Chicagoan David Kronfeld Shares Advice To Career Success In New Book
CHICAGO (CBS) – For more than 40 years, Chicagoan David Kronfeld has had an incredibly successful career in business. Now the Venture Capital investor and founder of JK&B Capital, is sharing his knowledge about business, in his new book titled, "Remarkable- Proven Insights To Accelerate Your Career."
CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot talked with him about "Insight" and why Kronfeld says it's the key to career success.
When David Kronfeld came to America from Israel, he wanted to earn his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and master's in computer science. After graduation, he could understand English, but could barely speak it. When he went to work at EDS, the company once owned by Ross Perot, Kronfeld said he made mistakes. To succeed, he had to really observe everything around him, in particular, what worked for him and other people, in a corporate environment.
"That kind of observation, allowed me to become much more insightful than the average person, because I really had to analyze all of the nuances, behind every little thing," Kronfeld said.
"Insight" is one of the key premises in the Chicagoan's wall street journal bestseller list book, "Remarkable- Proven Insights To Accelerate Your Career." Kronfeld is the chairman of JK&B Capital. The Venture Capital Group has raised more than a billion dollars and has invested in hundreds of companies. Kronfeld explains "Insight" as the advice that helps you become a top performer and succeed against your peers.
"To me, insight refers to that street smarts. It's the things that are not so obvious, but play a critical role when push comes to shove," he said.
Kronfeld says he learned about the different levels of insight while working as a management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton. He says insight involves everything from the dos and don'ts in a work environment, to techniques, that help you excel.
"It is the best tool you will have to accelerate that success. It increases the probability that one will get successful. It increases the probability that one will do better, it increases the probability that one will become a top performer and because of that their career is likely to go faster and much farther."
Kronfeld shares many personal stories in his book. It started as a family memoir, to share his business experience with his grandson's Colton and Aaron. When his daughter Beth read what he had written, she knew his advice, was something that needed to be shared with the world.
"We decided that this is a good opportunity to give back and to have a much wider audience benefit from this kind of an insight," Kronfeld said.
Kronfeld will be donating copies of his book to organizations, supporting young professionals, primarily those at a disadvantage in creating their dream careers. More information about his book can be found on his website.
