While it’s easy to point to pedigree and the right network as the reasons many of today’s high-powered executives are where they are, not all of them were raised with silver spoons in their hands. In fact, quite a few iconic CEOs got their start with very humble beginnings.
尽管人们很容易把显赫出身和良好人脉归结为今天许多位高权重的管理者获得现有成就的原因，但是并非所有的企业高管都拥有先天的优势条件。实际上，有不少知名的首席执行官都是从底层起步的。
From taking unpaid internships to dropping out of college to take a mail room job, take a look at how these successful CEOs really did work their way from the bottom all the way to the top.
从无薪实习、放弃大学学业到从事收发邮件的工作，让我们看看下面这些成功的首席执行官是如何依靠他们自身的努力，从底层员工晋升为企业高管的。
Ursula Burns
厄休拉•伯恩斯（Ursula Burns）
Chairman and CEO, Xerox
施乐公司（Xerox）董事长兼首席执行官
If you don’t transform, you’re stuck.”
“如果你不改变，你就完蛋了。”
After growing up in a poor neighborhood in New York City’s Lower East Side, earning her master’s degree in mechanical engineering, and eventually becoming the first African American woman to lead a Fortune 500 company, Ursula Burns knows a thing or two about transformation.
厄休拉•伯恩斯在纽约市下东区的贫民窟长大，她拥有机械工程硕士学位，最终成为领导一家《财富》500强企业的首位非洲裔美国女性，她对变革深有体会。
Raised by her mother, Burns was taught at an early age that hard work, determination, and flexibility were the keys to success. A great student at her Catholic high school, Burns was surprised at the lack of career options offered to her by her guidance counselor: nursing, teaching, or being a nun. At this point, Burns knew she would have to create her own destiny and chose chemical engineering (which eventually changed to mechanical engineering) as her college major.
伯恩斯从小由母亲抚养长大，她在童年时期得到了这样的教导：努力工作、坚决果断和灵活性是获得成功的关键。作为天主教高中的一名优秀学生，让伯恩斯感到惊讶的是，她的指导顾问提供给她的职业选择寥寥无几：只有护士、教师或修女。在那个时候，伯恩斯就知道，她必须创造自己的命运，于是选择化学工程（最终改为机械工程）作为她的大学专业。
Her rise to the top started at the bottom of the Xerox ladder, as an intern. But managers quickly noticed her talent. One such manager was senior executive Wayland Hicks, who offered her a job as an executive assistant. Although an assistant role wasn’t exactly what she had in mind, after now having earned her master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University, Burns remembered what her mother had taught her—where you are is not who you are—and accepted the job.
晋升为企业高管前，她一开始从施乐公司的底层起步，是一位实习生。然而，有几位经理人立刻注意到了她的才能。一位经理是高级主管韦兰•希克斯（Wayland Hicks），为她提供了行政助理的职位。尽管担任助理职位并不完全符合她的设想，因为她此前在哥伦比亚大学（Columbia University）获得了机械工程硕士学位，然而伯恩斯想起了母亲对她的教导——你所处的环境并不能决定你的命运——于是她接受了这份工作。
That role turned out to be beneficial for Burns (and eventually for Xerox!), allowing her to learn the business and leadership skills from one of the company’s most respected executives. In 1999, she was named Vice President for Global Manufacturing and earned her title as Chairman and CEO in 2009.
这份工作对伯恩斯来说大有裨益（最终也给施乐公司带来了好处）!让她从公司最受尊敬的一位高管那里学习业务和领导技能。1999年，她被任命为负责全球制造业务的副总裁，并在2009年担任施乐公司董事长兼首席执行官。
The Moral: Always stay flexible and allow yourself to transform. Others—and you—may have an idea about what you’re supposed to be doing. But, by allowing yourself to adapt, new opportunities you never would’ve seen before will arise.
启示：始终保持灵活性，让自己适应变革。其他人——和你——可能知道你应该做什么事情。但是，让你自己学会适应，你以前从未遇到的新机遇就会出现在面前。
RELATED:Founder of DreamWorks, Famed Talent Agent
梦工厂（DreamWorks）创始人，知名演艺经纪人
Happy is harder than money. Anybody who thinks money will make you happy, hasn’t got money.”
“快乐比金钱更难得。如果有人认为金钱会让你快乐，那是因为他还没有挣到钱。”
Now known for co-founding Hollywood giant DreamWorks SKG along with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg and having an impressive career as an entertainment mogul, Geffen’s beginnings started out modestly.
如今大卫•格芬因为和导演斯蒂芬•斯皮尔伯格（Steven Spielberg）、杰弗瑞•卡森伯格（Jeffrey Katzenberg）共同创办好莱坞影业巨头梦工厂而出名，作为娱乐大亨，他拥有令人印象深刻的职业生涯，然而他发迹的起点微不足道。
Although he tried to take the traditional path by attending college, he quickly realized it wasn’t for him. And rather than suffering through four years for an education he didn’t want, he decided to pursue what really made him happy—the entertainment business.
尽管他试图通过上大学走传统的职业道路，但是他很快意识到，这条路并不适合自己。他并没有让自己在并不想要的四年大学教育中忍受痛苦，而是决定追求让他感到快乐的事情——娱乐业务。
Despite the fact he had no skills to woo employers (other than a stint in the CBS mail room), Geffen didn’t let that stop him. After being turned down for a job at a talent agency because he had no skills, he decided to get creative with his resume—and we’re not talking fancy graphics and fonts. After fibbing about his education (not something we recommend), he was hired as a mail room clerk at one of the most sought-after talent agencies in the business, William Morris Agency. Within a few years, Geffen had networked his way into a job as a talent agent, and not long after, one of the industry’s greatest. Over 50 years and over $6 billion later, Geffen has retired a legend, even earning himself a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
尽管他没有什么技能来吸引雇主（除了在哥伦比亚广播公司的邮件收发室任职），不过大卫•格芬并没有为此止步不前。因为没有技能，他前往演艺经纪公司求职遭到了拒绝，然后他决定在简历上发挥创意——我们说的不是花哨的图片和字体。他对自己的教育经历撒了个小谎（我们并不建议这么做），从而在演艺界最受欢迎的一家经纪机构威廉•莫里斯经纪公司（William Morris Agency）当上了收发室职员。在短短几年间，大卫•格芬获得了人脉，转而担任演员经纪人，此后没过多久，他就成为演艺界最重要的经纪人。在50多岁的时候，大卫•格芬拥有超过60亿美元的财产，作为传奇人物宣告退休，甚至在摇滚名人堂（Rock and Roll Hall of Fame）为自己赢得了一席之地。
The Moral: When you find what you love, do whatever it takes (as long as it’s above board, of course) to get yourself in a position to achieve that goal.
启示：如果你找到你热爱的事业，那就竭尽所能（当然，只要是光明正大的事情）为自己创造条件，实现这个目标。
RELATED:Karen Kaplan
卡伦•卡普兰（Karen Kaplan）
CEO, Hill Holliday
希尔霍利迪公司（Hill Holliday）首席执行官
I raised my hand for every opportunity. And I never let the fact that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing stop me.”
“我会尽力争取每个机会。我永远不会允许我因为根本不知道自己在做什么而止步不前。”
The newly-minted CEO of advertising giant Hill Holliday paid her dues early on, starting as a receptionist. Her first week on the job, she was reminded by the other, more senior, receptionists that she was indeed the lowest of the low. Even lower than the guy in the mail room.
广告巨头希尔霍利迪公司这位新晋首席执行官很早之前就在付出努力，她的职业生涯从接待员开始。在上班的第一个星期，其他资格更老的接待员提醒她，她实际上是公司最低层的员工，甚至比收发室的职员地位还低。
But, this corporate version of hazing didn’t slow her down. Kaplan adopted an “I’ll show you” attitude and got to work—despite the fact she still didn’t know how to type. She recognized quickly that, as the receptionist, she was in the unique position to interact with everyone at the firm—which afforded her countless opportunities to chat with executives, clients, and everyone in between in the process.
但是，这种公司内部的欺侮并没有让她受挫。卡普兰采取了“我会做给你看”的态度，努力投入工作——尽管实际上她当时还不知道如何打字。她很快意识到，作为接待员，她拥有得天独厚的地位，可以和公司中的每位员工互动——这给她提供了不计其数的机会，在接待过程中与高管、客户和每个人聊天。
While Kaplan had originally planned to go to law school, she realized she loved the advertising world and wanted to make a career at Hill Holliday. So, when a position opened up for a secretary, Kaplan jumped at the opportunity. She wasn’t quite qualified, so she spent weekends and nights in the office to keep up. It paid off: After rising through the ranks of the company in account management and management roles, she was named CEO in 2013.
尽管卡普兰原本打算上法学院，不过她意识到自己喜欢广告界，希望在希尔霍利迪公司做出一番事业。因此，当公司有个秘书职位空缺后，卡普兰迅速抓住了这个机会。她并不太胜任这项工作，因此在办公室里度过了很多个周末和晚上，努力跟上工作进度。付出得到了回报：她在公司一路晋升，先后担任过客户经理和经理职位，在2013年被任命为首席执行官。
The Moral: There’s opportunity everywhere—even at the bottom of the totem pole. And recognizing those opportunities—and not being afraid to network, work hard, and take on unfamiliar duties—can lead to amazing things.
启示：机会无处不在——即使在底层任职也是如此。认识到这些机会——不要害怕结交人脉，努力工作，承担不熟悉的责任——会带来令人意想不到的回报。
RELATED: 6 High-Powered Women Share Their Success Stories
毫无疑问，从长远来看，努力工作总能得到回报，但是有时候，重新认识到那些最有权势的高管晋升到现在的职位付出了多少艰辛也很有用处。无论何时你感觉在职场处境艰难，请把这些高管的传奇故事作为灵感来源，努力奋斗实现你的目标吧。
There’s no doubt hard work pays off in the long run, but sometimes it’s helpful to get reacquainted with how hard some of the most powerful executives worked to get where they are. Whenever you’re feeling like the deck is stacked against you, take these executives’ stories as inspiration, and keep striving for your goals.
本文最初发表于网站The Daily Muse。
This article was originally published on The Daily Muse.
译 孟洁冰 校 陈岳林
Quickly becoming the most nationally recognized career coach, Ryan Kahn has placed thousands of college students, recent grads, and job seekers on the path to their dream career. Kahn is founder of The Hired Group, star of MTV’s Hired, and author ofHired! The Guide for the Recent Grad.
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