Editor’s note: This article was first published in December 2013, and was presented as reading for the start of 2014.
A few months ago we published 6 pieces of life advice from older people, essential reading for the start of 2014 (and for any time of year). This time we’re back with life lessons from Harvard Business School alumni from 1963 (HBS1963.com), organised around the different areas we’ll need to deal with in the future.
They range from life lessons in general to leadership, business and even marriage. Some of the advice is truly excellent. Of course, I’ve had to pick a selection from the thousands of tips on the site.
On your career or job
Jim Collins
If you see yourself as an entrepreneur, start your company as soon as you can. If you know the field you want to work in but aren’t sure your business idea will work, or how the business actually operates, try working for a company you admire in the same industry as the business you want to create. Get all the knowledge you need to launch your own company.
Ron Leslei
When the new method gets complicated, there’s nothing to lose by trying the old one. Here are the steps to land a job, if we truly deserve it:
- Take the initiative: research the industries, places and companies you’re interested in, and go there to negotiate.
- Go with your past achievements written down on a card (including those where you helped other people achieve theirs). Have a few simple, easy-to-understand statements ready on different areas:
- For example: “Top salesperson in the Madrid office for four years in a row.”
- A three-line problem, the solution you came up with and the result.
- An explanation or anecdote to share if you’re asked for details.
If you’re genuinely good and you’ve been honest and sincere, you’re more likely to get the job than if you had sent a CV by post.
See also: Time management problems
On leadership
“Never use the pronoun ‘I’, except to take responsibility for a problem or a mistake. When you talk about success, say ‘we’ or ‘they’. That is leadership.” – Anonymous
“I would have been a better leader if I had been less arrogant early in my career and more confident in mid-career.” – Scott Spangler
Companies should work more like a partnership than a boss-and-employee arrangement. We should choose partners we trust and teach them, so we don’t need to do everything ourselves. – Sam Abel-Smith
On business
Norman Barnett
Pay people well, or at least fairly. If you care about them, they’ll care about you.
Judy Ley Allen
Surround yourself with the smartest and most ethical people you can find. Set clear goals and communicate them clearly.
David Puterbaugh
It’s a mistake to stay in a business too long, for apparently good or necessary reasons, trying to “rescue” it when there are clear signs that it isn’t really viable.
On wealth
Scott Spangler
Generally speaking, money isn’t as important as I thought. It can’t buy happiness or respect. I know many people who live very happy lives and are content with very little money.
On the other hand, I’ve been poor and I’ve been rich, and it’s much easier to be rich.
Frederick M. O’Such
You need to build up enough wealth to provide a good life for your family, educate your children, support worthy causes, provide amply for your retirement and leave something to your heirs. But that is not the test of success.
See also: 9 business books every professional should read this summer
The real test of success is the respect your family, colleagues, employees and friends have for you. That respect is earned through your actions over long periods of time, not through your balance sheet.
Marriage and family
Ralph Linsalata
- Tell your spouse and children you love them every day, no matter how you feel.
- Never bring problems from work or the business home with you. Leave them at the door.
- Develop a sense of obligation within your family to help others.
- Spend quality time with your family, not just time.
- Choose a spouse who will understand and support you, and make sure you’re clear that you’ll do the same. Life is much better if you can help each other grow and broaden your knowledge, experiences, friendships and abilities.
A lesson for life
José M. Faustino
Don’t settle for being ordinary. Mediocrity breeds boredom, a lack of opportunities and an unsatisfying lifestyle. Instead, choose to excel in everything you do and have a distinctive, even unique, character in your approach.
Bill Ager
Happiness doesn’t come from having what we want, but from wanting what we have. Think that way and you’ll always be happy.
Further reading
Featured image: Roger W from Sarasota, Florida, U.S.A., CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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