[avemuri]

My first job, luckily. The office was a pretty aggressive and political place, lots of people screwing each other over. He had a way of getting things done while still being one of the nicest people I've met. More importantly, he was liberal in sharing his thoughts.

It also showed me you don't have to be an asshole to get ahead. He had already moved up very fast, and 10 years later is now the head of a 5000 person organization. "What would Navneet do?" is still one of my internal checks when I'm struggling with something. I'm pretty convinced management is an apprenticeship business and I had a great mentor early in my career. I had some lousy management later, not sure how well I would have coped without the earlier exposure. I've developed my own style and incorporated stuff from other people, books, and blogs. I'm probably fairly different in style and personality to him today, but I think that one year laid the foundation of me being at least competent.