I have a client who is running a billion dollar business. He left
school at 18 and spent the first half of his career hiding the fact,
embarrassed he didn’t go to college, and avoiding questions about how
he started out. By his own admission, he says that the chip on his
shoulder weighed him down and distracted him.

I was running an executive retreat for him earlier this month and he
shared with the top leaders in his organization just how proud he was
of how he started out. He shared how, after a little self reflection
and realization, just how it contributed to his success rather than a
barrier that he had to overcome.

I’ve been saying for several years that there will be an Explosion of
Teenage Millionaires and that you need to bring the voice of youth
into your company and products. What school they went to, or how long
they studied should not be a factor.

I had the fortune of studying business and finance part time while on
a management training scheme with House Of Fraser retail department
store group in England. I didn’t want to go to college, I knew I
wanted to be a store manager, I was inspired by my boss at one of my
part time jobs, and realized I could get four more years experience in
the real world while my friends were studying at university, so I
sought out a retail management training program.

House of Fraser, sponsored my day release from their Management
Training Scheme to study Business and Finance at the University of
Wolverhampton showing that there are multiple ways to combine business
experience with education.

I speak at a lot of events each year, but my favorite by far was last
October, when my old university invited me back to speak at their
annual Crystal Lecture with the Chartered Institute of Management. You
can listen to my talk with business leaders, alumni, and students
here.

They also featured me in their annual alumni publication with a
four-page interview and now I am in their Alumni Wall of Fame along
with a judge, a British championship gymnast and many other remarkable
leaders.

Too often we have a fixed view of what it means to be successful,
whether you are hiring a new executive on your team, evaluating the
leadership team of a company you are considering acquiring, or passing
silent judgement on the person that you have been introduced to.

It’s time to change the rules.

Dedicated to growing your business,

Val

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