What's Your "Golden Rule" In Business?

Is there one phrase, sentence, or idea that you use as a guidepost in everything you do in business? Business 2.0 magazine published a list of such "golden rules" from 45 famous people. Mine wasn't in there so it got me thinking that there must be others who have ideas as great as those 45 people. I have started a discussion on our Management Forum where you can share your "Golden Rule" with others. Mine is already there as a starter.

Of the 45 "golden rules" listed in the Business 2.0 article as some pretty standard ones. Chris Albrecht, CEO of Home Box Office, starts with "Surround yourself with people smarter than you", which is pretty common. He makes it substantial however, by adding "and be comfortable with that".

John Chambers, Cisco Systems' CEO, says "The customer should always be happy." Again, good advice, but nothing remarkable. Mark Cuban, the Co-founder HDNet, makes the same thought stronger by saying "Treat your customers like they own you, because they do."

There are some unique thoughts in this article too. George Shaheen, CEO of Siebel Systems, explains why "Be the person who steps up" is critical in leading an successful effort. The same can be said of "Be a problem solver", the philosophy of AMD's CEO, Hector Ruiz. Penn Jillette, the magician, author, and producer encourages you to "Make deals with people, not paper."

However, the best of the bunch comes from Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, "Don't confuse luck with skill when judging others, and especially when judging yourself." Go to the article from Business 2.0 and read the rest of the "Golden Rules". And take the time to read the explanations behind many of them. Then go to our Management Forum and post yours and read what your peers have posted.