CEO Message to Young Managers: Be Courageous

Jerome, is there anything else that you would suggest to young leaders today, to focus on, as they look to progress in their career?

If there is one thing that I would say to a young manager, who wants to grow and who is committed, it is, be courageous. That’s the only thing. Being courageous means, think and when you see the opportunity for getting things done better, sell your idea to others and go ahead and volunteer. If you have a negative environment around you, you might get frustrated, or you might get fired. But if you are courageous and if you get fired, don’t doubt.

I told Sealed Air, very often, to all our employees, don’t worry. If you don’t like it here, don’t be a masochist. Go somewhere else. Have the confidence that you can find a better paid job, somewhere else, because there are lots of opportunities. If you are good and have courage, I would hate to see you go. But in fact, what you’re finding out is that very few people have courage. They think that courage must be mitigated by being politically correct and by following the system. I’m not telling you to be a rebel. I’m telling you to be courageous and positively sell your ideas to others and don’t shut up when you have a real issue with what is being done.