4 ms·

The best advice I ever got

23 points by transburgh 19y ago

DaniFong 19y ago
'When it comes to business and relationships, I don't buy this idea of diversification. It neglects comparative advantage. The best way to lower risk is to specialize: Put the things that you love into one portfolio.'
aneesh 19y ago
Some gems: "when the customer says yes, stop talking." "always assume positive intent. Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent." "I've noticed that some of the most effective leaders don't make themselves the center of attention. They are respectful. They listen." "you shouldn't go chasing after fancy titles, but try to find people who can teach you something. "
- donw 19y ago
  A side note, completely off-topic. In Japan, if the customer has stopped talking, you need to shut up as well. One of the reasons a lot of Western salespeople get toasted over there is that they don't appreciate the value of silence. When you're negotiating a deal, and your client sits there silently, he is thinking, and watching you to see how you act. If you patiently wait and show that you are engaged in thought, this is good. If you keep offering more and more, just to close the deal, you will get taken to the cleaners. And, if you press things too hard, you will be shown the door, ever so politely. Just my two cents; seemed to fit, a little. grin
- michael_dorfman 19y ago
  "always assume positive intent. Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent." Ouch. I've gotten (seriously) burned on that one more than once. I'd hope for something more nuanced, like "assume positive intent, but protect yourself anyway."
mynameishere 19y ago
Should it bother me that the Chairman of one of the largest equity funds in the world doesn't know Smith from Ricardo? I guess not. .... My father wrote in my sixth-grade yearbook quoting Hamlet - Polonius to his son, Laertes: "To thine own self be true." No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord [viz, Polonius], one that will do To swell a progress, start a scene or two, Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool, Deferential, glad to be of use, Politic, cautious, and meticulous; Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse; At times, indeed, almost ridiculous-- Almost, at times, the Fool.
petercooper 19y ago
My favorite: "Focus on those things you do better than others." After years of doing "okay" at things I don't particularly shine at, I'm coming to realize that the above advice could really yield dividends.
edw519 19y ago
Great read. Amazing how succinct and helpful someone can be when forced the distill their thoughts down into one thing. 2 suggestions: - Dust the slide show and put it on one page. It's 2008. - Get rid of the military person. Who wants advice from someone who's handed someone else's trillion dollars? You're talking to an audience who has to earn their own revenue.
bigtoga 19y ago
Maybe it's just me but I couldn't begin to guess what the best advice I've ever received is/was. I'm only 37 but I'm guessing that there have been 1000 pieces of great advice that, if I hadn't received, I'd be far worse off.
hobbs 19y ago
Best advice ever: Put a single paragraph of content on each web page! You can increase your ad impressions 10-fold!

23 points by transburgh 19y ago

'When it comes to business and relationships, I don't buy this idea of diversification. It neglects comparative advantage. The best way to lower risk is to specialize: Put the things that you love into one portfolio.'

aneesh 19y ago

Some gems: "when the customer says yes, stop talking." "always assume positive intent. Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent." "I've noticed that some of the most effective leaders don't make themselves the center of attention. They are respectful. They listen." "you shouldn't go chasing after fancy titles, but try to find people who can teach you something. "

donw 19y ago
A side note, completely off-topic. In Japan, if the customer has stopped talking, you need to shut up as well. One of the reasons a lot of Western salespeople get toasted over there is that they don't appreciate the value of silence. When you're negotiating a deal, and your client sits there silently, he is thinking, and watching you to see how you act. If you patiently wait and show that you are engaged in thought, this is good. If you keep offering more and more, just to close the deal, you will get taken to the cleaners. And, if you press things too hard, you will be shown the door, ever so politely. Just my two cents; seemed to fit, a little. grin
michael_dorfman 19y ago
"always assume positive intent. Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent." Ouch. I've gotten (seriously) burned on that one more than once. I'd hope for something more nuanced, like "assume positive intent, but protect yourself anyway."

mynameishere 19y ago

Should it bother me that the Chairman of one of the largest equity funds in the world doesn't know Smith from Ricardo? I guess not. .... My father wrote in my sixth-grade yearbook quoting Hamlet - Polonius to his son, Laertes: "To thine own self be true." No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord [viz, Polonius], one that will do To swell a progress, start a scene or two, Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool, Deferential, glad to be of use, Politic, cautious, and meticulous; Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse; At times, indeed, almost ridiculous-- Almost, at times, the Fool.

petercooper 19y ago

My favorite: "Focus on those things you do better than others." After years of doing "okay" at things I don't particularly shine at, I'm coming to realize that the above advice could really yield dividends.

edw519 19y ago

Great read. Amazing how succinct and helpful someone can be when forced the distill their thoughts down into one thing. 2 suggestions: - Dust the slide show and put it on one page. It's 2008. - Get rid of the military person. Who wants advice from someone who's handed someone else's trillion dollars? You're talking to an audience who has to earn their own revenue.

bigtoga 19y ago

Maybe it's just me but I couldn't begin to guess what the best advice I've ever received is/was. I'm only 37 but I'm guessing that there have been 1000 pieces of great advice that, if I hadn't received, I'd be far worse off.

hobbs 19y ago

Best advice ever: Put a single paragraph of content on each web page! You can increase your ad impressions 10-fold!