There is nothing false or arrogant about German pride in German technical and business skills.
My business skills have come from being guided by my inner self - my intuition.
People with highly transferable skills may be specialists in certain areas but they're also incredible generalists - something businesses that want to grow need.
I came to Playboy not expecting to stay. But after five years I found myself really enjoying the business world and I realized I had some skill.
There is no question that knowing someone in the business will get you in the door. But it is your skill that will keep you in the room.
Well actually I had been working as a consultant to former companies of Enron or predecessor companies of Enron and so I joined in 1990 to really start our wholesale merchant business.
I couldn't do anything. I'd work in a department store for a couple of weeks but I couldn't hack it. I couldn't even type! I had no skills whatsoever outside of show business.
Who's more likely to succeed - someone with high skill and no ambition or no skill and high ambition? If you're an entrepreneur you can hire as many skilled people for your business as you want.
A genuinely humble attitude is one of the greatest skills in business. Because it compels us to LISTEN and LEARN.