My Secrets to Success...

I was talking to one of my high school friends a year or so ago when she asked what my "secrets to success" were. I was a little surprised that I was being asked the question at all, much less by my friend who has seen me grow up and knows me better than most. Anyway, here's how I would answer the question now.

Attitude
To me, this is the single most important aspect that has contributed to my success. I'm not talking about being one of those bubbly cheerleader personalities that goes around with a smile all the time.

I am talking about somebody who has an inner optimistic outlook , who doesn't get down on himself due to outside forces. When I speak to recent grads or at other events, sometimes I speak about a Stanford grad I knew who started out as a receptionist at Oracle for his first job, yet he was extremely positive, helpful, humble and gave his best effort everyday. I hired him the first chance I got, and he turned out to be one of the best employees I ever had.

That positive inner voice is so crucial to success, it represents self-motivation, dedication, professionalism, and truly inspires others who interact with a person like this. I believe my positive attitude has contributed to my success more than any other skill or characteristic.

Insight
I have been told since I was a little boy that I have been able to understand situations and people extremely well. Being able to put yourself in someone else's shoes is invaluable and has allowed me to understand and empathize with customers, partners, and employees in order to proactively address their needs successfully. This ability has also proven extremely valuable in quickly building rapport with press, analysts, employers and partners.

Communication
Closely related to insight, is communication because being able to listen well and extrapolate based on what someone is saying, and not saying, and the situation that surrounds that conversation has helped me immensely. Conversely, being able to clearly articulate my ideas verbally or in writing has always been something that I have relied on in school and the professional world. I also include diplomacy and customer service skills in this section, which have also served me well as a professional who is always serving an internal or external audience.

Teamwork
Being able to select and develop a team is one of my favorite things to do as a manager because it is very fulfilling. It is also one of the most powerful things that a company can do because it leverages the skills and capabilities of multiple people. With the right leader and the right goals, a team can accomplish way more together than they ever might have separately.

Focus
I think focus is not simply the ability to block out distractions, and concentrate on a task. More powerfully than that, this also includes brain cycles dedicated to improving the business, seeing new opportunities and solving work problems as you go through the day, on the drive home, while exercising, even while sleeping. I can't tell you how many times I brainstormed a great campaign idea while not at work.

Optimization
This is one of my favorite words and activities of all time. I like it because it means continuous improvement, efficiency, seeking the best, a quest for perfection. I visualize optimization as an upward spiral, where things are only getting better and more on track with time, insight, teamwork, focus and change. The more work put into optimizing a process, the more accurate it becomes, and often the less work in the long term needs to be done, hence higher efficiency.