一位商界明星的忠告：不落窠臼，活出自我
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明迪•格罗斯曼是一位冉冉上升的零售业明星高管。她在转战电视领域、成功改造HSN（家庭购物网络）之前，曾先后执掌过著名服饰品牌拉夫•劳伦（Ralph Lauren）旗下的Polo Jeans 事业部和耐克公司（Nike）全球服饰业务。格罗斯曼为这个一度沉闷的家庭购物频道增添了令人眩目的明星效应和数码元素，打造了一家快速增长的媒体和零售混合型公司。经历了黑暗的2008年之后，HSN的股价已经出现了10倍的增幅。由于她令人意想不到的成功轨迹，格罗斯曼本周被授予旨在表彰通讯领域杰出女性的“矩阵奖”（Matrix Awards）。就如同美国国家广播环球公司（NBC Universal）的邦妮•海默（上个月，我曾撰写过一篇关于她的文章）一样，格罗斯曼发表了一段激动人心，充满职业感悟的获奖感言。谢谢明迪允许我向大家分享她在矩阵奖颁奖仪式上的精彩演讲。 2006年5月份，我正舒舒服服地安坐在耐克公司的办公室里。这时候，我接到了一位猎头的电话。他说：“想迎接新的挑战吗？我建议你见一下巴里•迪勒，接下IAC零售公司（IAC Retail）的运营重任。” IAC零售公司是一家年营收额高达30亿美元、面向消费者的直销商。这家公司由HSN频道、HSN网站和基石系列品牌（Cornerstone Brands）组成，涉及产品销售和电子商务领域。 听起来蛮有意思的。但有几个问题： 我没有零售经验。 我没有电视或媒体经验。 而且我也从来没有看过HSN频道。 这位猎头随后还对我说了一句：“哦，顺便说一下，你将是这家公司10年内的第8位CEO。” 没错，问题大了。 但我当时寻思着：又有谁愿意错过与巴里•迪勒共进午餐的机会呢？ 对于我来说，加盟HSNi公司显然并不是我在接下来的职业生涯中应该迈出的一步。“你要离开耐克公司，去经营一个电视购物频道？”我的朋友和时装界震惊万分，错愕不已。 但那时，我已经有了一项切身体会——职业生涯中看似显而易见的下一步并不总是最好的一步。实际上，我过去35年来的历程全然不是线性的。 1977年，当时20岁的我还是华盛顿特区一位主修英国文学和哲学的大四学生，一门心思想考上法学院，还已经跟即将成为医生的高中男友订婚了。 听起来就像是一位犹太裔母亲为女儿编织的梦想，对吧？ 但后来发生了一件事。在学期中段的一个早晨，我醒过来后，突然意识到我一直在按照别人的想法生活。我一直是一位本本分分的乖乖女，是我们家走出的第一位大学生。我一直过着安安稳稳、可预见甚至令人艳羡的生活。 但内心深处的我充满激情，拥有一种强烈的使命感，十分渴望对这个世界产生影响。我对父母说，我想看看我的人生是否还存在另外一种可能性。 你可以想象，当我透露出这种想法时，电话那端顿时鸦雀无声的情景。 刹那间，我中断了结婚安排，离开学校，搬到了纽约市。 |
Mindy Grossman was a rising-star retail executive, heading Ralph Lauren's (RL) Polo Jeans business and Nike's (NKE) global apparel, before she switched to TV and transformed HSN. By adding celebrity spark and digital dazzle to the once-dreary home-shopping channel, Grossman built a high-growth media-retail hybrid and multiplied HSN's stock price 10-fold from the dark days of 2008. For her unlikely success, she was honored this week at the Matrix Awards that go to top women in communications. Like NBC Universal's (CMCSA) Bonnie Hammer, whom I wrote about on Tuesday, Grossman gave an inspiring acceptance speech full of career lessons. Thanks, Mindy, for letting me share what the Matrix crowd heard: In May 2006, while comfortably ensconced in my office at Nike (NKE), I received a call from a recruiter who said: "I have your next challenge. You need to meet Barry Diller and run IAC Retail." IAC (IACI) Retail was a $3 billion direct-to-consumer business that included HSN, HSN.com, and Cornerstone Brands, a catalog and e-commerce portfolio. Sounded interesting. But there were a few issues: I had NO retail experience. I had NO television or media experience. And I had NEVER watched HSN. The recruiter then told me, "Oh, and by the way, you would be the business's eighth CEO in 10 years." So, YES, there were issues. But I figured: Who would pass on lunch with Barry Diller? For me, the path to HSNi wasn't the obvious next step in a career. "You're leaving Nike to run a TV shopping channel?" My friends and the fashion industry were in shock and disbelief. But by then, I already knew from experience that the obvious next step isn't always the best. Indeed, my journey over the past 35 years has been anything but linear. In 1977, I was a 20-year-old college senior in Washington, D.C., majoring in English literature and philosophy, fully intent on going to Law School and engaged to be married to my high school boyfriend who was about to become a doctor Sounds like a Jewish mother's dream for her daughter, right? But something happened. One morning, in the middle of the semester, I woke up and realized that I was living someone else's life. I had always been the dutiful adopted daughter -- the first generation in my family to go to college. I had a life that had been safe, predictable, and even enviable. But inside me, I had a sense of passion, a feeling of purpose, and the desire to make an impact. I told my parents that I wanted to see what else life had to offer. You can imagine the silence on the other end of the phone when I made that call! In one fell swoop, I broke off my engagement, left school, and moved to New York City. |
