Last week, somebody asked me this question.

I guess what I learned that unlike other courses, that there are no right or wrong answers.

In fact, when I had a  short stint teaching an MBA Entrepreneur class last semester, that one thing was most emphasized.

The best way for you to learn is not to give the right answer.  As the mentor, the most important is not whether the student give you a right answer or not. The most important is how well he is able to analyze and justify his answer. In short, yellow can be blue if you know how to defend it.

A right business decision can be the wrog strategy if not properly implemented.  A decision can well become the right decision if properly executed.

In short, the right execution and understanding of the situation can well be as important as the right strategic plan. 

Related Posts:

- A Reputation of Getting Things Done

- Execution is the Key

- Deserving Success vs Achieving Success

- Is an MBA a Requisite for Entrepreneurs? 

A reporter asked Carl Icahn, reknowned investor in Wall Street, what pushes him to put in punishing hours when he is already a billionaire in an age where he should already have been retired.

He pondered the question and asked back, " What motivates a person to continue to play golf?"

What he means is that in life, you put in hours because you are passionate about what you are doing, and you continue to see how you can just do a little bit better.

This is roughly the same reply given by Pablo Casals, reknowned cellist, when in his 90s, he continued to practice 6 hours or more a day.  He said he does it, because he felt he was still improving!

Mastery of life. mastery of the things you do.  Continuing to strive even after mastery so that you can still cotinue to do it a little bit better.  Isn’t that the drive that produces champions?  

I have just finished a book called Our IceBerg is Melting by John Kotter.  The main characters are penguins, much akin to the movie Happy Feet.

It is fun to read, in the tradition of  Who Moved my Cheese whose main characters were mice.  It uses the fable to introduce how a problem or potential issue is discovered, how to go about reacting to change, and who are the variuos people in an organization who you can count on to embrance change or resist it.

In this time and age where knowing how to adapt and change is paramount, this book makes good reading and is good food for thought.  It is light, and yet thought provoking, and is only 160 pages with plenty of pictures.

High recommended!