Warren Buffett, the renowned CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has long championed the idea that surrounding oneself with more accomplished individuals can significantly enhance personal and professional growth. At the company’s 2004 shareholder meeting, Buffett emphasized that young people, in particular, can greatly benefit from “hanging out with people better than you.” His insights from over two decades underline a fundamental truth about career advancement: the company one keeps can influence their trajectory.
Buffett articulated this belief by stating, “You are going to have your life progress in the general direction of the people that you work with.” He emphasized that surrounding yourself with great people creates an environment of lifelong learning. At a recent shareholder meeting in May, he doubled down on the importance of surrounding ourselves with smart people who have good values. He called this community engagement “enormously important” for building long-term successful outcomes.
Supporting Buffett’s premise, studies from Northwestern University discovered a cause and effect that deserves to be called the “Positive Spillover” effect. At work, being in close proximity—just 25 feet—of a workplace superstar can hugely improve your performance, according to a 2017 study. This boost can be up to 15 percent! This highlights how proximity to high achievers can facilitate learning and inspire enhanced work ethic.
Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet Inc, Google’s parent company, recently talked about how he grew personally. On the “Lex Fridman Podcast,” which went to air on June 5, he elaborated on these concepts. Pichai seconded Buffett’s message by encouraging those in attendance to find their own successful mentors to help them grow. He stated, “Try to get yourself in a position where you’re working with people who you feel are stretching your abilities.”
Pichai emphasized the necessity of getting out of your comfort zone to develop new skills and competencies. Through this experience, he inspired young professionals to seek discomfort as a path of great growth. “You want that feeling a few times [early in your career],” he noted, suggesting that experiencing challenges can lead to surprising revelations about one’s own potential.
Both Buffett and Pichai are right that surrounding yourself with all-stars can be life-changing in terms of improving performance and accelerating career advancement. Their messages hit home particularly with the under 40 professionals, many of whom are taking their first steps into a highly competitive job market.