Even the most successful people have their limits, including billionaire philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft Bill Gates.
During a Q&A with his wife Melinda and Lin-Manuel Miranda in New York City last month, one audience member asked Gates about his weaknesses when it came to running Microsoft and now the Gates Foundation.
His biggest weakness has always been "dealing with the hiring issues, the management issues," says Gates. "I always have to get other people to come in and help ... build up the team."
And any area he's not particularly passionate about could be considered a weakness, Gates adds: "Even areas like sales and accounting that weren't as exciting to me as the engineering pieces — if it's not exciting to you, you're probably not going to be as good at it, so we brought a ton of people in on those things."
Chances are, like Gates, you're not going to be enthusiastic about or particularly good at every single aspect of running a company. That's where hiring smart people, with a variety of skills and strengths, comes in.
That's also what "Shark Tank" investor and entrepreneur Daymond John likes to do. "I like to bring in a team of people who I consider smarter than me in various different areas," he tells CNBC Make It. "If you create a culture where people feel they can thrive and think, sometimes your mentors can be the 20-year-old kid that knows social media better than anybody or any service you can ever hire."
Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, who has overseen hundreds of companies, also relies on a team of employees who are smarter than he is. Branson writes on his blog: "Success in business has everything to do with the team you hire. Surround yourself with people that are smarter than you, give them everything they need to grow, and your business will thrive."
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Video by Jonathan Fazio
