- Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach has a leadership survival rule written in every book he has: “There is nothing more dangerous than yesterday’s success.” Other CEOs like Jeff Bezos and Doug McMillon agree that being hung up on past or future wins won’t serve your success in the moment.
Getting a taste of success can be addictive, and it’s natural to want to replay those wins in your head as a little dopamine hit. But Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach tells Fortune that his “first rule of survival” is not lingering on past victories.
“It’s literally a quote that’s in every book I ever have. It’s very simple,” he says. “There is nothing more dangerous than yesterday’s success.”
The CEO of the $65 billion software giant started off as a system engineer at a small technology company in 1987, before working his way up the ladder and stepping into his first big leadership role as Global Accounts Executive for Dell in 2002. He’s even dipped his toes in the world of venture capitalism as a partner at Sequoia and juggled board positions with industry giants including Snowflake and Zoom.
Plus, with over 35 years of experience scaling successful tech companies, Eschenbach knows a thing or two about how to stay level-headed after each victory. During his 14-year stint at virtual computer company VMware as president and chief operating officer, he grew the business from 200 staffers to over 20,000, and raised revenue from $30 million to $7 billion.
Still, he refuses to coast on past achievements.
“Focus on drive, resiliency, and integrity…. not looking at the success of the past,” Eschenbach stresses. “You can leverage it and learn from it, but I focus on the future and how to drive success for our employees and our workmates and our customers.”
“Don’t focus on success itself. Focus on [the] significant impact of others, and you do that by just focusing on the future.”
Just one year into his new role, the strategy is once again paying off: Since taking on the role of chief executive in early 2024, Workday’s total revenues have skyrocketed up by $1.9 billion, or 17% year-over-year.
CEOs living in the moment and ignoring past success
Reaching a career milestone or nailing an assignment is exhilarating—there’s nothing like the rush of success when things are taking off. But leaders of some of the world’s largest companies hammer home one lesson: don’t rest on your laurels. One huge success could lead to failure if people get too comfortable.
Take one of the most seemingly untouchable companies in the world, for example. When $2 trillion retail giant Amazon was taking off, then-CEO Jeff Bezos still kept his star customer-service employees on their toes.
“I asked everyone around here to wake up terrified every morning, their sheets drenched in sweat,” Bezos said.
The billionaire persuaded his team to focus on the current, serving Amazon’s shoppers as best as they could. Bezos told them to ignore the competition—they’re not the ones giving money to the company. By staying in their own lane and constantly improving their already-successful model, the business was able to become one of the biggest retailers in the world.
Even the CEO of Amazon’s fiercest competitor, and the world’s largest international retailer, Walmart’s Doug McMillon, echoed the same sentiment. Starting in 1984, he worked his way up through the business, starting out unloading trailers in a warehouse, to piloting the number one company on the Fortune 500.
It’s a career come-up that most would gawk at, and McMillon is well within his right to reminisce on his huge successes that led him there. But the CEO isn’t dwelling on his victories or next moves—he’s reframed his mindset to focus on the now.
“I’m wired to think more about what’s coming next than the moment right in front of me,” McMillon said. “Planning is important, but enjoying the present is too.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
