Education has been critical. First at Kansas and then at Harvard Business School. It helped me build the confidence that I could go out and do things in the world. It taught me to put myself in the shoes of a decision maker and figure out what I would do if I were in his/her shoes. This is why I am a big believer in education as a foundation for reaching your unique potential.

You never do arrive at a destination. You have to work at it and take ownership of the process. What resonates at age 25 is likely to change by age 35 and 45. The process never ends. Realizing this has been a big breakthrough for me.

A mere 7% of employees today fully understand their company's business strategies and what's expected of them in order to help achieve company goals.

There are multiple ways to solve a problem and add value. There are seldom right answers. So, you've got to use your abilities to diagnose a situation and use your best judgment on what to do and how to do it. You WILL make mistakes - when you do, admit them and go back and try to fix them. I don't know is often the right answer.

I loved my career at Goldman Sachs. I believed in business principle number 1: if the client succeeds, our own success will follow. This principle formed the basis for my career and my leadership style.

Business education must constantly be changing and being updated to improve the quality of the student experience. On line courses will be a key part of supplementing course offerings and providing opportunities for life-long learning. Like any industry, business schools must continue to think and re-think how they add value to students and create thought leadership.

There is usually a clock in our heads regarding decisions we make and the course of our lives. Sometimes this clock is helpful in that it get us to move rather than put off key actions. Other times, it creates us false sense of urgency that can cause us to overreact, lost patience and make poor decisions. In raising this issue in my book, I want people to be aware of the clock in their heads and question whether that clock is helping or hindering the quality of each particular decision.