Sunday, July 5, 2009

The best advice I ever got

I read this recent article in Fortune (here) and wanted to share with folks. It contains interviews with several well known business leaders in which they share the best advice they ever received. I typically enjoy these types of articles as they allow us to "peak" into these personas to see what makes them tick. While I'm not in the same league as those folks, I did want to share some advice I've received that I'll never forget.

I used to work for a fellow by the name of Alex Bloom (now CEO of Handango) and he told me one time that "Results matter". I know this seem quite obvious, but often times folks jump into a situation without thinking of they can truly deliver results. It has to be tangible and deliver business value. So think about this before you accept your next project. No one jumps into a pool before checking to see if there is any water.

Another piece of advice I'd like to share with folks is "Always be prepared". Everytime I walk into a meeting I want to know my audience and be the most knowledgable person in the room. Everytime I ask a question, I want to have a good handle on the answer before I ask it. Everytime I prepare a presentation I want to know my audience and anticipate their questions. I always get a warm fuzzy feeling when a person in the audience asks a question during a presentation and I respond with "Great Question, I've answered it on the next slide".

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