Caution: May Cause Leaders to Excel!
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Why Nerves Help Leaders Perform at their Best Under Pressure
'There is a difference between fear and nervousness. I have always been nervous at golf. I have played 90% of my rounds in major championships with a touch of tremor. There has always been some floppiness in my stomach. Moreover, I have always welcomed those feelings in that, so long as I am playing well enough to have genuine confidence in my game, they will get me up, keep me alert, and prime me for maximum effort. Over the years, nervousness has done me more good than harm.'
(From Jack Nicklaus: My Story
)
Being a Leader Means Picking the Best Athletes
Michael Rubin, the 37-year old founder and CEO of GSI Commerce, is one of America’s 15 most powerful CEOs under 40, according to Forbes.
This is a leader we can all learn from. Rubin isn’t just an entrepreneur. He’s a true business prodigy, a rare individual with passion for business coursing through his veins and a unique ability to focus on one thing, being the best at something. Everything else is secondary.
Rubin’s story is insightful and inspiring. He opened a ski shop at 14 and was running a $100 million public company by the time he was 22. This year, GSI topped a billion dollars in revenue providing ecommerce and interactive marketing services to some of America’s top retailers.
Here’s what he has to say about the leadership attributes that made him what he is today:
‘Q: You’ve always been the boss. How’d you learn to manage?
Rubin: You know, I’m like a sponge and I believe in the school of hard knocks. I think if you ask a lot of smart questions, listen well, and have the tenacity to grow and learn, you just do it. I’ve also learned management and leadership skills by watching successful executives run their businesses. I’ve got some great leaders as clients. It’s a great opportunity to learn from them.
Q: What distinguishes your management style?
Rubin: I think it’s just like a sports team; you have to pick the best athletes.
Q: What’s the biggest challenge for your company?
Rubin: Prioritisation. We have so much opportunity, we really have to prioritise well, choose what to do and what not to do. Prioritisation and picking the right athletes.’
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