“The least foolish is wise.”

George Herbert, “Proverbs” in The Complete English Works, 283.
  1. Sometimes you’re going to have to lead when you don’t feel qualified. Perhaps you aren’t fully qualified–but you happen to be the most qualified person in the room. Embrace it, humbly, with a commitment to shore up your weaknesses, try to find the solutions, and serve the team.
  2. There’s no shortage of folly out there, folks. In many organizations, you may advance further than you’d expect by showing up on time, having a good attitude, showing consideration for the people around you, and being willing to do the jobs that other people avoid.
  3. If you simply remain quiet when the whole room is making snap judgments off of first impressions and a fingernail’s worth of data, you will get noticed by the people who matter. Most situations aren’t as simple as they sound on the first pass–gossip and hearsay are not evidence. It’s almost always to your advantage to listen longer, ask better questions, and try to validate information before acting on it.
  4. You’re never going to know it all. The wise know they are fools. The goal is to be less foolish tomorrow than you are today.