Best Advice

I am not really sure of the best advice I have ever received.  Most of the things that jump to mind as good advice are: 

• Be yourself.  
• Everyone has something to add – treat them with respect. 
• Travel the world. 
• Keep a journal of what you learn each day.   
• No one remembers you for how hard you work…your family is your memory.
• Just act…don’t overanalyze.
• Nothing will be perfect.

Here is advice from some well known names from a Fortune article titled “The Best Advice I Ever Got” (March 21, 2005 – page 90).

• Warren Buffett “You’re right not because others agree with you, but because your facts are right.”
• Richard Branson “Make a fool of yourself.  Otherwise you won’t survive.”
• Howard Schultz “Recognize the skills and traits you don’t possess, and hire people who have them.”
• A.G. Lafley “Have the courage to stick with a tough job.”
• Sumner Redstone “Follow your own instincts, not those of people who see the world differently.”
• Meg Whitman “Be nice, do your best – and most important, keep it in perspective.”
• Jack Welch “Be yourself.”
• Sallie Krawcheck “Don’t listen to the naysayers.”
• Vivek Paul “Don’t limit yourself by past expectations.”
• Dick Parsons “When you negotiate, leave a little something on the table.”
• Andy Grove “When ‘everyone knows’ something to be true, nobody knows nothin’.”
• Anne Mulcahy “Remember the parable of the cow in the ditch.” [First, get the cow out of the ditch.  Second, find out how the cow got in the ditch.  Third, make sure you do whatever it takes so the cow doesn’t go into the ditch again.]
• Brian Grazer “All you really own are ideas and the confidence to write them down.”
• Rick Warren “Regularly sit at the feet of Peter Drucker.”  [You need mentors.]
• Jim Collins “The real discipline comes in saying no to the wrong opportunities.”
• Peter Drucker “Get good – or get out.”
• Ted Turner “Start young.”
• David Neeleman “Balance your work with your family.”
• Mickey Drexler “Bail out a business that isn’t growing.”
• Brian Roberts “Let others take the credit.”
• Marc Benioff “Incorporate philanthropy into your corporate structure.”
• Hector Ruiz “Surround yourself with people of integrity, and get out of their way.”
• Donny Deutsch “If you love something, the money will come.”
• Klaus Kleinfeld “Keenly visualize the future.”
• Ann Fudge “Don’t chart your career path too soon.”
• Herb Kelleher “Respect people for who they are, not for what their titles are.”
• Clayton Christensen “You can learn from anyone.”
• Ted Koppel “Do what you love.”