Back-to-school season is a time for students of all ages to reconnect with friends and put their best foot forward as they progress through their education. Here are a few pieces of advice from business leaders and CEOs for how students and early career professionals can succeed:
Thasunda Brown Duckett, President and CEO of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association
In 2022, Thasunda Brown Duckett told the graduating class of the historically Black college Jackson State University to treat both positive and negative experiences as an opportunity to grow. “It is important to understand and recognize that within your career, when you take your shot, and yes, shoot your shot, there will be highs, and yes, there will be lows,” Duckett said at the university’s commencement. “Even then, ask the question, ‘What is the lesson here?’ Ask it even when it’s painful. Be thankful for those learnings.”
Punit Renjen, CEO of Deloitte
Punit Renjen advised young people entering the workforce not to “typecast yourself,” which he describes as ceding control over your destiny to others instead of taking an active role in charting your own course. In a 2020 interview with the World Economic Forum, Renjen reflected on the pressure he felt to pursue engineering or mathematics, and his choice to ultimately go in a different route than many of his friends and pursue business. “If I accepted what people were saying about me and typecast myself, I would have ended up completely different,” Renjen said. “There’s only one of you and what you will see in life is there’ll be ups and downs. Keep trying to do what you get satisfaction out of.” Renjen said.
KR Sridhar, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Bloom Energy
KR Sridhar, leader of the energy-efficient fuel cell technology company Bloom Energy told Inc. Magazine that a key to leadership success is never forgetting what motivates you. “Find a purpose that’s larger than you,” he said. “When you can figure that out and articulate it, constantly keep it as your North Star.”
Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix
Speaking to the graduates of Stanford University’s class of 2022, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings reflected on the well-known Aesop’s Fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare”. Some young graduates will quickly land their dream jobs and rise up the ranks of professional life like the hare while others will be more like the tortoise, Hastings said. “Maybe your path won’t be clear, or you’ll keep starting over in different areas,” Hastings told the graduates. “Maybe you’ll fail at some things. You’ll read the class notes five years in, and wonder about yourself for not doing as well as your classmates, and then you’ll chastise yourself for thinking that way.”
Hastings told the crowd he didn’t start Netflix until he was 37, and that sometimes slow and steady wins the race. “Please, if you’re a tortoise, embrace it,” he continued, “Collect experiences and wisdom that will serve you later on. Applaud your hare friends and their successes, but don’t let it bother you. When you are older, you will love each other more if you accept each others unique paths now.”
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google
Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai gave four simple words of advice in his 2020 commencement speech at Stanford University: “Reward efforts, not outcomes.” Pichai advised organizations and managers to prioritize hard work, curiosity and dedication alongside the traditional metrics that are used to measure employee success. By encouraging motivation and accepting failure, organizations can create an environment where people and organizations thrive, Pinchai said.
Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners
Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners has been a vocal mentor for young students and early career professionals, particularly those underrepresented within the financial, technology and computing sectors. Speaking in 2021 to the Eagle Academy for Young Men, a secondary school in New York City that predominantly serves Black and Latino students, Smith emphasized the importance of education.
“It is your duty to extract all that you can from [Eagle Academy] about learning how to learn and learning how to be an exemplary citizen in your community,” Smith told the scholars. Equally important, he said, is mentoring those who come after you and ensuring everyone in your community is supported.
This was not the first time Smith offered advice to graduates. In 2015, he spoke at American University’s commencement, saying the key to success is to “run your own race.” Running your own race requires dreaming big, being persistent, discovering the joy of figuring things out, trusting yourself, embracing change, and knowing you are enough, Smith said.
Learn more about Smith’s involvement at the Eagle Academy and his passion for education reform.
