读罢此文,希望朋友们可以去仔细去找来这六位成功者的材料,读一读他们的故事。于我而言,奥普拉一直是我的精神偶像。
译者/温佛佳
本周,《财富》杂志一篇特写报道指出,如今,在挑选人才时,越来越多的用人单位不再过分依据传统标准,而是开始关注求职者的过往经历,选择那些具有“坚毅”品格的人员。“坚毅”这个词儿,大致包含有勇气、能坚持、适应能力强、具有创新思维以及问题解决能力等含义。
相比大牌公司的实习经历或者常春藤联盟的学位,拥有坚毅品格的人可能更加容易获得成功。
想要找到一些凭借“坚毅”品格而出人头地的例子,看一看公司高管就好了。以下6位在任或已卸任的首席执行官,早年都曾遭受过多种挑战与挫折,由此磨砺出来的坚毅品格,最终帮他们达到了事业的巅峰。
哈泼娱乐集团公司首席执行官奥普拉·温弗瑞
传媒大腕奥普拉出身贫寒,9岁时曾遭到性侵,一度陷入绝望中,但她从这些负面经历中汲取能量,将痛苦经历转化为突破职业壁垒的动力,取得了成功,并用自己的故事激励了数百万人。
她说:“我之所以能够拥有如此巨大的财富,是因为我做任何事从来也没有刻意将钱作为目标。”
荷兰电信巨头VEON董事长、施乐公司前首席执行官乌尔苏拉·伯恩斯
伯恩斯家境如此贫寒,因为她的单亲妈妈不得不去做办公司保洁工作以便筹钱看病。好在伯恩斯在数学方面极具天赋,凭借此获得了奖学金,后来又争取到施乐公司实习的机会。在那里,她崭露头角,最终走上了人生的巅峰。
“我是一名来自纽约下东区(以贫民窟和廉租公寓闻名)的黑人姑娘,因此没什么能够吓到我,”她说。
星巴克执行董事长霍华德·舒尔茨
舒尔茨在布鲁克林的公屋长大,周围生活的都是一贫如洗的人。后来,凭借美式橄榄球的奖学金,他成为家里第一位大学生。后来接受了销售方面的培训后,他成立了一家公司,此后收购星巴克。他曾坦言,“那几年筹备资金的过程中,我找了242个人,但其中217人都拒绝了。”
美国男装品牌Sean John首席执行官肖恩·科姆斯
科姆斯开创了一个说唱艺术时代,在时装界写下了浓妆艳抹的一笔。但是他的人生很可能会走上一条截然不同的路:他的父亲吸毒成瘾,科姆斯3岁时,父亲就遭人杀害了。最近,他在推特上写道,“幼年的经历促使我更加努力地工作。虽然父亲从未能参与我的成长,但他一直活在我的心中。”
微软首席执行官萨蒂亚·纳德拉
纳德拉在微打拼时,他的生活遭到了重创。他与妻子阿努育有三个孩子,老大生下来四肢瘫痪,视力受损。他曾说,“这件事情深深地影响到我思考,领导以及与人互动的方式。”考虑问题时,他总会将同理心放在第一位,并不断去调整自己。
天然气和电力公司PG&E首席执行官盖莎·威廉姆斯
威廉姆斯5岁时,跟随父母逃出古巴到了美国。7岁时,她便在父母在新泽西州开的杂货铺当起了翻译,帮助与与律师、会计进行交流。她的导师们鼓励她继续努力。“一开始,我的目标是成为一名经理,再后来,我想做更了不起的事情。”她告诉《财富》杂志。
英文来源:财富杂志
As Fortune reports in a new feature story this week, employers are increasingly looking beyond traditional credentials to find job candidates whose life experiences show their “grit.” That term is loosely defined as courage, perseverance, resilience, creativity, a knack for problem-solving and an openness to learning—and it may be a better proxy for success than any posh internship or Ivy League degree.
For examples of people whose grit propelled them to the top, you may not have to look any further than the corner office.
Complex challenges early in life helped these six current and former chief executives develop skills that got them to the pinnacles of their professions.
The media mogul has mined her life story—poverty, despair, and sexual abuse starting at age 9—as a source of strength to push through professional barriers, and to inspire millions to do the same.
“The reason I’ve been able to be so financially successful is my focus has never, ever for one minute been money,” she says.
Her family was so poor that her single mother traded office cleaning for health care. But Burns’ early aptitude for math won her a scholarship and an internship at Xerox , where she would compete her way to the top. “I’m a black lady from the Lower East Side,” she says. “Not a lot intimidates me.”
Combs launched a generation of hip-hop talent and made a lasting imprint in fashion. But his story could have turned out much differently: His drug dealer father was killed when he was 3.
“It made me work even harder,” he recently tweeted. “We never got to share the moments that made me a man … but he lives in my spirit.”
Nadella was climbing the ranks at Microsoft when life complexity hit. Zain, the eldest of his three children with wife Anu, was born quadriplegic and visually impaired.
“It has had a profound impact on how I think, lead, and relate to people,” he has said, moving empathy and resilience to the forefront of his thinking.
Her parents fled Cuba when Williams (née Jimenez) was 5; by 7, she was her parents’ main translator in talks with lawyers and accountants at groceries they owned in New Jersey. Mentors encouraged her early on: “I went from thinking I could be a manager to thinking I could do something much bigger,” she told Fortune.