Page 71 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

52 • CEO Material: How to Be a Leader in Any Organization

scare you. You’ll learn something useful, whether you actually use it or
not. You’ll understand how engineers, computer scientists, economists,
and mathematicians think—because you’ll end up managing them if
you’re lucky.
Chinese students go to school 230 days a year, U.S. students go
129 days. For every 100 Chinese and Indian students who take advanced
math, science, and calculus, there are only 20 U.S students taking the
same subjects.

When I was young, I worked the midnight to 8 a.m. shift at a garage
parking cars. Some of the older workers who couldn’t sleep would
come and sit and talk. They talked about the war, how they came to
America, everything. I learned a lot. Later, at United Technologies,
one president head who’d run a couple of companies around the
country was a heavy smoker. He’d put in hours in the smoking room.
I’d always go in there, even though I didn’t smoke, and had hours of
one-on-one time with him.

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The greatest investment I make in myself is the people I surround
myself with. I learn so much; it elevates me.

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You get better being around better—from Little League to the board-
room.

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I look at every situation I’m in to see what I can learn. If I’m
visiting people at a neighborhood party, I’ll ask questions about
everything.

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The best schools, the best companies, the best network gets you
around the best crowd and therefore the best opportunities. So it’s
worth the effort to go for the best.
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