Adena Friedman quotes: lessons by the Nasdaq CEO.
“It’s really, really important to own your life and own your career. You have to understand where you want to take your own career and you have to find ways to make it happen. No one else is going to sit there and do it for you. It’s really up to you.”
“You have to have your own sense of self-reliance, self-starting.”
“Don’t assume that opportunity will come to you. Put yourself forward when there is an opportunity.”
“Starting a new job can be nerve-racking, but it’s also exciting. You’re embarking on a new future, positioning yourself to write a fresh story on a clean slate.”
“You can’t be successful in business without taking risks. It’s really that simple.”
“We need to make sure we are constantly staying ahead, thinking about what is coming.”
“If it’s a cliche to say that intellectual curiosity keeps your mind sharp, your senses alert, and your capabilities cutting-edge, that’s because it’s true.”
“Always be listening and learning. You never stop learning.”
“Even the mundane task may have something to teach you, especially if it’s a task you haven’t performed before.”
“Nobody gets through life without experiencing some form of rejection, which is why everybody knows how awful it feels.”
“Rejection should ignite soul-searching, and the soul-searching must be absolutely honest.”
“The best thing we can do with rejection is to make it a learning experience. Rejection is a great teacher.”
“Be the optimist in the room.”
“Ideas are only as good as your ability to communicate them.”
“If someone gives you an opportunity, you better maximize it so that he wants to give you the next one.”
“If you’re not making use of even the most routine assignment to learn something, realize that many of your colleagues and coworkers are.”
“It’s important to experience as many parts of an organization as you can—because, someday, you may have the chance to lead that organization.”
“It’s hard not to take it personally when being wait-listed, passed over for a promotion, or losing a client to a competitor. But while feeling aggrieved may be an understandable reaction, it’s not productive; it’s not a good use of the experience.”
“I have been measured on my merit and on my accomplishments.”
“I was always first in, last out, but not inefficiently.”
“I’m very fortunate to have been given a lot of opportunities, but I think I’ve been given opportunities because I’ve performed well. I believe that if the right people are in the door, then they should be given an equal opportunity to succeed.”
“I’ve never felt that being a woman ever set me apart or gave me any sort of advantage or disadvantage. I don’t see myself that way. Obviously, I’m a woman, but gender never played a role in any decisions I’ve made or decisions made about me. Continuing to think that way will be the healthiest way to take on this job.”
“I come to work every day thinking I have to earn my job, and I really believe that. I don’t have a given right to my job; I need to prove my value in my role every single day.”
“Every time you feel entitled, you’re making a mistake.”
“To be the best CEO you can be, you have to be passionate about the business you’re running. And I have true passion for the financial markets and the financial industry.”
“You need to have a lot of human judgment involved in the financial industry in terms of risk management, in terms of investment decisions, and things that really allow us to blend the best of technology and the human brain.”
“A leader who listens is one who is malleable and willing to refine her views and actions as she learns new information or hears a better idea.”
“Listen to clients, employees, and peers and stay open to their ideas, feedback, and answers. Doing so is vital to the success of any leader.”
“Play well with others.”
“Empowering those around you to be heard and valued makes the difference between a leader who simply instructs and one who inspires.”
“One of many strengths that I often see in successful women on Wall Street is a responsible balance between risk-taking and risk mitigation: the ability to assess situations smartly and make the right medium-to-long-term decisions without being lured into reckless, short-term profit-taking.”
“Part of the solution is recruiting the right people.”
“You see so many fewer women in the recruitment pool, so therefore it makes it harder to reach parity. That’s why we’ve got to get more women to go into finance, to get more women to go into tech, and to take advantage of the education available to them because that will then get them into the industry.”
“Many women try to advance in their careers by having all the answers; by being the go-to person for information and advice; or by building expertise in a particular field. However, as they progress, gain broader responsibilities, and grow into leadership roles, they realize that their span of control is too vast to be able to know every answer.”
“Entry-level jobs are excellent opportunities to educate young women about the realities of the financial world and can prepare them for the next move up within the firm or another area of the financial industry.”
“I think the more diversity of thought and the more diversity of views is always going to drive to a better decision, and so as we continue to bring more great people into the industry I believe that we will end up with better outcomes.”
“The companies that choose to list on Nasdaq are among the most innovative, risk-taking businesses in the world, and they are proof to us all that prudent risk-taking drives our economy forward.”
“New products, new markets, new investors and new ways of doing things are the lifeblood of growth. And while each innovation carries potential risk, businesses that don’t innovate will eventually diminish.”
“Regardless of how or where you enter Wall Street, use your inherent skills and strengths to succeed.”
“We spend a lot of time talking to our customers to understand the problems they’re solving for today and anticipating issues they’ll be addressing tomorrow. That is what we focus on: peering around the corner, understanding what customers are looking for, and leveraging that potential for competition.”
“I have been extremely fortunate in my career where I’ve felt that I’ve had support within Nasdaq, at every stage in my career, to be who I wanted to be and go as far as I wanted to go. I’ve never felt as though there was a ceiling that I had to break through. When I started, Nasdaq wasn’t as intentional about workplace diversity as it is today, but, even so, opportunities were available to me.”
“I had children very young. You go through a period of immense guilt about being a working mother.”
“I really believe that I’ve been a better parent from being a working mother.”
“The ability to have influence and create change and drive the strategy of an organization is really what excites me.”
“I’m hoping that other people can learn from me, both the mistakes I’ve made or the opportunities I’ve had, or for the decisions I’ve made: for instance, not to go and take a lot of different jobs in a lot of different places, but to stay in one place for most of my career.”
“I would like to be known as a great leader, not as a great woman leader.”
“I just think of myself as a hard-working person who loves my job.”
