A little known area often defines the fortunes of leaders -- management skills.
The very first thing an executive must have is a fine memory. Of course it does not follow that a man with a fine memory is necessarily a fine executive. But if he has the memory he has the first qualification, and if he has not the memory nothing else matters.
Show me any top entertainer or top business executive, and I'll show you a guy who has mapped out his life from the very start.
Successful salesmen, authors, executives and workmen of every sort need patience. The great liability of youth is not inexperience but impatience.
When we first started, I had the time to personally live every project. As I continue to build the company, I've learned much better ways to delegate and let the executive team run. It's just as exciting for me to see the executives succeed as it is the artists.
Most of the good executives do pretty well. Because to be a good executive you have to be strong, and you have to have a simple attribute that people have forgotten about - courage.
For every rude executive who makes it to the top, there are nine successful executives with good manners.
I know firsthand that the characteristics of a great engineer - problem-solving skills, a deep understanding of technology, and a results-driven mindset - are the exact same things that any executive, in any industry, must have in order to succeed.
A talented executive would be somebody who knows how to surround themselves with a lot of people that will make him look good. You could say that about a politician or you could say that about a head of a major corporation or what have you. The people you surround yourself with it's very important.
