When I was in my early – mid 20s I worked in a high stress sales position for a commercial finance company.  While the rewards of success in that position were amazing, few actually attained them.  There were on average 150 other men and women that had the same job within the company and I was #1 and also the youngest in the company to ever attain that rank.  We were given aggressive goals, and thus had a high failure rate and by extension, a high turnover rate.  I wound up staying there for five years, which was much longer than most. Extended time in an environment like that afforded the opportunity to study my colleagues.  I began to scrutinize. What made one guy succeed, and another fail? Was it dedication? Hours sunk into the job? Natural charisma? Turns out it was none of those things. Far and away the largest predictor of success at that company was attitude.  If someone had the innate belief that they were good enough to do the job, then they were going to do the job.

I often say that I only hire people with track records of excellence. I think that every business owner would agree that it is ideal to hire the best of the best – after all it is not controversial to want hard working, dedicated people on your team. What is controversial, however, is the way in which hiring managers determine who the best of the best are, and I think that everyone is doing it wrong. 

Every year as the calendar changes I pay attention to the season’s most popular resolutions. This year I have noticed that a lot of people are trying to “do more with less”. I have seen 30-day social media blackout challenges, and pledges to shed things that are not productive or beneficial. I think this is fantastic, and strive to maintain this attitude all year long. As January draws to a close and the diets are abandoned and Facebook re-downloaded, I want to urge everyone to keep up with the attitude of self care, particularly when it comes to the people you surround yourself with.

Anyone who has spent time at a water cooler can tell you that business doesn’t just take place in the boardroom. At some point, you will be expected to socialize with the people in your professional circle. At the beginning of your career, that might mean bar trivia, or an after work kickball league. The higher you climb, the more important these business/social situations become, and the more sophisticated the surroundings. It is an inevitable truth that at some point, you will be judged by your taste in restaurants, choice in sports, and drinks you order. At a certain level of business, there is a high expectation that you know your wines and your alcohol. Some of the most successful businesses people ever will judge you on your understanding of wine and spirits.

As 2017 draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on what I have accomplished this year, what I have failed at, and what lessons I can take away from it all. Below are the three most significant things I have learned this year, I hope that some of them will resonate with you.

25 year olds today are drastically different than 25 year olds from 15 years ago. Pervasive technology has changed everything from the way we communicate, to the way we date and find partners; to the way we do business. If I had told someone in 2002 that I wanted to leave early to Facetime someone I met on Tinder, and thus would have to answer my emails on mobile, they would have no idea what I was talking about.

Most people agree that running a transparent and ethical company is of the upmost importance, but how often does that assertion manifest in the real world? With the complete saturation of Internet access, social media influence, and smart devices that capture any and every bad behavior, I would say that ethical and transparent businesses are more common that you might think. At least, they should be.

If someone were to drop me in an Olympic pool tomorrow and tell me that if I could swim for two miles nonstop, they will give me $20K, I am fairly confident I could make it. But if someone dropped me in the ocean tomorrow and told me that I either swim two miles to shore or drown beneath the waves, then I am completely confident I would make it. Humans are capable of amazing things when there is no possibility of retreat.

What does it mean to “win”? Winning for you probably looks drastically different than winning for me. When my career was in it’s infancy, winning meant selling a company for profit. Today, anything less than a $100 million sale is not good enough. As I grew, gained experience, and learned through failing, I developed new standards and new expectations for myself. My perspective shifted.

The degree of automation in our world is increasing dramatically. On any given day, you might have the Amazon Echo read you the news, order a coffee from the Starbucks App, or check yourself out at the grocery store. Our medical care is becoming computer-driven, and even our cars are starting to drive us around instead of the historical inverse. While this is extremely exciting for businesses and active individuals like me who are always looking for ways to improve efficiency, I can not help but worry that without a shift in leadership values, that the lasting impact on future generations will be detrimental.