When I joined Amazon in 1999, my peers had more exceptional university pedigrees and intellect. In spite of this, I outperformed them. I was promoted 3 times in 5 years (from Product Manager to Vice President). Luck was a factor for sure—I was lucky to land at Amazon so early, I was lucky to land on the video team, lucky that my first manager was Jason Kilar, and lucky that he moved me from a Product Role to leading Buying and Merchandising for Video, etc.
But according to the Roman philosopher Seneca, “…luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
I recognized that I was on the ground floor of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Amazon was growing so fast that one of the biggest problems was finding leaders who were capable of taking on increasing amounts of responsibility.
I also thought I was incredibly fortunate to be a part of building something new and better for customers, so I worked harder and smarter than I had ever worked before or since.
I was one of the first in the office, and one of the last to leave. There were days I barely had time to eat or use the bathroom. This may be an “old school” take, but it’s true. I would not have had the same success if I had been any less dedicated.
Today, I operate differently. As a consultant, advisor, and author, I have more time and more balance. But my work doesn’t have the same impact on a global scale. When I had that impact, I didn’t have balance. That’s the tradeoff. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
When I speak at business schools, I get asked about work-life balance. When I was in college and business school, no one would have asked about it. The culture was different in the ‘80s and 90s — capitalism and hard work were cool.
Today, things are more complicated, and much of the pushback is justified. Great financial success is harder to celebrate when the income gap has grown so drastically, and a more balanced approach to work and life is certainly a worthy goal.
However, even though the culture has shifted, the tradeoff still exists—most people cannot have both a hugely successful career and tons of free time for family, hobbies, relaxation, socialization, etc.
Outsized success requires a lack of balance.
The VC Bill Gurley talks about how we celebrate athletes like LeBron James or Novak Djokovic for devoting their lives to their craft. Nobody criticizes them for lacking balance, but we don’t glorify a singular devotion to greatness in business in the same way.
The truth is that if you want to accomplish something extraordinary, you have to work incredibly hard. As the famous coach Vince Lombardi said, “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
Everyone should feel empowered to work for the career they want, but we should all keep this in mind: If you work at an average pace, you’ll have an average career. If you want an exceptional career, you’ll need to outwork your peers.
(cont. in comments)
