Getting There: A Book of Mentors - Thirty leaders in diverse fields share their secrets

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It is my pleasure to introduce Gillian Zoe Segal for an AMA at 11am PST. Ask questions in advance... :)!
Thank you! I look forward to answering any questions that come my way!
Hi Zoe, thanks so much for joining us! Having interviewed so many incredible leaders, if you had to choose one who inspired you the most! Who would it be and why? Btw just bought the book can't wait to read it!
Hi Harry! It's hard to include Warren Buffett in a group and not be blown away by him. Not only is he, obviously, an incredible business person, but his is also full of incredible wisdom applicable to life in general. I am very inspired by the way he conducts himself. Check out his Getting There essay.
What'd you think of Jeff Kinney? He's kind of unique to this list.
Jeff Kinney is a real talent, very humble, ad full of inspiration. I love what her says about keeping a young idea secret....In his Getting There essay, he, explains that if you have an idea you think is a winner, you should nurture it and take your time developing it. Kinney originally thought that it would only take him a month or two to write Diary of a Wimpy Kid -- but it ended up taking him eight years. He protected himself during that time by telling very few people about it. He explains that when you broadcast your goals you are likely to either get embarrassed if you are unable to deliver or become trapped by the social pressure to follow through with exactly what you said you were going to do. If you keep an idea to yourself you’ll maintain more flexibility (and have the necessary freedom to do the best job possible).
What is the role of mentors in these people's lives? are there common trends?
Getting There's subtitle is "A Book of Mentors" because the subjects act as virtual mentors to the reader.. The Getting There subjects share their unguarded stories and secrets to navigating the rocky road to the top. Many do discuss the essential things they have learned from others along the way.
for people looking to have high value mentorships, what are some of the most important things to think about?
Look for a mentor who is generous and confident enough to be real/unguarded.
What was the hardest thing about writing this book?
The hardest thing, by far, was getting subjects to participate. It took me five years to get the 30 included. Here is a link to an article about how I did it:
Hey Gillian! Great to have you here. Can you tell me when you first knew you needed to write this book?
Thank you! I wrote this book because I needed a mentor. I found myself looking at luminaries wondering things like "How did he figure out his career path?" and " How was she able to turn her business into such a success?" Getting There answers these questions...
Getting There's subtitle is "A Book of Mentors" because the subjects act as virtual mentors to the reader.. The Getting There subjects share their unguarded stories and secrets to navigating the rocky road to the top. Many do discuss the essential things they have learned from others along the way.
Two questions: 1) What was the most different thing in the leadership between the those industry leaders you noticed? What was the most common approach/aspect they shared? 2) Also what's something you couldnt get into the book anymore but were going back and forth to still add?
So sorry one more question! Were there any commonalities among all of these great individuals?
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