Alfred Nobel changed the course of his life when he read his own obituary which said: Le marchand de la mort est mort (”The merchant of death is dead”) and went on to say, “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.” After this, he left a sizable percentage of his property for establishing “The Nobel Prize”. Realizing what he was known for was a life changing event for him.

Sometimes getting to hear what people say about you when you are not there is great source of both inspiration and learning. I recently came across a post by Lisa Haneberg and decided to share it with our employees and other readers of this blog. Here are some excerpts:

Imagine that you are a fly in the elevator one week after you leave. Two people are talking about you. What is it you want them to say?Do you want to be known as the queen of exciting meetings (that would be my goal)? Or the king of provocative analysis? Do you want to be known for always being organized and prepared? Creative and innovative? Fun? Think about for what you want to be known and the type of reputation you seek to build.

I think she has a put that down very well. You can read her full post here.