Inside the Mind of the World’s Most Optimistic CEO
Update: 2025-09-01
Description
For Bill McDermott, work has never been just a job.
On this Labor Day rerun of Grit, first published Jan 9, 2023, the ServiceNow CEO reflects on what he learned from his earliest jobs and how he carried those lessons from a deli counter in Long Island to the boardroom of an $80B software company.
We cover:
- Why Bill bought a deli when he was in high school — and how he competed against 7-Eleven (04:00 )
- Interviewing at Xerox and wanting it more than anyone else (08:17 )
- Unwavering optimism and being a source of strength for others (12:34 )
- How a love of work has shaped Bill as a person (16:44 )
- Facing challenges and keeping a promise to his father (22:00 )
- Enjoying the present and keeping an eye on the future (30:01 )
- Leaving Xerox for Gartner and learning from a tough experience (33:29 )
- Sloan Kettering and Father Michael Judge (39:22 )
- Following the “original dream” vs. building something new at ServiceNow (44:59 )
- Losing an eye and getting a pep talk from two Medal of Honor winners (51:15 )
- Why Bill started and ended his book with quotes from two Kennedys (01:01:21 )
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