Ruth Porat has had a storied career.
Porat, formerly the chief financial officer of Morgan Stanley and today the president and chief investment officer of Google, recently spoke with The Wall Street Journal about her career trajectory and lessons from her success.
Asked how she rose so high so quickly in her career, Porat said she frequently asked herself one question.
“I always said, ‘What is my highest and best use?’” she said. “People come into their careers with a preordained notion of what work they’re going to do. Given that the world is dynamic, not static, they miss seeing things that otherwise might be extraordinary.”
Other business leaders, like entrepreneur Mark Cuban and Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman, have also said they put a premium on traits like agility and adaptability in an ever-evolving workplace, especially with more changes coming from AI adoption, for example.
