Businessweek had a Father’s day special spread showcasing successful entrepreneurs talking about what they had learned from their Dad. Founders from Auntie Anne’s, Samuel Adams, Travelocity and Trump are those that can be found in that article.

Summing up the article, what these successful folks have learned from their parents are the values of : Doing something that they love, the value of a good product vs just plain old marketing but most especially the need to protect ones integrity.
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One of the more popular motivational sayings in the world of business:

Danger + Opportunity = Crisis

The logic behind that being that the Chinese Character for Crisis is comprised of two separate Chinese characters: Danger and Opportunity. With this one must always assume that for every problem, for every down turn, for every unexpected stumble, there is an opportunity to be gained here. According to this article, people have long been misinformed of the characters meaning.
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After 33 years in Microsoft, William Gates III, officially stepped down this week to retire from the software industry. Well not really since he’s going over to work at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation but this was officially his last day as a full time employee of the software behemoth that he co founded with Paul Allen.

Bill Gates was one of the main forces that defined the computer industry in the early eighties. He and Paul Allen rode the early wave of visionaries who saw the potential of the personal computer. From a small operation in Albuquerque New Mexico they eventually ballooned to the 80,000 workforce that Microsoft is today.
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There is a saying that an open mouth catches no flies. According to a successful businessman that I talked to, an open mouth makes no competitors. To explain further he said: “If you got a good thing going just keep quiet about it and let it play.”

The problem with being successful is that you attract other people who would like to do what you are doing, competition is a given, but worse are those who like to profit from you without breaking a sweat. He recounted an event where some “regulators” invited him for a meeting, just in time for lunch, and he ended up paying for the bill. Of course he had it coming because he was already “big” in his business field. Had he just been starting, that meal would have burned a hole in his wallet.
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Saint Homobonus is the patron saint of people who are in business. He lived life as a merchant in Cremona, Italy. His full name was Omobono Tucenghi, Homo bonus is latin for “Good Man.” St. Homobonus was a rich tailor and merchant who had a calling to use his wealth to help the poor.

Known for his honesty in business, he donated a large portion of his wealth to help uplift the poor. He initially acquired his wealth via the inheritance he received from his father.
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