Interviewers commonly ask well-known leaders for the best advice they have ever received. Usually, the replies are good reminders and join a long list of celebrated but obvious wisdom. Every once in awhile, a leader offers a piece of advice that elevates the conversation and asks us to reevaluate who we are as both leaders and as people.
New England Patriot’s owner Robert Kraft, who has successfully built many companies from scratch, offers advice that fits this standard. When asked recently the stock question about best advice, Kraft says he strives to follow the advice given to him by his hero and mentor, his father:
“Make sure the people you have touched today are richer because of you.”
Kraft admits, like most of us, he doesn’t always achieve this goal each day. But he works hard at it and thinks it makes him better at everything else he does.
How about you? Are people better for engaging, interacting or meeting you? On a day-by-day basis, are those you come into contact with changed, in some small and positive way, because of you? That’s a star in the sky worth reaching for.
