Feeding Your Head

I spent last Friday getting fed. It was exhilarating to hear intelligent people speak about the economy, innovation, management, the state of government, and sustainability. Groove 11 was an exclusive sponsor of the annual Chief Executive Council meeting. Mark Hurd, CEO of HP, spoke, as did Reid Hoffman, founder and chairmen of LinkedIn. Many others shared amazing insights as well.

Coming away from this day, I was once again reminded how important it is to continuously learn; to put yourself in environments that may be slightly outside your comfort zone. Stretching is the only way. In today's economy, standing still is a sure way to get run over. The person or organization that is not learning won't compete effectively. Mark Hurd spoke about how at HP being the best is the benchmark. Anything short of that is not acceptable. He's spot-on. Excellence is a learned behavior. Over the weekend, I renewed my subscription to The Harvard Business Review, after a one-year hiatus. My head will not go without feeding.