Why saying yes early in your career pays off later

After 25 years in business, one CEO argues career-shaping opportunities begin with a willingness to say yes before you feel ready.

There’s a version of career advice that often gets handed down: Find your passion early, specialize fast, build your personal brand. It’s tidy, and looks good on paper, but it bears almost no resemblance to how most successful careers actually unfold. Mine certainly didn’t go that way. What I’ve come to believe, after 25 years of leading technology companies through growth and transformation, is that the thing most likely to determine your trajectory isn’t your credentials or your clarity of vision. It’s your willingness to say yes, even before you feel ready.