It has been a very interesting and busy week and I’m trying to stick to a goal of posting at least something every few days. I normally don’t watch much TV and spend most of my free time reading and programming, but I had the pleasure of coming across a TV show on KET called “Buffett and Gates - Go Back to School”. The show was a recording of a group of finance students who would ask various questions to Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.
If nothing else, it was very inspiring. As a young entrepreneur of a startup, I think it’s important to have role models in the business world and for the most part we at Codeworx Design Studio try to model ourselves after Google. For those who know me, they know that up until recently I highly favored the Partner business model of Microsoft, but as I’ve done more reading and discussion regarding Google, I think our company’s views on innovation align more towards Google’s.
But as I listened to the TV program it became very apparent that there are some key characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. The first being, they follow their passion... I believe it was Mr. Buffett who specifically mentioned the importance of following your passion, and I think that is something that many people do NOT do and especially with a business, if you are not passionate about your product(s) or service, you will most likely fail.
The second characteristic of successful entrepreneurs and people in general is surrounding yourself with smart people. Marissa Mayer (of Google) in her speech on innovation talks about her “Laura Beckman Theory” (boy, I hope I spelled that right) And the concept of if you work with people better than you, then your intelligence will raise. I think the opposite of this theory is true as well, if you surround yourself with people of lesser skill and are susceptible, then ultimately they will bring you down, which is what I refer to as the “bucket of crabs” theory, based off a similar theory from the movie “Romeo must Die”.
But this of course does not mean that in every instance working with lesser people will bring you down, because kind of the third and fourth characteristics of successful people are the ability to independently think and make your own decisions. Perhaps one of my favorite moments in the program was when a student asked Mr. Buffett who he referred to when he needed assistance… and he jokingly stated that he looks in the mirror… :) He further elaborated and talked about his business partner as a potential source for assistance, but ultimately in order to blaze your own trail, you must be able to think independently. And when coupled with the fourth characteristic, which is the ability to strategize, I think you ultimately either succeed in doing something unique, or you fail greatly.
The last major point that I took from the TV program was concerning Mr. Buffett’s definition of a successful person, which is that “you have lived a good life if the people who you wanted to love you, do…”. I think this is a very interesting statement and when listing to Mr. Buffett about the importance of being able to get the most out of people and then also applying it to the concepts of work and home balance, it is quite profound.
It reminds me of a quote that I had tried to live my own life by:
“To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—this is to have succeeded”
- Bessie Anderson Stanley
On my own internal scorecard of life, I have my own measures of success, and am no means complete or successful (with the exception of my intelligent and beautiful wife, who I am most blessed to be with), but I did want to share most importantly Mr. Buffett’s last statement because it shows that although you may be successful in business, does it matter if your unsuccessful as a human?
~ Bobby
Please remember, as a legal disclaimer, that my views are not to be considered the views of Codeworx Design Studio, Inc.
If nothing else, it was very inspiring. As a young entrepreneur of a startup, I think it’s important to have role models in the business world and for the most part we at Codeworx Design Studio try to model ourselves after Google. For those who know me, they know that up until recently I highly favored the Partner business model of Microsoft, but as I’ve done more reading and discussion regarding Google, I think our company’s views on innovation align more towards Google’s.
But as I listened to the TV program it became very apparent that there are some key characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. The first being, they follow their passion... I believe it was Mr. Buffett who specifically mentioned the importance of following your passion, and I think that is something that many people do NOT do and especially with a business, if you are not passionate about your product(s) or service, you will most likely fail.
The second characteristic of successful entrepreneurs and people in general is surrounding yourself with smart people. Marissa Mayer (of Google) in her speech on innovation talks about her “Laura Beckman Theory” (boy, I hope I spelled that right) And the concept of if you work with people better than you, then your intelligence will raise. I think the opposite of this theory is true as well, if you surround yourself with people of lesser skill and are susceptible, then ultimately they will bring you down, which is what I refer to as the “bucket of crabs” theory, based off a similar theory from the movie “Romeo must Die”.
But this of course does not mean that in every instance working with lesser people will bring you down, because kind of the third and fourth characteristics of successful people are the ability to independently think and make your own decisions. Perhaps one of my favorite moments in the program was when a student asked Mr. Buffett who he referred to when he needed assistance… and he jokingly stated that he looks in the mirror… :) He further elaborated and talked about his business partner as a potential source for assistance, but ultimately in order to blaze your own trail, you must be able to think independently. And when coupled with the fourth characteristic, which is the ability to strategize, I think you ultimately either succeed in doing something unique, or you fail greatly.
The last major point that I took from the TV program was concerning Mr. Buffett’s definition of a successful person, which is that “you have lived a good life if the people who you wanted to love you, do…”. I think this is a very interesting statement and when listing to Mr. Buffett about the importance of being able to get the most out of people and then also applying it to the concepts of work and home balance, it is quite profound.
It reminds me of a quote that I had tried to live my own life by:
“To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—this is to have succeeded”
- Bessie Anderson Stanley
On my own internal scorecard of life, I have my own measures of success, and am no means complete or successful (with the exception of my intelligent and beautiful wife, who I am most blessed to be with), but I did want to share most importantly Mr. Buffett’s last statement because it shows that although you may be successful in business, does it matter if your unsuccessful as a human?
~ Bobby
Please remember, as a legal disclaimer, that my views are not to be considered the views of Codeworx Design Studio, Inc.
posted by Trep Step @ 8:32 PM
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