How do we define success?
Cronin on success
Transcript
I think success has changed, as I define it.
As I mentioned earlier, I think success early on really was really accepting responsibility for some task, and taking it through, and getting something done. And I think today success is really making sure other people can have that experience, and trying to make sure that ultimately my firm or even my family won't be successful unless my employees or my kids can go through that process themselves. And, you know, hopefully, make fewer mistakes than others, and learn from those, and develop their own approach, in terms of what they need to do to be successful.
And in many ways, that's how I am now defining success. And if I look at that not just in terms of the business sense, but in my community activities, again, early on I was pretty happy to just participate, you know, be informed and, you know, maybe contribute financially. But now I think, as I look at some of the organizations I'm involved in, I much more view my success as seeing, "Can I develop a bench? Can I replicate myself on some of these, you know, these boards? And can we bring people up that can step in so that the old guard doesn't create a block for younger people coming up, or other people getting involved?"
Because I really believe that over time, you know, when I've seen organizations where that's happened, they stagnate, because people play through. You know, especially in a charity, they've been in it for a long time. They probably have given as much as they possibly can give. But the importance for the organization is, where's that next generation? Where are they going to get the experience, you know, early on participating so that they can then step up and lead? And, you know, my job should be making sure that happens now, as opposed to trying to be one of the people that was coming up.