Mark Weinberger,安永全球董事长兼席执行官。Mark现年54岁,无论在安永内外都有着卓越的业绩。早前,Mark还曾担任美国总统乔治·W·布什政府的美国财政部助卿(税务政策)一职,此外克林顿总统还曾任命他担任美国社会保障咨询委员会成员。
这是一封EY安永CEO Mark Weinberger给22岁年轻人的信,正在迷茫挣扎的年轻人们,值得一读!
当我刚进入凯斯西储大学(Case Western Reserve University)法学院和管理学院的时候,我的表现没有那么突出,教授可能都不会记得我。如果能重回22岁,我会告诉那时候的自己:通往成功和幸福的路不止一条。
当然,非常高的学分绩是一个值得的目标和重要成就,但学会如何学习、学习如何找到自己真正的热情比你学到的东西本身更为重要。最终,你所拥有的人际关系、你的经验和你冒过的风险对于你取得什么样的个人成就更为重要。
让我来讲讲,从法学院和商学院毕业之后我做了什么:
没学过政治学,但我在政府工作了10年;
没有实践经验,但我创办了自己的律师事务所;
虽然从前的身份是律师和经济学家,但现在我管理着一家国际专业服务型企业。
若你22岁
你从中看到什么模式或道理吗?以下是我给现在22岁左右的人提出的建议:
1)对各种可能性保持开放态度
你是自己人生的 CEO(You are the CEO of your own life)。迈出校门之后,要去哪里只有你自己才能决定,所以,请对各种可能性保持开放的心态,并做好准备。在学校打下的基础能发挥的作用超乎你的想象。
我不断尝试着冒险,去挑战各种事情。不要因为学历、学位或其他条条框框就感到被限制。在当代社会,更必要的技能是批判性思考,敢于迎接你可能遇到的各种挑战,构建你的理论、立场和观点,并且坚持下去。
诸位即将从事的工作可能10年前压根还不曾存在。在这个瞬息万变的世界里摸爬滚打,重要的事就是终身学习。不要畏惧任何事情,即使是那些全新的或是全然未知的事。只有这样,当重要机遇真的来临,你才能抓住机会。
2)显示会找到你的极限,而你要为自己寻找机会
当今社会机遇众多,。世界五百强中有147家都属于新兴行业,9年前这个数字还不到50家。如今存在的近90%的数据都是这两年内创造的。
世界在变化,而且变得很快。没有时间留给人们去考虑边界在哪里。未来不是由那些整天想着限制和规范的人创造。关注未来发展趋势,寻找改善的可能,自己去寻
找机会,去赢得一席之地。没有任何人会替你做这些。
3)找到平衡,遵守诺言
尽管你很关注自己能否在会议桌旁占据重要位置,但是餐桌边的位置也一样重要。归根结底,生活和家人还是比工作更重要。这是一件好事,但是我也必须跟你们说实话,这也是件难事。不管你选择了什么,患得患失是人性的一部分。这也是为什么你要学会在工作和家庭间找到平衡。
我曾在中国参加一个高层会议,我为这个会议准备了很久,想给人们留下好印象。完成演讲回答过一个问题后,我有点犹豫,因为我答应了女儿要去陪她参加
驾照考试。考虑了一番,我下定决心告诉大家我必须提前离开。没有人记得那天我做了什么演讲,但是我收到了很多封邮件赞许我遵守了对女儿的承诺。
我热爱这份工作,这是我好的机会之一。但当我被任命为CEO时,我提出了一个条件:不管到世界哪个角落出差,我必须每个周末都回家。
平衡生活和工作是很重要的。不管事业发展得多快,你都要不时放慢脚步想想到底什么对你才是重要的。如果工作没有给你留下足够的时间空间和家人在一起,那么你好停下来,另寻他路。
4)永远不要忘本
最后一条建议也可能是好的一条,这是从我爸爸那里学到的。不管我走到哪里,或是取得了怎样的成就,他总是会说,“Mark,不要忘记你是谁,你从哪里来。”
每次我升职的时候都会打给他,温馨祝贺之后,他总是会说:“记住,不管你的头衔是什么,我都一样爱你。”对我来说,这些话远比我的成就还重要。
不要忘记自己是谁,也不要忘记帮助过自己的人。保持这种谦逊明智的心态可以帮助你走到事业的新高度。
现在22岁左右的年轻人面临着崭新的世界,科技更先进,社交也更频繁。现在的你只需要去工作、去冒险,去发掘潜力,然后去开拓精彩的人生。所以,要勇敢地向前走、把握机会。我迫不及待的想看到你们这一代人会创造什么。
英文原文:
When I attended Case Western Reserve University School of Law and the Weatherhead School of Management, I was an “OK” student. At least I thought so. My professors probably wouldn’t remember me as a standout. Now, why would anyone want to take any advice from me? That’s a really good question.
I worked hard at graduate school, and I enjoyed my time there. But here’s what I would tell my 22-year-old self back then: There is more than one path to a successful career and a satisfying life.
Don’t get me wrong: A high GPA is a worthy goal and great achievement. But, learning how you learn, and what your passion is, is more important than what you learn. At the end of the day, your relationships, experiences and the risks you take are going to have an equal or greater impact on your accomplishments.
Stay open to every possibility
You are the CEO of your own life. You can chart your own path. Only you can decide where you go once you walk out of school, so stay open to every possibility – because school has prepared you to do more than you can imagine.
I have constantly tried to challenge myself to take on new risks and experiences. My lesson is don’t feel limited by the degree you’ve received. The kind of skills that are more necessary in this century are the ability to think critically, to take on any challenge that comes your way, to construct an argument – and stick by it.
Within a few years, many of you will be working jobs that didn’t even exist a decade ago. Remember, you may change your career entirely several times. And that’s exciting.
As you’re traveling through this changing world, the most important thing you can do is to keep learning your whole life. And never be afraid of anything, even if it’s totally new or completely unknown. That way, when your big opportunity comes along, you’ll be ready to seize it.
The world will find your limitations. Only you will find your opportunities
This is a world with more opportunities available to you than any previous generation. It’s a world where 147 of the Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in emerging markets. Nine years ago, it was fewer than 50. It’s a world where 90 percent of all the data that exists was created in the past two years.
The world is changing, and it’s changing fast. This is no time to think about limits.
The future is never made by those who focus on limitations. It is made by people who focus on possibilities. History is made by people who understand that they might not be able to control all of their circumstances – but they can control their attitude.
When you walk into a room, bring possibilities with you. Don’t be a person who only thinks of the downside, who sucks life out of the room. No one wants that person at their table. So go out there, pursue different opportunities and find your seat at the table. No one else will do it for you.
Find balance, keep your commitments
As much as you focus on your seat at the conference table, your seat at the dinner table is just as important. Eventually you’re going to build lives and families that matter to you more than any job. That’s a good thing; it’s the best thing. But I’m not going to lie to you; it’s also tough.
No matter what you do in life, it's human nature to think about what you're not doing somewhere else. That’s why I believe so strongly in finding a balance between your work life and your home life.
I was at one of my first leadership meetings in China giving a speech that I had prepared hard for. I was a little nervous, and wanted to make a good impression. In answering a question, I had to admit that I was leaving the meeting early because I had another commitment: My daughter was taking her driving test, and I’d promised to be there. I left the meeting, got on a plane and made it home to take her to the test. (Yes, she passed.) No one remembered my great speech that day, but I received hundreds of s admiring my decision to keep my commitment to my daughter.
I love my job, and it’s been one of my most humbling opportunities. But when I was chosen as CEO, I had a condition: No matter where I am in the world, I need to be home every weekend.
Finding that balance between your career and the rest of your life is crucial. No matter how fast your career is moving, you need to stop occasionally and evaluate what really matters to you. If the life you’re building doesn’t leave enough room for the people and things that you love, then you need to stop and change course.
Never forget who you are or where you came from
My last advice is also my best advice. It’s something I learned from my dad. No matter where I went or what I achieved, he always said the same thing: “Mark, never forget who you are or where you came from.”
Whenever I got a promotion, I would call him, and he would congratulate me. But then he would say, 'Remember: I love you no matter what your title is.' To me, those words were more important than any achievement. They meant it all.
Don’t forget who you are and who helped get you to this point. Maintaining that unique perspective will help you continue to reach new heights as you build your career.
Final thoughts
Today’s 22-year olds are worldlier, more technologically advanced, more connected and more socially aware than any before. You’ve lived with almost no barriers restricting your access to information, people or nations – and you won’t let any barriers restrict your success, either.
The ingredients for success are already in your hands. Now you just need to work – and take risks – to seize all that potential and build an incredible life. You now have a great opportunity to make your imprint on history. So, please, go out there and take this chance. In fact, take a lot of chances. I can’t wait to see what your generation does next.