What I Learned

One of the many things that I learned in Boy Scouts was the following regarding time management:

"If you are early, you are on time. If you are on time, you are late. If you are late, you are forgotten."

Many, many people never got this lesson and message. Many others did. David Sokol is one that did. He is profiled in an article in this month's Fortune - - the article is entitled Buffett's Mr. Fix-It. At 53, Sokol is mentioned most often as Buffett's heir. He is currently running and turning around NetJets. He has an engineering background - - civil engineering. Like with a lot of engineering types - - the following management style follows - - ". . . he is a tough, no-nonsense manager. He's up before 5 a.m. each day and jogs five miles and lifts weights five days a week . . ." And he learned the appropriate time management skills:

"His assistants also know he never likes to be late for a meeting - - he believes it shows disrespect. They always build in extra time in case something goes wrong, but they also make sure he has work to do if he happens to show up a half-hour early."

He also self-published his own book - - Pleased but Not Satisfied.