Optimizing New Opportunities

Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, gives a heartwarming and inspirational career guide speech to the 2012 graduating class at Harvard Business School. She begins her speech by reminiscing on what it was like to attend university without the Internet and recognizes just how much things have changed and the implications this has created for society and the world.

Today, the Internet equips ordinary individuals with voices.
Anyone with access to Twitter, Facebook or a mobile phone, can connect with hundreds, even thousands of people all over the world. The digital era is disrupting traditional power structures and leveling hierarchies. Power, according to Sandberg, is shifting from institutions to the individual. As the world becomes more connected and less hierarchical, the traditional career path is also evolving and changing. When companies are growing quickly and experiencing a lot of change, careers within that organization will take care of themselves.

Sandberg says, "If you're asked to take a seat on a rocket ship, don't ask what seat, just get on." This career guide speech from one of the most powerful women in the world is inspiring and enlightening.