Significant Career Lesson From A CEO And Co Founder At Wild One
Bill's most significant career lesson, gleaned from his time at Warby Parker and business school, is the importance of "going as deep as possible" in one's own expertise while simultaneously "be[ing] a sponge and soak[ing] up everything else around" them. This holistic approach, encompassing a broad understanding of how all business functions interconnect, proves invaluable throughout a career.
Executive/Leadership, Career Development, Communication, Problem-Solving, Teamwork
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Bill Wells
CEO & Co-Founder
Wild One
University of Pennsylvania
UCLA Anderson MBA
Economics
Apparel, Beauty, Retail & Fashion, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
Student Athlete
Video Highlights
1. Develop expertise in your field and continuously learn other areas of the business.
2. Learn from different teams and understand how various parts of an organization function together.
3. Gain a broad, holistic view of business and organizations, understanding how different parts fit together. This can be valuable in any career path.
Transcript
Q11: Significant lesson - career
What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?
One thing that's really key, especially early on and continuously throughout your career, is to master your own function and go as deep as possible into your expertise. Do the best job you possibly can within your role.
Also, be a sponge and soak up everything else around you. That was probably one of the most valuable aspects of my six years at Warby Parker. Even outside of my role, which was fairly broad in strategy, operations, and finance, I talked to the marketing team, the retail store team, and the customer experience team. I really learned what was important to them and how they operated.
I wanted to understand how everything fit together. This is another theme from business school: there's no single skill you need to go to business school to get. Instead, you take a broad array of classes and experiences, and you meet people. This gives you a holistic view of an entire business and organization, and how the pieces fit together.
So, always be learning and observing how things work and what doesn't work. You never know when you'll draw on that experience or think back to it, and it could be valuable down the road.