Our own Chip Bergh, President and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co., sat down recently with New York Times columnist and senior editor Adam Bryant for his “Corner Office” column, which ran in Sunday’s paper. Chip talked about his leadership influences and upbringing, personal career advice and competitive spirit.
“Being extremely transparent builds trust over time,” he said. “I’m not a big fan of organizations where people backstab or talk behind others’ backs. So when I’ve led teams, it’s always been about how we work together to get the best results.”
Chip credits sports as a major influence in how he approaches work and life. “Sports has contributed to me always wanting to be a winner. I’m competitive. Not a stab-you-in-the-back kind of competitiveness. I like a clean fight, but I always like to come out on top.”
Ultimately, Chip says, his biggest life lesson is to find work that, well, doesn’t feel like work.
“Passion is worth 10 index points,” he said. “If you really love what you’re doing, it’s not work.”
Read the full column now via The New York Times.
