A little over half way into the book "Ahead of the Curve", author Philip Broughton has a passage where he writes about David Rubenstein's (cofounder of The Carlyle Group [wiki]) visit to Harvard as a speaker. Broughton explains Rubenstein's rise from working for Jimmy Carter to his creation of the Carlyle Group and he quotes him on one simple piece of career advice:
"...be a principal or decision maker, not a service provider." Principals make all the money. They can turn the cells phones off on weekends. They are the ones for whom everyone else runs around. They posses the grail: control over their time.
I could not agree with this more. Even though I run my own business and am very independent, I am still a service provider. I create web pages, fix web pages, produce projects and offer technical and creative advice. It's easy to fall into that category as there are a lot more opportunities to support those on top then there is to be on top.
"...be a principal or decision maker, not a service provider." Principals make all the money. They can turn the cells phones off on weekends. They are the ones for whom everyone else runs around. They posses the grail: control over their time.
I could not agree with this more. Even though I run my own business and am very independent, I am still a service provider. I create web pages, fix web pages, produce projects and offer technical and creative advice. It's easy to fall into that category as there are a lot more opportunities to support those on top then there is to be on top.
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