Chegg掌门人：押宝也要押自己

    6.你在学校学到的最重要的东西是什么？

    学习的意义在于找到恰当的提问方式。知道怎么去得到正确答案和掌握正确答案同样重要。我可以给你具体讲一下我在大学里深受启发的一件事。当时我学的是世界政治，而且那时冷战还没有结束。戈尔巴乔夫还没有上台。教我们的教授走进教室后说：“假设你们是美国总统，我是国务卿。我走进你的办公室说，‘总统，导弹已经发射，您要我做什么？’”大多数学生都回答说：“我们进庇护所吧。”也有学生说：“发射导弹反击。”但教授所说的实际上是美国试射了导弹，而国务卿只是想让总统知道这件事。正确的答案是，总统会问：“什么导弹？对谁发射了导弹？”这就是要学会去问正确的问题，而不是掌握正确的答案。要是按学生们的想法，班里有一半的人已经发动了核战争。

    7. 无论是个人方面的，还是职业方面的，你终生追求的人生目标是什么？

    我在高中为自己设立了大多数人生目标，包括经济上变得独立，成家，让自己的孩子去寻找生命的价值和意义，跟歌手布鲁斯•斯普林斯汀见上一面，以及尽量多地去看他的演唱会。

    在目前这个人生阶段，我和妻子不光以自己的希望和幸福为目标，孩子们的希望和幸福也是我们的目标，二者同样重要。因此，在工作以外，我们关注的重点是确保孩子们在发展自己的兴趣爱好时得到恰当的支持。我还不知道他们将来会变成什么样的人，但我希望他们有能力也有热情去追逐自己的梦想。我非常确信他们会这样做，因为他们的妈妈已经和他们一起做了非常了不起的事。对我个人来说，他们做什么比我自己做什么更让我感兴趣。我只是希望，不管我做什么都能给人们的生活带来价值。

    8. 最近你读了哪本书？

    最近我看了《向前一步》（Lean In）。这是谢丽尔•桑德伯格在某个星期天送给我的。她告诉我说，我必须当天就看，然后做出评价。要是谢丽尔提出了什么要求，你就得照办。

    不过，我读这本书的真正原因是，我觉得CEO必须得看看它，作为女儿们的父亲也必须得看。这本书极有力量。女性占美国人口和美国大学生人数的50%以上。现在大家都应该充分认识到这一点。我为她的勇气喝彩。我觉得这本书很棒，而且当时我没有意识到它会引起这么大的反应。谢丽尔有勇气写出这本书，有勇气坚持书中的观点，也有勇气就这本书和人们进行沟通，这样的勇气不同凡响。它对我个人以及我做出的决定也有很大的实质性影响。

    9. 你在生活中离不开那一项技术？

    空调是我这个时代最伟大的发明，我非常赞同这句话。没有空调我就活不了。小时候我们家的公寓里没有空调。有了空调后，我的感觉就是：“哦，天哪，我爱发明空调的人，不管他是谁。”

    同样，我也离不开互联网，它可以让我不受限制地接触到我所需要的任何东西。没了某一种应用软件我还能活下去。但要是不能联网，不能去做我想做的事，我就活不下去了。

    10. 你有没有什么独特或者古怪的习惯？

    我非常喜欢斯普林斯汀。我在现场看了他的65场演唱会，而且还计划在他的这次巡演中再看5场，对一位首席执行官来说这可能稍有些不寻常。可能会有人认为这有点儿古怪。（财富中文网）

    译者：Charlie

    6. What was the most important thing you learned in school?

    The importance of learning the right way to ask a question. It's as important to know how to get the right answer as it is to have the right answer. I can give you the exact example of my epiphany in college. I was in world politics, and this was when there was still the Cold War. There had been no Gorbachev yet. And the professor walked into the room and said, "All of you are the president of the United States, and I am the secretary of state. I walk in, and I say, "Mr. or Madame President, the missiles have launched; what would you like me to do?" And most students said, "Let's get you to the bunker." Some said, "Launch back." And what had really happened was that we had launched test missiles, and he just wanted to let the president know. The right answer would have been to ask, "What missiles, launched at whom?" It was about learning to ask the right question as opposed to having the right answer. So half the class started a nuclear war.

    7. What is one goal -- either personal or professional -- that you would like to accomplish during your lifetime?

    Most of the goals that I had set for myself I set in high school. They were to become financially independent, to get married and stay married, to have children who seek a value in life and purpose, and to meet Bruce Springsteen and see as many of his shows as possible.

    At this point in my life, my wife's goals and my goals are as much for the hope and happiness of our children as they are for ourselves, so the things that we focus on outside of work are to make sure they have the right support system to follow whatever their passions may be. I don't know what they're going to be yet, but I hope they will have the strength and passion to go after it. I feel very confident they will, because their mom has done a phenomenal job with them. For me personally, what they do is more interesting to me at this point than what I do. I just hope that whatever I do is creating value in people's lives.

    8. What was the last book you read?

    The last book that I read was Lean In. Sheryl Sandberg sent it to me on a Sunday and told me that I had to read it that day and give my comments, and when Sheryl says to do something, you do it.

    But the real reason I read it is, I think it's required reading for a CEO, and I think it's required reading for a father with daughters. It's extremely powerful. Fifty-plus percent of the population and the people who go to college are women. It's time that everybody understands the full perspective. I applaud her courageousness. I thought it was great, and I didn't realize there would be all this backlash. Her courage to write it, her courage to stick with it, her courage to communicate it is extraordinary. And it had a powerful and meaningful impact on me personally and the decisions I make.

    9. What is one piece of technology you can't live without?

    I'm a big fan that the greatest invention of my time is air conditioning. I cannot live without it. I grew up in an apartment that didn't have air conditioning, and when we got it, it was like, "Oh my god, I love whoever invented this."

    But also the Internet itself, what it does, which is give me untethered access to anything that I might need. I can live without a specific app, but not without the ability to be connected and do the things that I want to do.

    10. What is one unique or quirky habit that you have?

    My passion for Springsteen shows. It's probably a little unusual for a CEO to see somebody perform live 65 times with another five planned for this tour. Some people probably consider that a little odd.