KENNETH CUKIER: DEPUTY EDITOR OF THE ECONOMIST

What motivates you in your personal and professional life?

I am still an idealist who believes it's possible to change the world for the better, and that the foundation for this are ideas debated in the public sphere. So I became a journalist to enable that debate by providing all sides with serious, accurate information on which to base the conversation -- as well as bringing my views too, which makes me at times a participant in this debate, not just acting as a forum for it.

How do you handle challenges and setbacks?

It's such a good question since one's life is filled with setbacks. The three things I've learned is: 1. Don't let the setback define you; you're more than a given job, promotion or error. 2. Try to use the setback to accelerate yourself in some way; the idea of "failing upward". 3. Don't take so hard: "This too shall pass". Almost no one actually notices or cares, even if it feels horrible for you. So just move forward.

Have you had a mentor or role model who influenced your life and/or career?

There's no single mentor, but many people have been teachers. A tough, tiny, elderly female law professor aways offered shrewd advice. She was an expert on trusts and contracts, and insisted on designing fair processes, understanding the other person's constraints in a negotiation, and insisting on accountably by ensuring someone "pays" for mistakes. These are essential lessons for any manager.

What is the best advice (professional or personal) you have ever been given?

Starting out as a young journalist, a senior editor pulled me aside and said: "You arrive on time and you leave on time, and you do your work. And that's not good enough. I need more than that from you. And if you want to make it in this business, you need to put in more." The words stung. But I looked around the newsroom and realized that the best people were playing the game at a different level -- they were throwing their all into things. So I started doing that too.

Looking back on your career, what advice do you wish you were given as a high school student?I

I am wary of answering, since such advice is right for certain people and not others -- it's not generalizable. For me, It would be "kill your inner critic and just get things done". But if I had to offer advice to young people today, it would be: "Use your youth." That is, exploit the fact that you're young. We're in an age that values "rookie smarts" -- you're not infected by the ways things were done in the past. So make that your advantage (while being respectful of the past).