Ideas in the Wild is a series where we bring non-fiction books from the page into the real world, by learning how the authors apply their book’s lessons in their own lives.
Lorenzo Gomez went from the stockroom of a grocery store to the boardrooms of two private companies without a formal higher education.
In his new memoir, The Cilantro Diaries, Lorenzo recounts the his inspiring and hilarious story but, more importantly, he provides insights to others looking to follow a similar path. The book lays out the guiding principles behind Lorenzo’s unlikely success, and acts as a roadmap for ambitious young people to build their network, rise above the competition, and create a profitable and satisfying professional career.
I caught up with Lorenzo to ask him how he applies the lessons in his book in his daily life.
What’s your favorite practical lesson from The Cilantro Diaries?
Before I get to the advice, here’s the precursor: I believe everyone should assemble their own personal board of directors. It’s incredibly useful to have people you rely on for mentorship, guidance, and tough feedback.
But the specific advice is this: You should not speak hard truth to anyone whose board you are not on.
If you don’t believe me, just read Twitter for 5 seconds. The world would be a more pleasant place if people reserved the heavy hard truths for the precious handful of people they were in deep community with. Anyone outside that circle is not going to listen or will hate you for sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.
How have you applied that lesson in your own life?
I apply this in my own life in a very simple way.
I have an actual list of the people on my personal board of directors. These are the people I go to for counsel in both life and business. Then I have a list of the people reporting directly to me at work. These are only two groups of people I give hard truths and advice to.
If I ever feel the urge to “set someone straight,” I go back to the list. If they are not on it, I mind my own business.
If I had known this 18 years ago, I would have saved myself a ton of pain and unneeded drama.
You can find more of Lorenzo’s ideas in his book, The Cilantro Diaries: Business Lessons From the Most Unlikely Places.