It's not only design

Design Observer links to this piece by Michael McDonough, about The Top 10 Things They Never Taught Me In Design School. The list doesn't seem all that specific to design. It probably should be in any list of lists for how to succeed. McDonough's site seems to be overwhelmed at present so read the first link to get the gist.

Mostly they boil down to "Learn to work hard. Focus your efforts. Learn people skills. Do what you're good at. Be decisive. Don't fear failure." Always good things to remember, although on the last, a designer would probably be better advised to add, "except engineering failures." Failure may be a valuable learning experience in business, but if you want a career as an architect, your buildings better not fall down.

Here's another good list from a successful and, in my view, great man.