通用首席娱乐官：了解自己是成功的基础

    《财富》（Fortune）科技头脑风暴大会正在科罗拉多州阿斯彭举行。大会定期邀请科技创新领域最优秀、最聪明的智囊参加。每周，《财富》都会邀请一位与会者分享对商业、科技和企业家精神的独到见解。我们本周邀请的是通用汽车公司（General Motors）首席娱乐官菲利普•艾布拉姆。他回答了十个问题，包括工作之外的生活，所收到的最好建议，以及对年轻企业家的行业建议。他的回答如下。

    你收到的最好建议是什么？

    当时我还是一名年轻的工程师，有人建议我去寻找那些正在发生变革的领域，在公司的“商业层面”多花些时间，因为它关系到公司的决策。我的职业生涯一直从事科技和商业交叉领域的工作。这个交叉领域关注的是：什么是可能的，什么是可盈利的。

    如今的就业市场竞争激烈，你想对即将踏进职场的年轻人说点什么？

    即便是在竞争激烈的市场，也要追随自己的兴趣和热情。这样，你会更加幸福，而且对雇主而言更具价值。

    你在学校里学到的最重要的东西是什么？

    我在学校里学到的最重要的事是如何学习，也就是如何处理和记住新信息，同时把它们应用于解决新问题。我大学学到的电子工程知识经过这些年已经过时了。每天我都在学习新的东西，用来解决新发生的问题。

    你的娱乐活动有哪些？

    尽可能多做户外活动（对，即使是在底特律！）骑车，远足，游览国家公园和本地公园。

    你取得的最大成就是什么？

    在过去50年最糟糕的经济衰退中，在一个迅速成为销售优质产品的初创公司的团队中工作。2009年，整个消费电子行业规模缩减了30%，而我们的Sonos同比增长超过50%，与此同时我们还降低了运营成本。

    你遭遇过的最大失败是什么？

    太多了。我花了太多时间才意识到我擅长什么，不擅长什么。没有很好地认识自我，这一点限制了我在许多工作上的发展。即便在从很多方面看上去“成功”的岗位，我也没能发挥全部潜力。

    Fortune's Brainstorm Tech Conference (going on now 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 Chief Infotainment Officer at General Motors Philip Abram to answer 10 questions about life outside of work, the best advice he ever received, and industry tips for young entrepreneurs. His responses follow.

    What is the best advice you ever received?

    As a young engineer, I was advised to look for areas undergoing change and spend time on the "business side" of the company, because that is what drives decisions. I've spent my career close to that boundary between technology and business, the intersection of what is possible and what is profitable.

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

    Even in a tough market, follow your interests and passions. You'll be happier and more valuable to your employer.

    What was the most important thing you learned in school?

    How to learn. How to process and retain new information and be able to apply it to solve new problems. My undergrad electrical engineering knowledge is quite dated after all these years. Every day I learn something new and incorporate that into how I tackle the issues that come my way.

    What do you do for fun?

    Get outside as much as I can (yes, even in Detroit!). Cycling, hiking, seeing our national and regional parks.

    What is your greatest achievement?

    Working on a team that rapidly grew a startup (Sonos) selling premium products during the worst economic downturn in over 50 years. Sonos grew more than 50% year-over-year in 2009 in a consumer electronics industry that was shrinking by 30% while we lowered our operating expenses.

    What has been your biggest failure?

    So many to choose from...Taking too long to realize what I'm good at and what I'm not good at. Not having good self-awareness limited what I could contribute to many of the jobs I've had in the past. Even positions that were "successful" in many ways, I did not do all I could have done.