By Jackie Todd, Office of Media Relations
Work hard.
Make a plan and stick with it.
Embrace change.
That’s just some of the inspiring advice that legendary business entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens shared with Clemson students, faculty and staff. The 84-year-old BP Capital Management hedge fund chair visited Clemson on April 18 as part of the university’s Calhoun Lecture Series.
The author of the Pickens Plan, which seeks to reduce dependence on foreign oil, addressed a packed audience at the Brooks Center and recalled childhood advice, bumps in the road and lifelong lessons that forged his success.
One of those lessons: Be careful who you take advice from. Pickens stressed that those who seek advice should ponder three questions:
- Is this person smart?
- Does this person have a conflict of interest?
- Do they love you?
Another lesson focused on avoiding what Pickens called the “Ready, aim-aim-aim syndrome.” Leaders, said Pickens, must possess a good work ethic, but they have to make decisions and not avoid the cycle with which decisions are constantly put off.
“The most disappointing thing is if you fail to make them,” he said.
Other guidance that Pickens shared included:
Never cheat to win:
Pickens called cheating an “empty victory,” and shared with the audience a childhood memory of a card game with his parents. During the game his mother said to him, “In life, you are going to play the hand you’re dealt. You don’t get to throw it back.”
Be patient:
Although the entrepreneur admitted that patience wasn’t his strong point, he stressed that lack of patience could result in bad decision-making.
“Don’t rush the monkey and you’ll see a better show,” he said.
Be generous:
The man who came from humble beginnings never forgot where he came from. And it was that knowledge – along with a bighearted grandmother who proudly displayed an American Red Cross sign in her window – that shaped his view of philanthropy.
“My grandmother didn’t have a lot, but she always gave,” said Pickens. “I’ve always felt privileged to give.”
