
? Workday首席執(zhí)行官卡爾·埃申巴赫(Carl Eschenbach)在其所擁有的每一本書上都寫著一條領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力生存法則:“往昔的輝煌,,恰是最致命的陷阱”。杰夫·貝佐斯和董明倫等其他首席執(zhí)行官也認(rèn)為,,沉溺于過往成就或空想未來輝煌,,皆對把握當(dāng)下的成功機遇無益。
成功的滋味極易令人上癮,,人們往往會不自覺地在腦海中反復(fù)回味那些輝煌時刻,,以此尋求多巴胺分泌帶來的短暫歡愉。然而,,Workday首席執(zhí)行官卡爾·埃申巴赫告訴《財富》雜志,,他的“首要生存法則便是”絕不沉溺于過往成就。
他說:“這句話出現(xiàn)在我每一本書里,,言簡意賅——往昔的輝煌,,恰是最致命的陷阱?!?/p>
這位執(zhí)掌市值高達650億美元軟件巨頭的首席執(zhí)行官,,1987年在一家小型科技公司擔(dān)任系統(tǒng)工程師,之后一路晉升,,并于2002年首次擔(dān)任重要領(lǐng)導(dǎo)職位,,出任戴爾公司(Dell)全球客戶主管。他甚至涉足風(fēng)險投資領(lǐng)域,,曾在紅杉資本(Sequoia)擔(dān)任合伙人,,同時兼任Snowflake和Zoom等行業(yè)領(lǐng)軍企業(yè)的董事職務(wù),。
此外,埃申巴赫憑借在科技公司逾35年的成功拓展經(jīng)驗,,深諳在每次勝利之后如何保持頭腦清醒,。在其擔(dān)任虛擬計算機公司VMware總裁兼首席運營官的14年時間里,他將公司員工規(guī)模從200人壯大至超過2萬人,,營收從3000萬美元提升至70億美元,。
即便如此,他也拒絕沉溺于過往的輝煌,。
埃申巴赫強調(diào):“要聚焦于驅(qū)動力,、韌性和誠信……而非一味地沉溺于過往的成功。過去的成功可以加以利用并從中吸取經(jīng)驗教訓(xùn),,但我更著眼于未來,,思考如何為我們的員工、同事和客戶創(chuàng)造成功,?!?/p>
“切勿專注于成功本身,而應(yīng)專注于為他人帶來深遠影響,,而做到這一點的方法就是專注于未來,。”
在他履新僅一年之際,,這一策略再次取得成效:自2024年初擔(dān)任首席執(zhí)行官以來,,Workday的總收入飆升了19億美元,同比增長17%,。
首席執(zhí)行官活在當(dāng)下,,無視過去的成功
達成職業(yè)里程碑或出色完成任務(wù),無疑令人心潮澎湃——事業(yè)騰飛時所收獲的成功喜悅是無可比擬的,。但部分全球頂尖企業(yè)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者們反復(fù)強調(diào)一項準(zhǔn)則:切勿固步自封,。倘若人們過于安于現(xiàn)狀,一次巨大的成功反而可能成為失敗的導(dǎo)火索,。
以全球范圍內(nèi)看似堅不可摧的企業(yè)之一為例,。在市值達2萬億美元的零售巨頭亞馬遜(Amazon)蓬勃發(fā)展之際,時任首席執(zhí)行官杰夫·貝佐斯始終要求其明星客服員工時刻保持警惕,。
貝佐斯說:"我期望這里的每一位成員,,每天清晨醒來時都帶著惶恐不安的心情,連床單都被汗水浸透,?!?/p>
這位億萬富翁說服團隊專注于當(dāng)下,全力以赴為亞馬遜顧客提供極致服務(wù),。貝佐斯告訴員工,,無需將注意力分散至競爭對手身上——原因是為公司提供資金支持的,,并非競爭對手。憑借專注自身業(yè)務(wù),、持續(xù)優(yōu)化既有成功模式,,亞馬遜得以躋身全球最大零售商之列。
就連亞馬遜最強勁的競爭對手,、全球最大的國際零售商沃爾瑪(Walmart)的首席執(zhí)行官董明倫亦持有相同觀點,。從1984年開始,他從倉庫卸貨員起步,,一路在公司拼搏奮進,,最終執(zhí)掌《財富》世界500強榜首企業(yè)。
這樣的職業(yè)生涯令多數(shù)人艷羨不已,,董明倫本有充足理由回味那些助他登頂?shù)妮x煌成就,。然而,這位首席執(zhí)行官既未沉溺于往昔榮光,,也未過度謀劃未來,,而是調(diào)整思路,聚焦當(dāng)下,。
董明倫表示:“我更傾向于思考未來走向,,而非僅僅聚焦于眼前的瞬間。規(guī)劃固然重要,,但享受當(dāng)下也同樣重要?!保ㄘ敻恢形木W(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
? Workday首席執(zhí)行官卡爾·埃申巴赫(Carl Eschenbach)在其所擁有的每一本書上都寫著一條領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力生存法則:“往昔的輝煌,,恰是最致命的陷阱”。杰夫·貝佐斯和董明倫等其他首席執(zhí)行官也認(rèn)為,,沉溺于過往成就或空想未來輝煌,,皆對把握當(dāng)下的成功機遇無益。
成功的滋味極易令人上癮,,人們往往會不自覺地在腦海中反復(fù)回味那些輝煌時刻,,以此尋求多巴胺分泌帶來的短暫歡愉。然而,,Workday首席執(zhí)行官卡爾·埃申巴赫告訴《財富》雜志,,他的“首要生存法則便是”絕不沉溺于過往成就。
他說:“這句話出現(xiàn)在我每一本書里,,言簡意賅——往昔的輝煌,,恰是最致命的陷阱?!?/p>
這位執(zhí)掌市值高達650億美元軟件巨頭的首席執(zhí)行官,,1987年在一家小型科技公司擔(dān)任系統(tǒng)工程師,,之后一路晉升,并于2002年首次擔(dān)任重要領(lǐng)導(dǎo)職位,,出任戴爾公司(Dell)全球客戶主管,。他甚至涉足風(fēng)險投資領(lǐng)域,曾在紅杉資本(Sequoia)擔(dān)任合伙人,,同時兼任Snowflake和Zoom等行業(yè)領(lǐng)軍企業(yè)的董事職務(wù),。
此外,埃申巴赫憑借在科技公司逾35年的成功拓展經(jīng)驗,,深諳在每次勝利之后如何保持頭腦清醒,。在其擔(dān)任虛擬計算機公司VMware總裁兼首席運營官的14年時間里,他將公司員工規(guī)模從200人壯大至超過2萬人,,營收從3000萬美元提升至70億美元,。
即便如此,他也拒絕沉溺于過往的輝煌,。
埃申巴赫強調(diào):“要聚焦于驅(qū)動力,、韌性和誠信……而非一味地沉溺于過往的成功。過去的成功可以加以利用并從中吸取經(jīng)驗教訓(xùn),,但我更著眼于未來,,思考如何為我們的員工、同事和客戶創(chuàng)造成功,?!?/p>
“切勿專注于成功本身,而應(yīng)專注于為他人帶來深遠影響,,而做到這一點的方法就是專注于未來,。”
在他履新僅一年之際,,這一策略再次取得成效:自2024年初擔(dān)任首席執(zhí)行官以來,,Workday的總收入飆升了19億美元,同比增長17%,。
首席執(zhí)行官活在當(dāng)下,,無視過去的成功
達成職業(yè)里程碑或出色完成任務(wù),無疑令人心潮澎湃——事業(yè)騰飛時所收獲的成功喜悅是無可比擬的,。但部分全球頂尖企業(yè)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者們反復(fù)強調(diào)一項準(zhǔn)則:切勿固步自封,。倘若人們過于安于現(xiàn)狀,一次巨大的成功反而可能成為失敗的導(dǎo)火索,。
以全球范圍內(nèi)看似堅不可摧的企業(yè)之一為例,。在市值達2萬億美元的零售巨頭亞馬遜(Amazon)蓬勃發(fā)展之際,時任首席執(zhí)行官杰夫·貝佐斯始終要求其明星客服員工時刻保持警惕,。
貝佐斯說:"我期望這里的每一位成員,,每天清晨醒來時都帶著惶恐不安的心情,,連床單都被汗水浸透?!?/p>
這位億萬富翁說服團隊專注于當(dāng)下,,全力以赴為亞馬遜顧客提供極致服務(wù)。貝佐斯告訴員工,,無需將注意力分散至競爭對手身上——原因是為公司提供資金支持的,,并非競爭對手。憑借專注自身業(yè)務(wù),、持續(xù)優(yōu)化既有成功模式,,亞馬遜得以躋身全球最大零售商之列。
就連亞馬遜最強勁的競爭對手,、全球最大的國際零售商沃爾瑪(Walmart)的首席執(zhí)行官董明倫亦持有相同觀點,。從1984年開始,他從倉庫卸貨員起步,,一路在公司拼搏奮進,,最終執(zhí)掌《財富》世界500強榜首企業(yè)。
這樣的職業(yè)生涯令多數(shù)人艷羨不已,,董明倫本有充足理由回味那些助他登頂?shù)妮x煌成就,。然而,這位首席執(zhí)行官既未沉溺于往昔榮光,,也未過度謀劃未來,,而是調(diào)整思路,聚焦當(dāng)下,。
董明倫表示:“我更傾向于思考未來走向,,而非僅僅聚焦于眼前的瞬間。規(guī)劃固然重要,,但享受當(dāng)下也同樣重要?!保ㄘ敻恢形木W(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
? Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach has a leadership survival rule written in every book he has: “There is nothing more dangerous than yesterday’s success.” Other CEOs like Jeff Bezos and Doug McMillon agree that being hung up on past or future wins won’t serve your success in the moment.
Getting a taste of success can be addictive, and it’s natural to want to replay those wins in your head as a little dopamine hit. But Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach tells Fortune that his “first rule of survival” is not lingering on past victories.
“It’s literally a quote that’s in every book I ever have. It’s very simple,” he says. “There is nothing more dangerous than yesterday’s success.”
The CEO of the $65 billion software giant started off as a system engineer at a small technology company in 1987, before working his way up the ladder and stepping into his first big leadership role as Global Accounts Executive for Dell in 2002. He’s even dipped his toes in the world of venture capitalism as a partner at Sequoia and juggled board positions with industry giants including Snowflake and Zoom.
Plus, with over 35 years of experience scaling successful tech companies, Eschenbach knows a thing or two about how to stay level-headed after each victory. During his 14-year stint at virtual computer company VMware as president and chief operating officer, he grew the business from 200 staffers to over 20,000, and raised revenue from $30 million to $7 billion.
Still, he refuses to coast on past achievements.
“Focus on drive, resiliency, and integrity…. not looking at the success of the past,” Eschenbach stresses. “You can leverage it and learn from it, but I focus on the future and how to drive success for our employees and our workmates and our customers.”
“Don’t focus on success itself. Focus on [the] significant impact of others, and you do that by just focusing on the future.”
Just one year into his new role, the strategy is once again paying off: Since taking on the role of chief executive in early 2024, Workday’s total revenues have skyrocketed up by $1.9 billion, or 17% year-over-year.
CEOs living in the moment and ignoring past success
Reaching a career milestone or nailing an assignment is exhilarating—there’s nothing like the rush of success when things are taking off. But leaders of some of the world’s largest companies hammer home one lesson: don’t rest on your laurels. One huge success could lead to failure if people get too comfortable.
Take one of the most seemingly untouchable companies in the world, for example. When $2 trillion retail giant Amazon was taking off, then-CEO Jeff Bezos still kept his star customer-service employees on their toes.
“I asked everyone around here to wake up terrified every morning, their sheets drenched in sweat,” Bezos said.
The billionaire persuaded his team to focus on the current, serving Amazon’s shoppers as best as they could. Bezos told them to ignore the competition—they’re not the ones giving money to the company. By staying in their own lane and constantly improving their already-successful model, the business was able to become one of the biggest retailers in the world.
Even the CEO of Amazon’s fiercest competitor, and the world’s largest international retailer, Walmart’s Doug McMillon, echoed the same sentiment. Starting in 1984, he worked his way up through the business, starting out unloading trailers in a warehouse, to piloting the number one company on the Fortune 500.
It’s a career come-up that most would gawk at, and McMillon is well within his right to reminisce on his huge successes that led him there. But the CEO isn’t dwelling on his victories or next moves—he’s reframed his mindset to focus on the now.
“I’m wired to think more about what’s coming next than the moment right in front of me,” McMillon said. “Planning is important, but enjoying the present is too.”