If you want to know the secrets to success of top business leaders, check out Business 2.0’s December 2005 issue. They interviewed 30 top business visionaries (the best of the best) — from Warren Buffett to Richard Branson to Russell Simmons and many more — and asked them the single philosophy they swear by. The results are very interesting, and definitely worth cutting and putting in your bulletin boards.
Here are some of them:
Warren Buffett (CEO, Berkshire Hathaway)
Ask yourself what you’d like others to read about it (what you do that day) on the frontpage of tomorrow’s newspaper. You’ll probably do things a little differently if you keep that in mind.
George Steinbrenner (Owner, NY Yankees)
Surround yourself with people smarter than you … The people I work with are not only smarter than I am, possessing both intellectual and emotional intelligence, but also share my determination to succeed. I will not make an important decision without them.
Ivan Seidenberg (Chairman & CEO, Verizon)
Work hard, have high standards, and stick to your values, because somebody’s always watching.
Blake Ross (Co-creator, Firefox)
The next best thing is whatever makes the last big thing usable … Focus on the everyday problems that nag at everyday people. There are more than enough to g around without imagining new ones.
Craig Newmark (Founder, Craigslist)
Choose your mistakes carefully. When someone points out a mistake to you, deal with it – don’t go into denials.
Looking at the philosophies of these interesting men, there are a number of common threads as to the secrets to business success — work hard, fulfill a need, learn from your mistakes, get help from people smarter than you, and go for it (and be happy in the process). These are not really “secrets”; they’re common knowledge!! Except these men lived these philosophies and used them to shape their lives.
