A proverb of the Maori people of New Zealand asks the question: “What is the most important thing in the world?” The answer: “Well, let me tell you, it is people, it is people, it is people.”
While I learned this proverb while living in Auckland in my late 30s, it was at Duke that I first came to put the concept into practice. And it has driven me ever since.
As a project in Tony Brown’s Enterprising Leadership course, Jeff Leibach and I created the second chapter of Camp Kesem, the free summer camp for the children of cancer patients. We learned that our success would only be possible if we built a hard-working, talented, values-aligned team. It was this team that then did everything, from raising the funds to running the camp, engaging with families in a moment of need, and solving the myriad problems that come from starting a free overnight summer camp. Today, Camp Kesem has served kids in the Durham community for more than 20 summers.
In starting and building Simple Energy (later rebranded Uplight), the leading software company for utilities to get people to save energy, again the people were the most important part. This started, of course, with my co-founder – and classmate from that same Tony Brown class – Justin Segall, who was instrumental in our growth, mergers and acquisitions, and eventual exit. Find great people. Engage them in your vision. Lead with clarity. And celebrate their wins. I first learned these things at Duke, and they have guided me ever since.