Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Good pieces of advice:

The advice was, first, always ask for the order, and second, when the customer says yes, stop talking.

"Good story, but it's hard to look smart with bad numbers."

Oprah said, "Always be the only person who can sign your checks."

"I think you ought to look for an out-of-your intellectual comfort zone experience."

Adam Smith's concept of comparative advantage: Focus on those things you do better than others.

This idea of anticipation is key to investing and to business generally. You can't wait for an opportunity to become obvious.

In order to do something well, he explained, you have to keep practicing and preparing.

Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent. You will be amazed at how your whole approach to a person or problem becomes very different.

I've noticed that some of the most effective leaders don't make themselves the center of attention. They are respectful. They listen. This is an appealing personal quality, but it's also an effective leadership attribute.

"Here is something to remember for the rest of your life: Don't spend your time on things you can't control. Instead, spend your time thinking about what you can."

"Doing the wrong thing is not worth the loss of one night's good sleep."

Spend a ton of time with your customers.

Humor takes away tension and helps you realize you're wrong.

'Your career is long and the business world is small. Always act with integrity. Never take the last dollar off the table."

"You have to stand guard at the door of your mind." He was saying that the selection of [my friends and advisors] will matter more than anything else, and that you can't take anybody's approach as sacrosanct.

He told me that in your first years of business life, you shouldn't go chasing after fancy titles, but try to find people who can teach you something.

She believed that if you had something good to say, you should put it in writing. But if you had something bad to say, you should tell the person to his or her face.

The best advice I ever received was to have a point of view about the future that focuses on the customer.

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