In the course of my career I have had the good fortune to have met and been influenced by some very savvy as well as distinguished individuals –- perhaps none more so than Bill Clinton. So I was particularly pleased to again have had the opportunity to encounter the former president and get the benefit of some of his latest insights this past week. The occasion was the Fortunes Global Forum that I attended in Cape Town, South Africa, coinciding with the FIFA World Cup matches taking place there. Clinton just happened to be on hand to close the second day of the conference, along with news anchors Wolf Blitzer and Katy Couric. This was my third meeting with him, and in each of the two previous encounters he has given me inspiration and advice that I found quite useful in business. This time, I believe, was no exception.

During his appearance prior to our brief meeting, the former commander-in-chief was asked by Blitzer whether he thought our current war in Afghanistan was winnable and he responded yes -- provided we make the Afghans “the home team.” In other words, U.S. forces cannot win as visitors to the country -- we have to make it the Afghans’ war, not ours. He touched on that same theme a bit later with an eloquent reply to a question on why the U.S. should host the next FIFA World Cup. Noting that we have the stadiums to accommodate the games, he pointed out that every team in the world would have its own “home team crowd” of fans here, as was evident in the celebration of Ghana’s win over the U.S. in the streets from Miami to Philadelphia. Here again, someone else’s “home team advantage” can end up working to ours as well, if we only let it.

In my brief meeting with him following his talk, I had the chance to tell him how useful I had found the advice I had received from him in our last meeting about making sure the recycling business not only makes environmental sense, but economic sense as well. (I can’t remember why I was pointing in the accompanying picture.) And now, once again, as I expand the scope of my endeavors to encompass recycling enterprises in the developing world, I will take his counsel to heart – by making sure that the local community feels like it is involved in a "home team" program and not one merely built by and for the "visitors."

In fact, I think there are many of us who well could benefit from Clinton’s sage advice by realizing that our objective isn’t always to be seen as a winner, but to succeed at what we’re trying to accomplish -- even if it means letting others occasionally take the credit.

And if that advice helps my endeavors to succeed, the credit, Mr. President, belongs to you.