Pranay

Ronald L Havner Jr.
CEO
Public Storage
“The principles of success don’t require a PhD, most people learned them by age 25. They include hard work, integrity in everything you do, creativity and street smarts (also known as common sense). The challenge is to consistently apply them every day.”

Robert A. Eckert
CEO
Mattel
“Let it come to you. A lot of folks plan their careers and think about 10 years in advance and those sorts of things. My experience is that things just happen. So as much as I am a planful person, I wouldn’t try to overly plan one’s career. Good things will happen if you work hard and get a little bit of luck.”

Gary W. Loveman
CEO
Harrah’s Entertainment
“To join or participate in organizations where all the people around you are smarter than you are. There’s a tendency for people to want to take bigger jobs or bigger titles at organizations where they’re going to be the smartest person around and I think that’s huge a mistake.”

Matthew D. Serra
CEO
Foot Locker
“A key to success is to foster strong relationships with associates at all levels within ones organization as well as with external business contacts.”

Sidney Taurel
CEO
Eli Lilly And Company
“Focus on the job at hand rather than on your career–if you keep producing, your career will take care of itself.”

Half rich list skipped uni

ONLY half of Australia’s richest men and women have attended university and say ambition and perseverance are more important in becoming wealthy than a good HSC mark.
A new survey conducted by Australian Business Limited (ABL) and obtained by The Sunday Telegraph found personal drive and choosing an enjoyable job were critical in becoming rich.
The survey was issued to 250 of the nation’s richest men and women whose combined net worth is estimated at more than $26 billion.
The respondents included the founder of Wizard Home Loans, Mark Bouris, whose net worth is estimated at $90 million, businesswoman Janet Holmes a Court ($150 million) and Tony Haggarty, who has made around $190 million from coal-mining projects.
The survey found 49 per cent of those who went on to become multi-millionaires had opted for an apprenticeship, a traineeship or on-the-job training when they left high school.
More than half of these said the move helped them to develop personal skills such as perseverance and dedication.
More than one-third said the skills they learned helped them to kick-start their own career.
Nearly all the respondents singled out ambition as the critical factor in becoming rich.
Training and skills followed.
Less than half of those surveyed said the encouragement and support of friends and family was critical in achieving success.
One in two went to university after leaving school, with another 13 per cent picking up a degree later in life.

Clive Berghofer was 13 when he left school.
Now 70, the Toowoomba developer’s estimated net worth is around $280 million.
Mr Berghofer first worked in a sawmill before taking any job going in the local building industry.
In 1964 he bought his first block of land, subdividing and developing it.
Still a Toowoomba resident, Mr Berghofer is believed to have developed around 8000 blocks of land in the district.
His advice to young people includes choosing an enjoyable job and putting in the hours.
“I never completed high school but I found what I was good at, what I liked doing, and pursued it,” he said.
“You don’t have to have a uni degree to successfully run your own business. There are many builders and developers out there that are not particularly academic but are great at what they do and earn a lot of money doing it.”
Harold Clough, estimated to have made around $130 million in the investment and construction engineering field, said enjoying the job was critical.
“Life’s too short to work at something you cannot enjoy,” he said.
Casella Wines managing director John Casella said goal-setting was a critical factor.
“Set your goals and prepare to work upward,” he said.
“This will bring you great satisfaction and success in your chosen career.”
ABL chief executive Kevin MacDonald said school-leavers awaiting their HSC results should take heart that university was not the only road to wealth.
With unemployment at its lowest in a generation, HSC leavers could look forward to filling some of the 150,000 job vacancies in Australia, he said.
“There’s a great message from Australia’s richest people to the young people finishing school, and that is the most important thing you need in a career is a willingness to keep learning and having a passion for your work.
“A good HSC result is terrific but it’s not the be all and end all.
“There are more opportunities for young people leaving school than ever before.
“What’s important is choosing a path that suits your passions, aptitudes and abilities.”