From its inception in Mark Zuckerberg’s dorm room in 2004, Facebook has expanded from exclusively servicing Harvard students to being used by nearly two billion people worldwide. The social media platform’s success catapulted Zuckerberg into a household name, making him one of the world’s youngest billionaires. Here are five career lessons that you can learn from the Facebook CEO’s incredible career.
Employ interdisciplinary thinking.
Zuckerberg has a great appreciation for the humanities; he enjoys the ancient Roman poet Virgil, studied psychology in Harvard and received a classics degree in prep school. Zuckerberg allows this humanities training to influence his creative processes in tech, claiming that interdisciplinary work encourages out-of-the-box thinking.
Schedule your time.
According to Zuckerberg, it is important for entrepreneurs to use their time proactively rather than reactively. To this end, Zuckerberg takes the time to decide what he wants to accomplish every day.
Work on your weaknesses.
It is important to recognize your weaknesses so that you can work to improve. Zuckerberg accepted that he had a negative tendency to only offer people criticism rather than thank when they complete a job, so he made it his 2014 resolution to write a thank-you note every day.
Be open to criticism.
Self-improvement begins with the willingness to listen to constructive criticism. Although he is Facebook’s CEO, Zuckerberg encourages his employees to stand up during town halls and correct him if he says something wrong.
Pick up a foreign language!
Zuckerberg has become well-liked in the Chinese community for his efforts to speak to the Chinese people, as well as their President Xi Jinping, in Mandarin. He exemplifies how learning a new language broadens your skill set and helps you communicate with and earn the respect of communities, which is a plus in any industry.
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