Caught up in Abu Dhabi earlier this month with three extraordinary friends I hugely admire: Jakob, Mohamed & Ross.
Jakob, the fellow German lifelong theme park aficionado who rightfully rose to the very top of the industry as president of IAAPA.
Mohamed, the Emirati rainmaker CEO who closed the deal on the Middle East's first and only Disneyland.
Ross, the Australian backpacking adventurer turned founder of Wego, today one of the world's largest travel sites/apps.
All of them are phenomenally successful, no doubt. But what else do they have in common? What's the pattern here?
• They are genuinely humble. I've never witnessed any of them brag about their achievements. Not once.
• They have conversations not to lecture, but to learn something new. Relentlessly curious and insatiably inquisitive!
• All three are deep thinkers and relentless philosophizers. Looking inward, reflecting, then working on the next steps. It never gets boring.
• There's no toxicity or passive-aggressiveness. They are just genuinely great people you'd happily be stuck with on the International Space Station. Even if it leaks.
If you accidentally sat next to them on a plane or train, you wouldn't walk away intimidated, dreaming of a centimillion. You'd think, "Boy, what a strangely pleasant fellow that was."
I'm sure many books have already been written about this. But here it is again, and I've met plenty of the other kind as well: arrogance, obnoxiousness and self-promotion aren't the language of winners, no matter which industry they occupy. If your boss is like that, quit today — that ship is sinking anyway.
Humble, mature, curious, quietly confident, sharp, smiling from the inside — that's how you recognize the real rainmakers.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stefanzwanzger_caught-up-in-abu-dhabi-earlier-this-month-ugcPost-7485205702962020352-0FNZ?