Mark Wiseman has gained notoriety in recent years for his work as a global investment manager with countless experiences at the executive level. Seeing one individual’s rise to acclaim in his chosen field of business can be inspirational in and of itself, but studying his journey can offer its own lessons. Oftentimes, these takeaways can only be seen when viewing how an individual’s values and choices coalesce to form the resume you see today.
If you’re setting out to launch your own business or have an entrepreneurial spirit that can’t be quenched, there’s a lot to take away from Mark Wiseman. From his values to the career moves he’s made over the years, there’s plenty to glean from Wiseman. Here are five of the most important lessons that Mark Wiseman can teach us about entrepreneurship in the 21st century.
Keep pushing yourself
One of the first lessons that can be learned from Mark Wiseman is to always keep pushing yourself. Many times, it’s easy to become complacent or settle for what you have. Especially if you have a comfortable lifestyle and job, you may stop fighting for promotions or new positions. This isn’t the way that Wiseman played the game. He moved from major positions as the Senior Vice President of Private Investments to Executive Vice President and finally President and Chief Executive Officer of the CPP Investment Board. But he didn’t stop there. Next, he co-founded FCLTGlobal and began working at BlackRock as the Global Head of Active Equities. This sort of drive helped him build new skills, expand his network, and ultimately become the business executive he is today.
Think about the long-game
One of Wiseman’s major guiding principles when it comes to investing in the stock market is an important axiom for life as well. It’s crucial that you think about the long-game, making decisions that set you up for success in the future and not just in the short-term. Even while working for the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, he described his mindset as “really focused on our long term strategy and trying to add value in the long run to the CPP’s reserve fund.”
Seek out educational opportunities
If you take a look at Mark Wiseman’s LinkedIn Profile or resume, one thing that will immediately stand out to you is his impressive list of academic achievements. Wiseman received degrees from Queen’s University, the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management, the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, and was even a Fulbright Scholar at Yale University where he got his Master of Laws degree. By seeking out ways to further your education, you will always be leveling up and learning new strategies to bring to your entrepreneurship.
Keep rebalancing your investments
As a global investment professional, Mark Wiseman, of course, has a lot of investment advice, too. One of his most important strategies is to keep rebalancing your investments. This is especially true if you’re planning for the long-term and are worried about future issues like another global financial crisis or pandemic. By rebalancing your assets, you’re able to mitigate risk while maximizing the money you have in the market. This gives you more money to leverage in your entrepreneurial ventures.
Give back to your community
One way to network while also building a name for yourself is to give back to your community. This is something Wiseman clearly exemplifies when you consider the different charitable organizations he’s served on the board of. Aligning yourself with non-profit organizations is a great way to use your wealth and skills to help other institutions fulfill their missions, and can help you connect with different types of people while feeling better about the impact you’re making as an entrepreneur.
