The best advice Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt ever got was to hire a coach.
A simple piece of advice that was at first dismissed turned out to be the best advice Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO of Google ever got.
When Fortune Magazine interviewed 22 business leaders asking for the best advice they ever received for their feature story, Schmidt said the best advice he ever got was to hire a coach. This came from John Doerr and was instantly discarded by Schmidt who wondered how a coach will counsel him -an experienced CEO, on how to work better at his craft. After all, he was successful and wasn’t doing anything wrong…
Most business owners fall into this trap and fail to reach their full potential owing to this false notion about what a coach really does.
As Schmidt realized later, “the coach doesn’t have to play the sport as well as you do. They have to watch you and get you to be your best.” (Quoted from the article in Fortune magazine)
He further adds how a coach in the business context is not a “repetitious” coach and simply looks at the business problem with a fresh pair of eyes, describes it and then discusses how to approach it.
By dispelling the common misconception and realizing what a coach really does, Schmidt brought Bill Campbell in as a coach.
Campbell has since helped Schmidt take the long view in many complex business situations – so much so that Schmidt today views Doerr’s advice as the best he ever got.
So what’s the best advise you ever got for your business?
And, does your business need a fresh, outside perspective?
Check out these real success stories from business owners around the world who have worked with Brad Sugars’ incredible team of certified Business Coaches to achieve the results they wanted…
