Humility as a Defining Executive Business Trait
By: Connor Mcclure
Tags: Business Culture, Warren Buffett, Humility, Tony Hsieh, Professional Development

On a rugged mountainside, strutting down a narrow path with swagger, walks the Wolf. The cold wind ruffles his fur and the sun sinks in the sky behind him. Looking down the slope, he watches as his imposing shadow extends across the landscape. The Wolf thinks to himself: how could any beast ever rival my magnificence. I am the deserved ruling beast of this land. As such thoughts fill the creature’s presumptuous mind, rocks come falling down from the shelf above. The Wolf realizes that the shadow was not his own, but that of the Lion. The Lion descends on the wolf, bites his neck, and kills him. The Lion then continues on, roaming his territory. This is a story of Aesop’s Fables that has been told for over 2,000 years; it is a classical lesson of humility that seeks to demonstrate the “humbling experience,” a universal ordeal many go through to realize their own standing in a world of egocentrism and social hierarchies. Humility though, does not guilelessly extend from such experiences or an “act of humiliation”. In fact, humility is a fluid and engaged character trait used across all of humanity to live a distinguished life. In the world of business, humility has arisen as one of six prevailing traits (humility, focus, perseverance, patience, discipline, and resilience) in the most prosperous of executive’s, that works to nurture a benevolent modesty in everyday tasks and nullifies the bombastic and brazen detractors of business culture; in exemplifying humility one procures success easily and lives a more fulfilled life. The following contents of this article will examine humility in the modern era and its impact on the lives of particular successful CEOs.

Tony Hseih

Biography

Tony Hseih was an online entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He was born from Taiwanese immigrants and was raised in the California Bay Area. Hseih graduated from Harvard University in 1995 with a degree in Computer Science. During his tenure at Harvard, Hseih sold pizzas to many of his dorm mates, one of which who was Alfred Lim, the eventual COO and CFO of Zappos. After being disillusioned by the corporate world following his graduation, Hseih got to work founding his own advertising networking company, LinkExchange. By the age of 24, Hseih’s company had 400,000 members; however, instead of further pursuing his company, Hseih sold the firm to Microsoft for $265 million.

Promptly rich and in the middle of his 20’s, Hseih founded his own Venture Capital firm and began investing in a variety of small startups, one of those happened to be Zappos. Seeing the value the online clothing industry, Hseih became the CEO of Zappos in 2000. By 2009, Zappos had revenues of over $1 billion which in turn led to the company’s acquisition by Amazon for $1.2 billion.

Since 2009, Hseih had served on the board and invested in a variety of different firms, including JetSuite, a private jet charter company, and helped develop a lighter and more efficient plane for use.

Humility Applied

Tony Hseih is regarded by many as one of the most humble businesspersons to ever work in America. He upheld a standard of humility that was reflected in how he engaged in business and treated his employees. Hseih did not act like the stereotypical corporate executive that many have an idea of: secluded in a corner office, uncommunicative, and separated by immense power distance. He equally held himself to the same working principles that directly led to Zappos success. Hseih was famous for having his desk in the middle of his employees to create a sense of community and wholeness. Additionally, he provided them with the same benefits that he would desire as a company employee with a priority on making sure that employees were having fun where they worked; he also frequently would use his own home for Zappos company functions and made an effort to connect with as many of the people that worked for him as he could.

In a humbling way, Hseih was always the first person to admit when he was wrong and when a colleague could do something better than himself. In fact, Zappos once experienced a pricing glitch that cost them in the realm of $1.6 million. Hseih accepted full responsibility for the event, and then went on to honor the discount to all customers despite it deriving from a fault in the company’s system. Because Hseih views himself in equality with both customers and employees, he believes that company standards including honesty, loyalty, and integrity apply to everyone involved in business matters.

The late Tony Hseih lived near downtown Las Vegas in an Airstream that cost $1000 a month. He stated: “I just love it because there’s so many random, amazing things that happen around the campfire at night. I think of it as the world’s largest living room.” It is not something one would think of when one imagines a business executive with a net worth of $850 million.

One of Tony Hseih’s largest investments had been the revitalization of downtown Las Vegas. When the Las Vegas Strip began to boom, Las Vegas’ true downtown began to deteriorate in value and culture over time. He moved himself into the area in 2011 and had since begun to create a community for small businesses, primarily focusing on startups and creating a home for the tech industry in Nevada.

The life of Tony Hseih prioritized the real people around him and the community he lived in over his own status and tangible things such as yachts and expensive suits. Tony Hseih maintained a sense of lowliness, making his way through life among the hard working people that make the world turn. This section could be no better concluded than with a memorable quote by Tony Hseih: “Sometimes people ask me what my definition of success is, and for me it’s getting to the point where you’re truly okay with losing everything you have.”

Warren Buffett

Biography

Warren Buffett is a long time investor and the current CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He grew up the son of a congressman in Omaha, Nebraska, where he still lives today. Buffett aspired towards the world of business from a young age and was always looking for the next way to earn a dollar. Buffett sold desired products to the youth of the 1950s like chewing gum and sold magazines door to door. At the age of fourteen, Buffett purchased a 40 acre farm with $1,200, and by the time he had graduated college, Buffett sold the farm for $9,800 ($103,000 in today’s money).

Warren Buffett went on to pursue an in depth education in business, obtaining a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Masters of Science in Business from the Columbia School of Business. In addition, Buffett went on to study at the Institute of Finance in New York. In his educational tenure, Buffett learned about value investing from Benjamin Graham.

Value Investing proved to be the principle upon which Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway found its success across the last quarter of the 21st century. In the words of Warren Buffett, value investing is “finding an outstanding company at a sensible price.” This does not mean searching for already booming companies whose stock is selling below its average price, but instead finding prospective companies whose stock is reasonably priced and about to take off. The philosophy of it seems deceptively simple, but Warren Buffett used this investing strategy to create billions of dollars in revenue for over six decades. Buffett proved to be so smart in his investments that he came to be known as the “Oracle of Omaha” by professional media outlets for his ability to study and predict the success of companies.

Humility Applied

Warren Buffett as of December 2020 has a net worth of $85 billion and is the sixth richest man in the world; however, he is what could be described as humility-incarnate. Buffett’s application of humility goes beyond that of Tony Hseih’s, perhaps because he is worth almost 90x more than his fellow executive, with wealth that is rivaled only by the likes of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. Despite his wealth, Buffett does not use his wealth for tangible things that could add to his life.

On a personal level, Buffett lives a life that could be described as lowly, for it fits the common descriptors of a middle-class midwesterner from the United States, and not a billionaire. Buffett bought his house in Omaha, Nebraska, that he still lives in today, in 1958 for $31,500 (or $250,000 in today’s money). He wears traditionally tailored suits in gray and fun colored ties. In his community, he tries to maintain an interactive and accessible persona that welcomes others, and does not instill himself above others socially. He does not dine at Michelin Star restaurants, but instead likes eating Chicken McNuggets from McDonald’s at least three times a week, and likes washing them down with Coca-Cola’s, which he drinks usually five of a day. One of the only luxury ways Buffett spends his money is on art collecting.

Warren Buffett additionally relates to the middle class on a very personal level through his own upbringing and struggles. When times were hard, Warren Buffett resorted to shoplifting and spent much of his time avoiding his abusive mother, Leila, who would verbally abuse his sister Doris.

Buffett is now arguably the largest philanthrocapitalist in the world, using his own charitable funds to clean up America. In June 2006, Buffett promised 83% of his fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation whose primary goals are to combat poverty, enhance healthcare, and promote information technology across the world. This donation, at the time, was worth $30.7 billion making it the largest donation in history. Also of notability, is Buffett donating $50 million to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a non-profit dedicated to preventing catastrophic attacks and accidents with weapons of mass destruction. Buffett has stated that he will donate 99% of his fortune to countless other charities before his death, leaving less than 1% of his estate to his family.

Buffett’s meek personal lifestyle and willingness to donate has made him a cultural hero in the United States. It could be argued that this status is a result of his humility. Warren Buffett proves that one can operate as a savvy business executive while simultaneously enjoying the same lifestyle as anyone else. The legacy he will be remembered for is directly defined by his humble nature and willingness to expand himself into his local and world community.

Warren Buffet once said: “the happiest people do not necessarily have the best things, but simply appreciate the things they have.”

Mark Hurd

Biography

Mark Hurd is not a name that rings a bell in the head of most people unless you have either worked in the tech industry or have worked for Hewlitt-Packard. From 2005 to 2010, Mark Hurd was the CEO of HP up until his resignation for violating the HP code of business conduct. Unfortunately, Hurd passed away October 18th 2019 at the age of 62.

Mark Hurd was raised in New York City and graduated from a private Catholic high school in 1975. From there, Hurd went on to graduate from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Mark Hurd then spent 25 years at NCR Corporation, an IT company that specializes in transaction kiosks such as ATMs. Hurd began as a junior salesman in San Antonio in 1980 and from there worked his way up the corporate ladder.

In 2005, Carly Fiorina, a CEO known for forcing fired employees to train their outsourced replacements, was forced to resign as the CEO of HP and Mark Hurd was appointed as the new CEO. Upon Fiorina’s firing, may employees supposedly rejoiced: “the witch is dead!” with no idea of the replacement Mark Hurd would soon become.

There are many objective facts that can be made about Mark Hurd’s tenure at HP. The trading price of HP’s stock was $18.06 at the time of Fiorina’s departure, and was $39.93 at the time of Hurd’s departure. Mark Hurd took many actions to create increased profit margins for the firm, and increased value for shareholders. Shortly after his arrival at HP, Hurd fired 15,000 employees to cut cost. He did not stop there though, but went on to cut the IT department in half from 19,000 to 8,000 employees. During the 2008 recession Hurd executed a 5% universal pay cut for all employees and eliminated enormous benefits. In the midst of a recession that was debilitating the American economy, HP’s profits were up by 6%. Hurd during this time additionally cut HPs data centers from 85 to six. Hurd received a cash bonus of $23,931,882 in 2008, the largest bonus received by any CEO that year; simultaneously, Hurd organized a wage freeze on employees at the end of 2008.

In 2010, actress Jodie Fisher filed a sexual harassment case aganist Mark Hurd which had inconclusive results, yet Hurd was encouraged to resign after he was revealed to have mishandled expenses.

Following 2010, Mark Hurd spent the rest of his career at Oracle Technology, a multinational computer technology corporation until his death in 2019.

Humility Applied

Mark Hurd is a good CEO on paper. He performed extraordinary maneuvers for HP that kept them from collapsing during one of the most economically volatile times in American history. He won awards and went home at the end of each year with a big paycheck in his pocket. Why is it though that last Fall, at the time of his death, Hurd’s legacy was not celebrated by the media and tech industry alike? Perhaps, it is because legacies are defined by the Humility one exuberates throughout their professional life, and Hurd failed in maintaining an image of humility to the media and HP.

Former HP employee and now author, Chuck House, wrote the following in remembrance of Mark Hurd: “This guy was a thug, nicknamed Mark Turd by ex-HPites who worked directly for him…He raped HP employees (figuratively, without violating the sexual conduct code at HP) by eliminating the sixty-five year concept of profit sharing, preferring to move to obscene bonuses for himself and his five top minions.”

The quote reveals the relationship Hurd had to his work community. He did not adhere to humble principles, and instead saw himself as a classical business executive, working in a higher echelon than those under him. This extended so far that one could argue that Hurd had no conception of what it was like being a middle class employee working for him during the great recession, cut off from previously known benefits and working just as hard under a reduced salary. One can only wonder, if at the end of his life, Mark Hurd felt any true fulfillment from his time at HP. He may have increased the company’s profit margins, yet destroyed the lives of thousands while treating himself the fruits or HPs collective labors.

Bonus

Amancio Ortega

Amancio Ortega is the Spanish founder of the Inditex Clothing Group, the parent company behind huge chains such as Zara. Despite his fortune of $71 billion, Ortega does not prioritize his paycheck and tangible things by any means. Ortega prefers the comfort of his own worn in suits to other luxury garments and enjoys sharing a meal with his employees in company cafeterias. Ortega has put €300 million towards combating cancer in Spain. No picture had been published of Ortega until 1999, and in his free time he most enjoys feeding his chickens in the Spanish countryside.

David Green

David Green is the current founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby, an American arts-n-crafts store chain based out of Oklahoma City. Green, despite having a net worth of over $7 billion, does not take any credit for his formidable success and leaves all credit to God. Green has published many books engaging with the subject of his generosity and public image. All though at times controversial, Green donates nearly all his money to Christian and educational charities and maintains a relatively frugal lifestyle. Because of his generosity, Green is the largest philanthropical evangelist in the entire world.

Chuck Feeney

Chuck Feeney is the co-founder of the Duty Free Shoppers Group, which today has over 30 locations across the world. Feeney amounted a fortune of over $7 billion and has made it his purpose to give it all away, retaining nothing more than $1 million. Feeney created The Atlantic Philanthropies, an organization through which he anonymously donated his money until he was exposed in 1997. Today, Feeney continues to live in a rented apartment and always flies economy class.

In conclusion…

Humility is important. Perhaps, more important than society now deems it. The research points towards the fact that humility is immensely fulfilling. It creates long term rewards for sacrifices that benefit the collective and harmonious nature of the world. Humility creates self knowledge and a willingness to put aside one’s own ego to create a better future that is built upon a foundation of equality and respect for new ideas.

All of these conclusions are that which can be learned from modern social science and humility in practice. Humility Science teaches that humility expands one’s self knowledge and willingness to learn from others, fulfilling one’s need for character growth. Tony Hseih taught that humility is important because tangible things are not; a humble attitude can revitalize areas of the world that would have been forgotten. Warren Buffett teaches that even the richest of executives have the capability to retain a humble demeanor, spreading wealth and value to the world around them instead of investing into the consumptive nature of one’s ego.

There is much research that supports what must be unlearned as well. It is self-aggrandizing, blindly consuming, and believing that one, no matter how important, is more deserving of prosperity than those who help one find success. Mark Kurd exemplifies all of these detractors of both success and legacy, and should be learned from.

Humility separates itself from the other five signifying traits of successful business people even further, for it is the only personal trait that benefits everyone. Focus, perseverance, patience, discipline, and resilience all directly relate to the individual. Practicing humility creates an environment where other’s benefit too, whether it be one’s willingness to hear an idea of another or one deciding that perhaps another can perform a task better than oneself.

It could be hoped for that Humility will grow in its research, and its value to the individual and society will be further emphasized in the future, creating a world opening up in its potential for a world of humble people. I will conclude with one of my favorite quotes that I feel stresses the meaning and value of humility in the modern world:

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self” — Ernest Hemingway

In memory of Tony Hseih (1973–2020)