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Great Insights

January 28, 2008  |  from D. Brown Online - Project Management Productivity & Construction Operations

Flying out to Florida on Sunday I was reading the lastest copy of Fortune magazine and came across a couple fantastic tid-bits of insight that everyone could benefit from. 

 The first comes from Melinda Gates -

"If you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction.  Remember also that you are indebted to life until you help some less fortunate person, just as you were helped"

We could all benefit from feeling a little more indebted and seeking to help out others. 

 

The second great piece came from Robert Polet who is now the CEO of Gucci and discussing a time when he was first put in charge of all Malaysian operations for Unilever when he was just 35 years old. 

One day when faced with a particularly tricky issue, Polet put in a call to Unilever's head office to ask for help.  The advice that came back was simple:  Take a piece of paper, write down all the options available, and pick the best one.  "The next morning I said to my wife, 'They're right,'" Polet recalls.  "It's only by going through tough experiences that you can grow."

I think that a lot of times we all forget this.  People often forget that most of their most difficult times were also those that taught them the most.  Don't think that you are being a good boss by "helping" people past those difficult experiences.  You are really doing them a dis-service.  The best thing you can do is to actually make sure that your high-potential people get as many chances to go through difficult situations as possible. 

 

Filed: Interesting