By Kelly Lawrence

A few years ago, my CEO announced that Warren Buffet would visit us for a 2-hour Q&A session - in 2 hours! I was lucky enough to have an invitation to attend and not have any conflicts with customer meetings. But only 2 hours to prepare?!

We’ve all met someone who inspires us, so I’m sure you can appreciate my anxiety. We go into these situations wanting to learn and to impress. More realistically, we hope we can find the courage to engage and not look like a complete idiot.

After a breathing exercise to calm my nerves, I made a commitment. I would be courageous and ask Warren Buffet a question. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn and I was going to take it. With a combination of internet research and colleague discussions, I prepared a question.

I’m happy to report, I did ask a question. It wasn’t as polished as I had hoped and I am sure I did not leave a lasting impression. But, Mr. Buffett left a lasting impression on me. Through a series of questions, Mr. Buffet consistently shared a message about the importance of trust, staying true to yourself and treating others well. He went on to share many stories throughout the morning exemplifying these values. Do what’s right and you will be both happy and successful.

It wasn’t the iconic business advice I expected. Perhaps more importantly, it was about leadership and being authentic. I realized that day that our professional lives are just as much a part of us as our personal lives. As much as the world talks about achieving a work-life balance, for us at Lawrence Innovation, it’s about doing the right thing. We recognize work and life are integrated and bring our whole selves to earn the trust of our clients and do the right thing. As Warren Buffet said, we believe these values will make us both happy and successful.

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About Kelly Lawrence
Kelly Lawrence is the Founder and CEO of Lawrence Innovation. We bring over two decades of expertise in converting customer and market insights to growth. We’ve delivered results for B2B innovators around the world including Berkshire Hathaway’s Lubrizol & Fortune Brands’ Moen. We know how to identify profitable problems to solve, develop and communicate unique value propositions, and implement profitable business models that generate results.