DUBAI: “Hindsight is really easy. There wasn’t one moment during the last 30 years where I was certain I was doing the right thing. There wasn’t one moment when I was in the middle of it that I felt, ‘Great, I’ve got this all figured out.’ I still don’t.”
And thus spoke John Donahoe, retired eBay CEO, at a recent Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) keynote lecture.
Donahoe, who earned his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1986, described several inflection points in his life and career where he faced difficult choices and leaned on others for support and help, said a report published in Insights, a Stanford Business publication.
He also urged students to invest in themselves outside of their careers, with the goal of developing a great life, not just a great career.
In all, there were three focal points in his address to the students:
• Build a whole life. “If you want to be world-class, you have to invest in yourself. And all this stuff that some people think is kind of fuzzy, I don’t view it as fuzzy. I view it as the only way you can perform at the highest levels,” Donahoe said.
• Look for creative solutions. Donahoe, said the Insights report, urged students not to look at their careers and relationships as zero-sum equations: You don’t have to choose between children and a career, one partner’s job over the other’s, advancement over personal health. Instead, look at life as a positive-sum equation. Try to get as much out of it as possible, and look for creative solutions along the way.
• Embrace failure. Donahoe said he felt anxious, early in his career, especially when he had to make big decisions. He got this out of the way with an advice from his first boss who offered him a baseball analogy to help him get over his fear of failure: “Get in there and swing. I’ve been the CEO of two companies. I’ve had four children, dual careers, a lot of experiences. Don’t be afraid to get in there and swing.”
