思科CTO：仰望星空，脚踏实地

    思科系统(Cisco System)首席技术和战略官帕德马里•沃里尔除了在竞争激烈的数字网络行业引领这家公司发展，同时还涉足零售行业。今年9月，沃里尔成为了Gap Inc.的董事。她的科技专长将有助于提升购物者的体验，同时还能改善这家以男性为主的董事会的男女比例。

    《财富》杂志(Fortune)从1998年开始编制最具影响力的商界女性榜单，并于次年开始举办一年一度的峰会。如今，它已经成为了一个由商界、政界、慈善、教育和艺术领域杰出女性组成的精英圈。本周问答专栏聚焦其中一位最具影响力女性对于领导力、人生抱负以及工作生活平衡的看法。

    1. 你获得过的最好建议是什么？

    我17岁离家去德里的印度理工学院(Indian Institute of Technology)学习工程学，离家前父亲给了我一条建议：“仰望星空，脚踏实地。”我认为放到商界和领导力方面，它意味着要有大胆的远见，同时又不失对执行细节的关注。这也是我的个人口头禅，一直帮助我认清现实。

    2.你最近读过的一本书是什么？

    我刚刚读完了亨利•詹姆斯的《螺丝在拧紧》（Turn of the Screw）。这部小说篇幅不长，但扣人心弦。有些地方模棱两可，有很多不同的阐释。很是吸引人。我眼下刚开始读艾丽丝•门罗的《仇恨、友谊、殷勤、爱情与婚姻》（Hateship, Friendship, Courtship,Loveship, Marriage: Stories）。她赢得了2013年诺贝尔文学奖，鉴于她的写作才华，堪称实至名归。

    3.当前就业市场非常严峻，对于即将进入就业市场的年轻人，你想说些什么？

    寻求一切途径，推开机遇的大门。

    4.你错过的最佳机会是什么？

    不只生一个孩子。如果我早点明白一些关于职业和为人父母的道理，我会多生几个孩子。

    5.如果有机会，你希望创立哪一家初创企业？

    嗯……我不是那种人，不会想太多“我本来可以，我本来能够，我本来应该。”科技的魅力在于，大家总是有机会在一家大公司内部、或从零开始建立一家“初创公司”。

    Cisco System's (CSCO) Chief Technology and Strategy Officer Padmasree Warrior may help the company navigate the competitive digital networking sector, but she also has her hands in the retail industry. In September, Warrior became a director at Gap Inc. (GPS), adding tech insight to enhance shoppers' experiences and helping balance out the famed organization's male-heavy board.

    Fortune's Most Powerful Women started as a list in 1998, kicked off its annual Summit the following year, and has since become a community of the preeminent women in business, government, philanthropy, education, and the arts. This weekly Q&A features one MPW's personal take on leadership, aspirations, and (of course) balance.

    1.What is the best advice you ever received?

    When I left home at 17 to study engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, my dad gave me this advice, "Keep your eyes on the stars and feet on the ground." I translate this to business and my leadership by having a bold vision while staying focused on the details of execution. This has been my personal mantra also and helps me to keep it real all the time

    2. What was the last book you read?

    Just finished reading Turn of the Screw by Henry James. This novella is short yet gripping, ambiguous, and opens up so many different interpretations. It's fascinating. I just started reading Hateship, Friendship, Courtship,Loveship, Marriage: Stories by Alice Munro. She won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013, a well-deserved honor for her talent as a writer.

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

    Pursue all avenues, and push through open doors.

    4. What was your biggest missed opportunity?

    Having more than one child. If I knew then what I know now, about career and parenting, I would have had more kids.

    5. What is one startup you would have wanted to found?

    Hmm ... I am not the type to think a lot about "would have, could have, should have." The beauty of technology is that there is always an opportunity to do a "startup" inside a big company or from the ground up.