Advice to My Younger Self
After 35 years as a professional businessperson, with almost 25 of those in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, here are the three things I have learned that I would say to my younger self.
FIRST, KNOW THYSELF.
Each of us is different and special. One of the beauties of the world is that individuals vary in ways that enable us to contribute in unique ways. This is the essence of why teams can outperform individuals.
The most important aspect of this is to BECOME SELF-AWARE – and then find ways to leverage and grow your unique strengths while mitigating your weaknesses. The better you know yourself and how you can uniquely contribute, the better you can seek opportunities that are a best fit for you. You can then surround yourself with those with complementary characteristics.
Mentors can help. Complimentary colleagues can help. Humility can help.
Find out what makes YOUR heart sing – and then find your way into making that YOUR LIFE’S WORK.
SECOND, it’s all about PEOPLE.
Organizations are made up of people, designed to serve people, and your success always depends on not only yourself, but on those around you. Make sure you surround yourself with GOOD people, SMART people, HIGH INTEGRITY people. It will make you more successful – and you will have a bigger impact on the world.
From my current vantage point, this emphasis on choosing the people I work with has become even more important. These days I have many conversations with my peers at the experienced end of the spectrum where we share with one another that we will no longer waste our precious time suffering through working with less-than-wonderful people. This tells me that this is a lesson many have learned through bitter experience. For those who aren’t yet in their 50s, I encourage you to make the people you surround yourself with a priority even sooner than I did. This means letting the people involved influence your choice about whether this is something you want to do, and when you can, cull those who do not inspire you and bring you joy to work alongside.
THIRD, there is a PROCESS and PROGRESS to everything.
The world is NOT a static, unchanging place. Expect GROWTH AND EVOLUTION – in yourself, in others, in organizations – LOOK FOR IT. Hang onto HOPE.
Back in my college years, I got to experience the amazing growth over time of my team leaders in a program I led. It was a profound experience that taught me that I should never assume that people will remain the same. Instead I should expect and facilitate growth. As I developed into business leadership positions, I applied and expanded that learning as I looked for core characteristics when I was hiring someone, secure in the confidence that knowledge and skills can be developed over time. That enabled me to hire ambitious, enthusiastic individuals who had a strong character foundation, a demonstrated ability to learn, and who were committed to growing into the roles I was creating in my startups. Remember that the crucible of a startup will amplify a person’s character – good or bad – and will demand creativity and flexibility to overcome emerging obstacles.
Similarly, the essence of launching a new solution into the world is understanding the status quo process your potential customers currently use – and envisioning how it could be better. Then finding ways to help those customers discover the better solution that you have to offer to enable them to improve their process. Understanding process is fundamental to enabling and facilitating change and growth.
