Business 2.0 asked 30 business leaders, collectively worth more than $70 billion, what single philosophy was the key to their success in life, business, or both.
Here’s a sampling:
"When People Screw Up, Give Them a Second Chance."
— Richard Branson, founder and chairman, Virgin Group
"Check With the Wife"
— Po Bronson, author, The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest and What Should I Do With My Life?
"Treat your customers like they own you, because they do."
— Mark Cuban, co-founder, HDNet; owner, Dallas Mavericks
"Learn to Give Back"
— Michael Graves, architect and designer
"Believe in Something Bigger than Yourself"
— Carlos M. Gutierrez, U.S. secretary of commerce; former chairman and CEO, Kellogg
— "Don’t Trust, Just Verify"
— Steven D. Levitt, coauthor, Freakonomics
"Choose Your Mistakes Carefully"
— Craig Newmark, founder, Craigslist
"Whatever a Man Soweth, That Shall He Also Reap"
— Dick Parsons, chairman and CEO, Time Warner
And here’s one that I chuckled over at first, until I got to thinking about who was saying it:
"Never write when you can talk. Never talk when you can nod. And never put anything in an e-mail."
I think you’ll find the rest of the list equally engaging.
Whether you agree with these philosophical nuggets or not, it’s clear that each person has developed a personal internal guidance system. When you look behind these statements perhaps you can see evidence of each person’s worldview. A worldview is comprised of the most fundamental beliefs a person has about the nature of the world, herself, life, truth, good, evil, purpose in life, and God.
- Examine the statements in the list. What would you guess are the fundamental beliefs that shape each “golden rule”?
- What is your “golden rule”?
- How have your fundamental beliefs about life, God, yourself, the world, right and wrong led you to your golden rule for living?
- What would a business life lived by the golden rule in Luke 10:27 (New International Version) look like ?
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
- Have you seen such a life? Either way, what do you think that means?
