Top advice from one of the best business minds.

Interview with Business Tycoon and Magnate Mouli Cohen

On a recent stop-over in Monaco I caught up with business magnate and entrepreneur Mouli Cohen at OceAnco (one of the largest yacht manufacturers in the world) for an interview in which he talked to me about some of the important lessons he’s learned over the years as well as some very sage advice he has given to others based on his many interactions with leaders, heads of state and CEOs. What follows is a transcript of that interview.

Mouli, you’ve had an amazing career building start-ups and making significant returns on investment for your shareholders that have benefited society at large. You’ve collaborated closely with some very powerful leaders and thinkers. Can you share with us some of your advice based on the many years of interactions with these individuals?

Mouli: I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of working with many great leaders and thinkers over the years who have taken the time to impart to me some of their wisdom. By watching, working and interacting with them I have also been able to disseminate my own advice to many of my own colleagues, employees and friends. Here are some of the top best pieces of advice that I believe I have been able to impart to others.

Surround yourself with the very best people and you will be successful

This is something I learned early on. It sounds simple but it really is a critical factor to success. You are only as good as those around you and it’s important as a leader to have the ability to discern and identify the right talent for the job at hand. I hand-pick all my senior managers in my start-ups and it’s a strategy that has paid off well for me.

Set realistic goals but also stretch and reach for the stars

This is something I learned from Jack Welch (former CEO of General Electric) and other great leaders. We all have the ability in ourselves to stretch and really go for it. It’s not enough to meet our goals. If we really want to achieve greatness we need to set stretch goals and exceed all expectations. Take Steve Jobs as an example. At the 2008 Apple conference in San Francisco Jobs talked about the goal of selling the new iPhone 3G in 6 countries. He then went on to talk about Apple’s “stretch goal” of increasing the number to 25 countries. Do you think he achieved his stretch goal? He did. In fact he exceeded it significantly and will be distributing the new iPhone in 70 countries world-wide. That is a great example of really going for it.

Focus on those things you do better than others

Vinod Khosla, one of the very best venture capitalists in the world and a friend, gave me this piece of advice early on. As a firm you need to understand what your best skill sets are and then build business strategies around these to achieve innovation and provide ground-breaking solutions to your customers. This also helps to give you the edge on your competition.

Don’t make yourself the center of attention in order to lead

Over the years I’ve observed many CEOs, head’s of state and others in positions of great authority. Some of the most effective leaders do not make themselves the center of attention. They are respectful, they listen and they enable others around them to give them their best. Leaders that always dominate a given situation often have a polarizing effect on their employees. This can stifle creativity and innovation.

An incredible example of this is my dear friend, Ahmed Kathrada, the South African politician, anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner, whose remarkable journey and active participation with Nelson Mandela—while in prison—changed the country of South Africa for ever.

Don’t view your career as a linear progression

One of my first partners in my early days, J Pritzker who founded the Hyatt Development Corporation, told me that there is no one set path for becoming a great leader. You cannot lay out a bunch of milestones, reach them and declare yourself successful. To be a great leader you need a diverse set of experiences. You need to watch for the right opportunities (especially those outside your comfort zone) and embrace them. Don’t ever be afraid of failing and be honest with yourself.

Always be ethical

This rings especially true in this era of corporate scandals and greed. You have executives who have been sentenced to prison for up to 25 years. Doing the right thing is critical. And not to avoid punishment but because we are human beings and we should treat one another with respect and dignity. My dad always told me that doing the wrong thing is not worth the loss of one night’s good sleep.

Don’t sweat the small stuff

I know this sounds like a no-brainer but often people forget. Don’t worry about what’s outside your control or sphere of influence. Identify opportunities where you can have a real impact and go for it. Every great leader I know has instinctually adopted this mentality.

Talk to your customers

You have got to get out there and talk to your customers. They will always give you the reality since all they really want is value. Ask them how you compare to your competitors. You’ll never get anything straighter than from a customer. The best CEOs get in front of the customers routinely. You really know your product, market and industry by talking to these people. The best CEOs are visiting customers all the time. Lou Gerstner, former CEO of IBM, is a great example. He would spend 2 weeks out of every month with customers.

Be nice to people

This may seem silly or even naïve but you gain nothing from being mean. You don’t get anywhere and you never know who you will meet later in life. My philosophy is to be firm and polite as needed. And you will achieve more from them than being mean-spirited or overly judgmental.

The real discipline comes in saying no to the wrong opportunities

As a CEO it is crucial to distinguish between the really valuable opportunities and those that are wrong or not aligned with your organization’s goals. Growth is not easy. But saying no is even harder.

I’ll leave you with two additional thoughts that I always keep in the forefront of my mind:

Remember that you always want to surround yourself with the best people because during tough times you will always weather the storm and still can have fun.

The moment you achieve your stretch you start again at square one. You need to stretch again and raise the bar again. You are never far enough. You must never rest on your laurels.

About Mouli Cohen

In his career as an entrepreneur, Mouli has been one of the few to have success in biotechnology and high technology. His start-ups have generated well over $3B in shareholder value. In recognition of his ability to generate mega investment in the U.S. economy and the creation of thousands of U.S. jobs, Mouli was awarded the first-ever "Millionaire Residency" with full citizenship status by President George H. Bush.

For press inquiries and more information please visit www.moulicohen.com or contact the Press Agent at 415-902-2802.

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