
The best advice I ever got - transburgh
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune/0804/gallery.bestadvice.fortune/index.html
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aneesh
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
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_

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petercooper
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.

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mynameishere
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.

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DaniFong
'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.'

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bigtoga
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.

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

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edw519
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.

