Success Advice
Wealth Is an Equal Opportunity Game

Popular myth today asserts the belief that CEOs are earning outrageous amounts. But that’s a narrow view. Let’s look at the facts.
It’s true that the best CEOs among us are making far more money today than they did 50 years ago. It’s a global market now, and opportunities are much larger for everyone today. In 2020, a CEO at one of the top 350 firms in the U.S. was paid on average $24.2 million, including all options that were redeemed in that year.
However, the best actors, musicians, and athletes earned more — much more. In 2021 the average pay for a top 10 actor was $29 million, a 10 top musician $230 million, and a top 50 athlete $280 million! The career choice and sacrifice required to become a top actor, musician, athlete, or entrepreneur in society leads to very few making it all the way. Nobody gets to the top for free. However, the opportunity is there for everyone.
It helps if your parents are already established. In sports, Brett Hull was Bobby Hull’s son, Stephen Curry is Dell Curry’s son, and Payton and Eli Manning were Archie Manning’s boys. It happens for actors, as well. Dakota Johnson’s parents were Don Johnson and Melanie Griffiths, Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen’s father is Martin Sheen, Angelina Jolie’s father is Jon Voight are both are Oscar winners. Music can also be a family business. Jakob Dylan followed his father’s footsteps, as did Carnie and Wendy Wilson, and Julian and Sean Lennon.
“Riches are not an end of life but an instrument of life.” – Henry Ward Beecher
You can see a pattern here. What we’re exposed to growing up can influence possibilities and opportunities for us as adults. My uncle was a physician and so are two of his children, and so, too, are some of their children. Many children follow in their parents’ footsteps, but it’s the exception, not the rule.
Most CEOs, entrepreneurs, actors, musicians and athletes who made it to the top didn’t come from a privileged family. In fact, coming from privilege can be a burden to the next generation. For a young adult aged 26 with upper-middle-class parents, the odds of being diagnosed with an addiction to drugs or alcohol are two-to-three times higher than national rates in the United States.
The truth is, anyone can grow up to be a millionaire or even a billionaire. In my native Canada, two-thirds of our millionaires are self-made. In fact, nearly half were either immigrants or first-generation Canadians. According to Forbes, 70 percent of the 400 wealthiest people in America made their money from scratch in their lifetime. In doing so, they created a lot of prosperity for those around them.
It’s also true for other people who have worked hard to parlay their talent to the top of their profession. Sean Combs is worth $885 million in 2021. Coming from Harlem, he first earned money to buy sneakers on a paper route. LeBron James lived with four generations of his family in a single home near downtown Akron. Now he’s worth $500 million. J.K. Rowling, now a billionaire, was raising a daughter on public assistance while writing the first Harry Potter book in 1994.
Who is helping to increase the wealth of these CEOs, athletes, actors, musicians and celebrities? You are — and you’re getting value in return. Every time you make a call on your iPhone, search for a place to eat on Google, post a picture of your dog on Instagram, watch the Super Bowl, or listen to a hit song on Spotify you’re enjoying the work of talented and hardworking people. You even helped the top 10 YouTubers average more than $30 million each in 2021.
It isn’t a crime to earn money in exchange for value. It’s everywhere in society, and what the wealthy earn helps the pie to grow, not shrink. On average, people were many times poorer in the past than we are today. If we compare the economic prosperity of every region today with any earlier times, we see that each is richer than ever before in its history.
The opportunity to become better at what you do exists for everyone. For a few, they’ll go all the way to becoming the best among us. We should celebrate the work and effort they put into their success, and celebrate, as well, how far we’ve come across all classes.
Success Advice
Why One-Size-Fits-All Leadership Will Always Fail (and What Works Instead)
The surprising truth about leadership styles that can make or break your team’s success.

Leadership has always been as much about people as it is about performance. Ken Blanchard, in his influential book, “The One Minute Manager”, put it simply: different strokes for different folks. (more…)
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Entrepreneurs
The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025
Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”
While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.
Why This Gap Exists
Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.
What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.
Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap
Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.
1. Practice Mutual Empathy
Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.
2. Maintain Professional Boundaries
Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.
3. Follow the Golden Rule
Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.
4. Avoid Micromanagement
Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.
5. Empower Employees to Grow
Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.
6. Communicate in All Directions
Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.
7. Overcome Insecurities
Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.
8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship
True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.
9. Eliminate Favoritism
Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.
10. Recognize Efforts Promptly
Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.
11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews
When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.
12. Provide Leadership Development
Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.
13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles
Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.
The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role
Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:
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Build diverse talent pipelines
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Embrace flexible work models
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Design compelling career paths
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Simplify HR processes
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Redefine the value HR brings
The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.
Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff
When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.
Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.
Entrepreneurs
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