Talk2theBrand

In the July 6th issue of Fortune Magazine, Bill Gates said the best advice his parents ever gave him was to do things he wasn’t good at.  They encouraged him to try various sports, which he was reluctant to do because he wasn’t naturally athletic.  Later, Gates learned to value the experience.  “It ended up exposing me to leadership opportunities … instead of sticking to things I was comfortable with.”

What Gates said reminds me of what Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has said repeatedly in recent interviews:  “What’s really dangerous is not to evolve.”

Bezos knows what he’s talking about:  Amazon has reinvented itself a few times in its relatively short history.  It started out selling books online, when the idea of selling anything online was questionable.  Then, the company expanded its vendor and product mix to the point that Amazon now sells millions of different items, from downloadable movies to treadmills.  It has also become one of the largest providers of cloud computing services.  With 2010 sales from the Kindle reader and e-books expected to top $1.2 billion, Amazon is poised to do to the publishing industry what Apple did to music.

Regardless of how things play out with the Kindle reader, you have to admire Amazon’s pioneering, adventurous culture.  Amazon is simply not afraid to try.  As Bezos said in the June 8th cover story in Fortune, “You can always do what you should do if you’re willing to put in the time and energy to develop a new set of skills.  If you only extend into places where your skill sets serve you, your skills become outmoded.”

It may be advice that’s uncomfortable to follow, but it’s sure to keep you growing — and relevant.