Career Coach Bill Hoogterp Reveals Success Formula Ambition and Laziness

Bill Hoogterp, a career coach to the Fortune 500, has revealed that the most successful people are not necessarily the smartest or those who work the hardest. Instead, they are both ambitious and lazy, always seeking shortcuts to achieve their goals more efficiently. Hoogterp, through his coaching firm LifeHikes, has advised numerous celebrities, CEOs, and rising stars, helping them improve their communication and leadership skills. He has personally worked with thousands of executives who appear on Fortune’s most powerful lists.

Hoogterp’s observations challenge the conventional wisdom that success is solely the result of raw intelligence or long hours of hard work. He notes that many successful individuals, including famous politicians, were not necessarily the top students or the smartest in the room. Instead, they possess an over-the-top ambition combined with a desire to find shortcuts, which leads to numerous breakthroughs. This combination of ambition and laziness, as Hoogterp describes it, is a powerful formula for success.

By lazy, Hoogterp does not mean that these individuals are idle or taking vacations. Rather, they are constantly seeking ways to accomplish tasks faster, easier, and better, freeing up time and energy for other important activities. This approach allows them to outsmart the competition, innovate faster, and remain agile in a rapidly changing market. Several high-profile founders embody this paradoxical formula, using shortcuts not to coast but to stay ahead of the competition.

One notable example is Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, who coined the phrase “move fast and break things” when scaling Facebook into a $1.8 trillion social media giant. Similarly, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, advised his right-hand man, Greg Hart, to delegate more to his employees, stating that the fewer decisions that go to the CEO, the faster the organization will move. Nvidia CEO and co-founder Jensen Huang also avoids one-to-one meetings with his direct reports, ensuring that ideas and problems are not siloed in private conversations, thereby fostering agility and quick information flow within the company.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has a set of time-saving and corner-cutting rules for his staff, including a ban on big and frequent meetings, no chain of command or acronyms, and encouragement to walk out of unnecessary conversations. Musk believes that it is not rude to leave a meeting or call when you are not adding value; instead, it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time. These strategies highlight the importance of efficiency and agility in achieving success.

Hoogterp’s claim that the most successful individuals are not necessarily the smartest extends to the hiring process as well. Many CEOs and founders value attitude over aptitude, believing that a positive energy and can-do attitude are more important than skills or experience. Amazon’s AI boss has stated that stumbling through an interview question won’t cost you the job, but being fake will. Andy Jassy, Amazon’s CEO, has shared that attitude is the make-or-break trait that determines success, especially in one’s 20s. Cisco’s U.K. chief focuses on whether a potential new hire has a positive energy and can-do attitude, as these qualities cannot be taught.

This emphasis on attitude is reflected in the hiring practices of many Fortune 500 companies, which use personality tests to assess candidates. A positive attitude is so crucial that some CEOs would rather remain understaffed than risk having a bad apple spoil the bunch. Duolingo’s CEO has stated that it is better to have a hole than an asshole, highlighting the importance of maintaining a positive and productive work environment. These insights from Hoogterp and other industry leaders underscore the significance of ambition, efficiency, and a positive attitude in achieving success.