My longtime business partner, Lee Kowarski, asked former employees about what they learned from me as his birthday gift to me. They responded with thoughtful insights about managing and hiring, self-improvement, creating and growing a business, and how to work. I am sure it was not always easy to work with me, and I learned as much from everyone as they learned from me. I am humbled that so many contributed and honored to have been able to work with them. I hope you can benefit from some of these insights as my coaching clients do.
Managing and hiring
1. Look for intelligent, dedicated, hardworking people. See not just who they are but who they can become. Treat them and compensate them fairly and give them plenty of autonomy.
2. Your people are wildly important, and your employer should understand that. And they should be able to show you that they think their people are critical. Companies can recognize the humanness of their people and be humane in their structures and policies.
3. Value and support your employees as whole people beyond the office walls and give them confidence and self-worth. It's possible to show up as your authentic self at work, with creativity and integrity, thrive in business, and help others do the same.
4. Be intentional in fostering your culture; it should feel like an extended family. Build a truly inclusive culture.
5. Sincerely care about what your people can contribute and help them grow professionally and personally. Be creative and passionate, believe in your teams, push your people to think bigger, and enthusiastically support your vision.
6. When someone in charge treats you like a partner, trusts you, makes your life financially stable without requiring you to abandon your passion, always asks about your family, and leads with compassion - stick around. There will always be more to learn.
7. Just because you're the lowest on the totem pole doesn't mean your boss won't respect you.
8. People learn how to treat those on the lowest part of the totem pole by watching their boss.
9. Have a deep curiosity for people and value having a variety of perspectives around you. A great idea can come from anyone in the room. In a well-run company, everyone in the room will believe this, and they will all speak and listen. Ensure that your employees feel like their opinions are valuable and valued.
10. Provide your employees an opportunity to grow, constantly challenging them and asking the difficult questions nobody wants to ask.
11. It is never too late to follow your dream, and make sure to help your people follow theirs. The relationship works only if your objectives and your employee's objectives align.
Self-improvement
12. Weave together - career, philanthropy, activism, community values, friends & family, culture, spirituality-into everyday life.
13. Follow your passion and values and continue to push yourself into new pursuits. Get smarter and work on yourself: Spend time learning new things and improving yourself continuously. Read. A lot. About everything. Listen to music. See plays. Eat good food.
14. Place your values at the center of your professional life and be courageous in pursuing authentic goals. Work and live as a holistic self.
15. Be what you value in others. Make money, but don't overvalue it. Be generous with your money, time, and attention if you are lucky enough to have those things to spare. Spend significant time giving back in an active and meaningful way and encourage your people to give back as well.
16. Be a loyal and caring friend, a loving father, and a partner; engage in the community on multiple levels and strike a balance between working hard while having fun doing it. Tackle family challenges and opportunities with grace and honor.
17. Have the courage to be your own person, implement your vision, and take on the significant challenges and curveballs in life. Be passionate, work hard and inspire others. Care deeply about your work and are confident about your positive impact on your clients, employees, and community.
18. Working hard can be a great thing, so long as it doesn't overwhelm the rest of your life.
19. Take a vacation. Take two. Turn off your email.
20. Don't shy away from a good argument - be open-minded, with the intention to understand.
21. Feedback doesn't need to be scary, even when negative. A good boss knows it's not about the reprimand - it's about setting the expectation that the person can do better next time.
22. Find a mentor.
23. Find someone to mentor.
24. Find moments of peace, focus on living a good life; work is part of that, and give yourself the credit you deserve.
Creating and growing a business
25. A company can be financially successful and morally sound - it just requires a backbone and some vision. Be a role model for succeeding in business without losing your heart.
26. Starting your own business is achievable. Have the courage, run it according to your vision and values, and hire and trust your people.
27. Conceive a vision that might be invisible to others, ignore or break through the obstacles to achieving it, convince, connive, cajole, and mobilize others to keep clawing for success, then put in the necessary work to achieve it.
28. Know your strengths and weaknesses, and team up with people who complement you. Focuses on the company's core competencies. Outsource everything else.
29. The grandest ethos is empathy for each other and your clients. Empathy is elemental to problem-solving.
30. Be a Jack of All Trades - wear many different hats, whatever it takes to push your mission forward.
31. Take Risks - try new things in all areas and never be afraid to fail. The cutting edge is where the fun stuff happens - don't fear change. Keep learning. Recharge. Repeat.
32. A great boss will know when to forgive a certain level of creative time-wasting.
33. Many inputs are needed to produce creative output; look beyond your industry for innovations.
34. Never underestimate the pace of change and the importance of having a vision for what you want your industry to look like and understanding your role in realizing it!
35. Know when it's time to stop.
How to work
36. Be a joy to work with - kind, fair, and generous to those you encounter. Always stay calm and relaxed, no matter what the situation.
37. Do only the things that only you can do, delegate. Let this inform how you recruit talent, look at your deficiencies, and how to approach networking.
38. Do you want to do X, or do you want to do Y? Yes. There always must be a way. Accepting the world as binary, win or lose, left or right, is an inelegant approach to problems. Force yourself to focus on creativity and innovative problem-solving.
39. Be intentional about your work - Focus on the story or the outcome, rather than simply rearranging whatever is in front of you. This applies to both work and life.
40. Take an idea and turn it into something tangible. Follow the thing that interests you as long as it is interesting to you.
41. Be the master of your own time. Plan your time and stick to it. Otherwise, you get lost in busy work and will not have time for the important stuff.
42. "Idea" people have a million ideas, very few of which will be brought to fruition. That's ok. Be willing to help them think wild and commit responsibly.
43. Be an early adopter and teach others.
44. Call people sometimes, just to say hello. Never make them feel rushed. Actively listen. Good conversation makes a difference.
45. You will make mistakes. Sometimes they may even be big ones. Take responsibility. Don't do it too often. Move on.
46. Ask questions. Lots. It's ok to say you don't understand or don't know. Why pretend?
47. Read a room and navigate both friendly and challenging environments. Before the meeting, put in the time and effort to understand the client's needs, sentiments, and challenges to have a better chance to succeed.
48. Keep messages simple, whether it's a slide, a disagreement at home, or a decision.
49. Be dedicated to producing high-quality work, and the leadership must set the tone. But don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
Steven specific
50. Don't get too frustrated with your boss when you write to him with a question that requires a dual response (Do you need a half-hour or full hour for this meeting?), and he writes back YES.
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