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In his 2015 letter to shareholders, Warren Buffett wrote, “Much of what you become in life depends on whom you choose to admire and copy.”
He then identified his friend and mentor, Tom Murphy, CEO of Capital Cities Communications (which acquired ABC in 1985 and merged with Disney in 1995), as the person he admired and copied. Buffett describes his friend of 40 years as follows, “Most of what I learned about management I learned from Murph [Tom Murphy]. I kick myself because I should have applied it much earlier.” Today Murphy’s approach is at the core of Buffett’s management philosophy: decentralization, autonomy, rigorous cost controls. Who do you admire and copy? These people are influencing you, either as mentors or as role-models. You admire their success and copy their approach, style, strategies, and behaviors. You observe and replicate their actions in a quest to achieve similar success. We all need Murphys in our life – they introduce fresh ideas and bigger pictures. But the more important question is… Who is admiring and copying you? Why should you care? Because this demands that we operate and produce results that others want to emulate. With this question, we acknowledge that we always have an opportunity to influence excellence in others with our actions. And we concede that, because people watch us, it is reckless to operate as if our actions aren’t influential. But the goal is not to be admired for egotistical fulfillment. The goal is to live and work in such an efficacious way that it inevitably inspires others to do the same, especially when we hold a title. We need Buffetts in our life – they embolden us to stand taller and strive harder. Circle of Excellence Click here for the webinar: http://mentorlead.com/webinar/build-bosses/ © 2021. Ann Tardy and MentorLead. www.mentorlead.com | www.anntardy.com |