SurveyMonkey掌门人：人生是一场马拉松

    《财富》杂志举办的科技头脑风暴大会（7月22日至24日在美国科罗拉多州阿斯彭召开）定期召集科技创新领域最优秀和最聪明的思想家相聚一堂。每周，《财富》杂志都会重点推介一位大会嘉宾，分享他/她对于商业、科技和创业的真知灼见。本周，我们代表年轻企业家向网络调查公司SurveyMonkey的CEO大卫•古德伯格就工作之余的生活、最崇拜的公司以及行业建议提出了10个问题。他的回答如下。

你获得过的最好建议是什么？

    对任何事都要有耐心。把人生和工作当作一场马拉松，而不是短跑冲刺。

    当前就业市场非常严峻，对于即将进入这个市场的年轻人，你想说些什么？

    寻找那些正在经历巨大变化和快速增长的业务和行业。增长很重要。这正是有所作为的机会所在。同时，大家还需要确定自己喜欢和擅长的领域。

如果你不做现在的工作，会做什么？

    我一直想做一名音乐监制。为电影或电视剧找到合适歌曲，我真的非常喜欢那种感受。能把这件事做好的人真是创意天才。

你错过的最佳机会是什么？

    我希望2007年时我有能力从雅虎（Yahoo）买回我的音乐业务。那时，我们是网络电台、音乐视频和收费音乐行业的领先者。

如果有机会，你希望创立哪一家初创企业？

    Facebook。通过真实身份把世界互联起来，这一点已经永远地改变了这世界。

    （古德伯格是Facebook高管谢丽尔•桑德伯格的丈夫。）

你最大的失败是什么？

    互联网泡沫破裂的时候，我没办法，只好按白菜价卖掉了我的第一家公司。

你最崇拜的商界或科技界人物是哪位？为什么？

    比尔•盖茨——他是一位伟大的领袖。我创立第一家公司的时候，他曾给我以启迪。而且，他现在是全世界最伟大的慈善家，更能启迪我们。

你还崇拜其他哪些公司？为什么？

    我担任董事的《华盛顿邮报》（Washington Post）。（公司CEO）唐•格林汉姆以其无可比拟的风范、道德规范和商业头脑引领这家公司渡过了非常艰难的一段时期。

你如何保持生活的平衡？

    我主动管理自己的时间，对于和家人一起吃晚餐这样的重要事情我全力兑现。

企业家必须读商学院吗？

    肯定不用——把上商学院的这些钱拿来当创业的种子资金吧。创业的唯一途径就是动手干，从经验中学习。没有一所学校能教会你必须知道的东西。

    Fortune's Brainstorm Tech Conference(July 22-24 in Aspen, Colo.) regularly brings together the best and brightest minds in tech innovation. Each week, Fortune turns the spotlight on a different conference attendee to offer his or her own personal insight into business, tech, and entrepreneurship. This week, we asked SurveyMonkey CEO Dave Goldberg to answer 10 questions about life outside of work, the company he admires most, and industry advice for young entrepreneurs. His responses follow.

What is the best advice you ever received?

    Patience in everything. Run the marathon, not a sprint in life and work.

    What would you say to a group of young people looking to enter the tough job market?

    Find businesses and industries going through dramatic change and growth. Growth is good. That is where the opportunities will be to make an impact. You'll also find out what you like and what you are good at.

What would you do if you weren't working at your current job?

    I always wanted to be a music supervisor. I really love the craft of finding the right song for a film or TV show. The people who do it well are creative geniuses.

What was your biggest missed opportunity?

    I wish had been able to buy back my music business from Yahoo in 2007. We were the leader in online radio, music videos, and subscription music.

What is one startup you would have wanted to found?

    Facebook. Connecting the world through real identity has changed the world forever.

    [Goldberg is married to Sheryl Sandberg.]

What has been your biggest failure?

    Having to sell my first company at a very low price when the dotcom bubble burst.

What business or technology person do you admire most? Why?

    Bill Gates -- he's a great leader. He was an inspiration as I started my first company. And he is even more of an inspiration now as the world's greatest philanthropist.

What other companies do you admire? Why?

    Washington Post where I am on the board. [CEO] Don Graham has guided the company through a very tough period with grace, ethics, and business savvy that are unparalleled.

What do you do to live a balanced life?

    I proactively manage my time and commit fully to things that are important like dinners with family.

Is business school necessary for entrepreneurs?

    Absolutely not -- take the money you would spend and use it to seed your business. The only way to be an entrepreneur is to do it and learn from experience. No school will teach you what you need to know.