America’s dream of getting a transcontinental railroad is lastly speedily heading down the tracks, with Union Pacific planning to accumulate Norfolk Southern—two of the nation’s largest railroad corporations—in a $85 billion deal. For Jim Vena, the CEO of Union Pacific, this deal is simply the newest a part of a 40-year climb up the railroad ladder.
Vena acquired his begin within the late Seventies as a teenage laborer at Canadian Nationwide (CN) railway—doubtless incomes just some {dollars} an hour. Over time, he labored his approach up within the discipline to brakeman, conductor, locomotive engineer, trainmaster, and superintendent.
And he’s persistently advised the subsequent technology of employees the key to having success like his isn’t in an MBA or discovering a superb mentor: It’s grit, curiosity and angle.
Simply yesterday, he shared his easy profession recommendation for Gen Z: “Keep curious, embrace challenges and at all times lean in.”
Studying the facility of arduous work and perseverance touring throughout North America is one thing that doubtless grew to become invaluable to Vena as soon as he jumped over to the company advertising and gross sales divisions of CN. By 2013, he had been promoted to chief working officer earlier than retiring in 2016.
However after being known as out of retirement to function Union Pacific’s COO in 2019 and being named CEO in 2023, he echoed:
“From a really younger age, I discovered the significance of grit. I do know railroading firsthand… I spent many nights away from residence, with an unpredictable schedule, in unrelenting climate and excessive circumstances,” he wrote to his new colleagues.
“You possibly can rely on me to be frank, considerate, nimble and resilient. I gained’t mince phrases when the reality have to be spoken. I’ll ask a number of you—and I’ll demand much more from myself.”
Fortune reached out to Union Pacific for remark.
Perspective over aptitude for fulfillment
Vena’s view that having the fitting mindset can do wonders on one’s profession is one thing that different prime executives have harked on as invaluable recommendation for Gen Z.
That features Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who mentioned that controlling one’s angle could make a “huge distinction” on the trail to success.
“An embarrassing quantity of how properly you do, significantly in your twenties, has to do with angle,” Jassy advised LinkedIn.
For Cisco’s chief govt within the U.Ok., Sarah Walker, having a superb angle is the No. 1 green-flag trait she seems out for in relation to hiring and promotions: “You can’t educate optimistic attitudes and engagement and power,” she advised Fortune.
Even Walker’s predecessor, David Meads beforehand echoed to Fortune that “EQ is no less than as essential as IQ.” The now EMEA chief at Cisco confused: “You want that EQ to have the ability to learn the room and perceive what’s being mentioned by what’s not being mentioned.”
Maintaining the frontline employee in thoughts
Vena at all times had a railroad firm on the prime of his paystub—with a complete compensation bundle reaching over $17 million final 12 months alone, in line with the AFL-CIO. Nonetheless, sticking to the trade that he is aware of has performed to his benefit as a pacesetter. In actual fact, by no means forgetting his roots and making selections with these on the entrance strains on the tracks has been one in every of his precedence mindset.
Shortly after turning into CEO, he acknowledged that he wished to show Union Pacific into a company centered on down-top determination making.
“You possibly can’t have 9 ranges—from the CEO to the individuals who really do the work—and anticipate that the message is evident, the selections are made clear and there isn’t some hiccup. … I wish to drive it in order that we now have approach much less layers,” he mentioned throughout Union Pacific’s third-quarter 2023 earnings name.
“I would like selections to be made on the native stage — and the decrease the extent, the higher,” Vena added to Progressive Railroading in 2024.
It’s a mantra that’s shared by many enterprise leaders, together with one which’s been discovered from billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
In an interview earlier this 12 months, Coursera CEO Greg Hart advised Fortune that his time working with Bezos helped him perceive the worth of trusting worker selections.
“Pushing selections down as near the shopper as attainable was actually one thing that I discovered from Jeff,” Hart mentioned. “The less selections that should go to the CEO, the quicker the group will transfer.”
For Vena, probably the most selections that come throughout his desk, the higher. In spite of everything, in his expertise the very best insights don’t come from the boardroom, however slightly the rails.
