Personal Advice from Jim Collins

I met with world famous business guru Jim Collins in his Boulder lab last month for a Big Think interview. The best-selling author of “Good to Great” and most recently “How the Mighty Fall,” he’s no stranger to questions on the state of business in this down economy. We talked about everything, from his perspective on whether we’re going to bounce back, to how to hire (and fire), to how to know when to trim company costs.

The motivator that he is, Collins took a few moments out of our meeting to offer me a bit of advice. I thought I’d pass it along to all of you.

His takeaway: Every single person should piece together his or her personal “Board of Directors.” Whether it’s a grandfather, first boss, college professor, or former co-worker, amassing a group of guides can really help you navigate your professional career. For Collins, his childhood upbringing was lacking, particularly in the way of a father figure. He took the opportunity to build his own father figure with a collection of trusted advisers. I’m now in the process of figuring out who I’ll choose. It’s a great exercise, no matter at which stage of life you find yourself.

-Jessica Liebman