouth (Tuck)                 West Point