????明迪?格羅斯曼是一位冉冉上升的零售業(yè)明星高管。她在轉(zhuǎn)戰(zhàn)電視領(lǐng)域、成功改造HSN（家庭購物網(wǎng)絡(luò)）之前，曾先后執(zhí)掌過著名服飾品牌拉夫?勞倫（Ralph Lauren）旗下的Polo Jeans 事業(yè)部和耐克公司（Nike）全球服飾業(yè)務(wù)。格羅斯曼為這個(gè)一度沉悶的家庭購物頻道增添了令人眩目的明星效應(yīng)和數(shù)碼元素，打造了一家快速增長的媒體和零售混合型公司。經(jīng)歷了黑暗的2008年之后，HSN的股價(jià)已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)了10倍的增幅。由于她令人意想不到的成功軌跡，格羅斯曼本周被授予旨在表彰通訊領(lǐng)域杰出女性的“矩陣獎(jiǎng)”（Matrix Awards）。就如同美國國家廣播環(huán)球公司（NBC Universal）的邦妮?海默（上個(gè)月，我曾撰寫過一篇關(guān)于她的文章）一樣，格羅斯曼發(fā)表了一段激動(dòng)人心，充滿職業(yè)感悟的獲獎(jiǎng)感言。謝謝明迪允許我向大家分享她在矩陣獎(jiǎng)?lì)C獎(jiǎng)儀式上的精彩演講。

????2006年5月份，我正舒舒服服地安坐在耐克公司的辦公室里。這時(shí)候，我接到了一位獵頭的電話。他說：“想迎接新的挑戰(zhàn)嗎？我建議你見一下巴里?迪勒，接下IAC零售公司（IAC Retail）的運(yùn)營重任。”

????IAC零售公司是一家年?duì)I收額高達(dá)30億美元、面向消費(fèi)者的直銷商。這家公司由HSN頻道、HSN網(wǎng)站和基石系列品牌（Cornerstone Brands）組成，涉及產(chǎn)品銷售和電子商務(wù)領(lǐng)域。

????聽起來蠻有意思的。但有幾個(gè)問題：

????我沒有零售經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

????我沒有電視或媒體經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

????而且我也從來沒有看過HSN頻道。

????這位獵頭隨后還對(duì)我說了一句：“哦，順便說一下，你將是這家公司10年內(nèi)的第8位CEO?！?/p>

????沒錯(cuò)，問題大了。

????但我當(dāng)時(shí)尋思著：又有誰愿意錯(cuò)過與巴里?迪勒共進(jìn)午餐的機(jī)會(huì)呢？

????對(duì)于我來說，加盟HSNi公司顯然并不是我在接下來的職業(yè)生涯中應(yīng)該邁出的一步。“你要離開耐克公司，去經(jīng)營一個(gè)電視購物頻道？”我的朋友和時(shí)裝界震驚萬分，錯(cuò)愕不已。

????但那時(shí)，我已經(jīng)有了一項(xiàng)切身體會(huì)——職業(yè)生涯中看似顯而易見的下一步并不總是最好的一步。實(shí)際上，我過去35年來的歷程全然不是線性的。

????1977年，當(dāng)時(shí)20歲的我還是華盛頓特區(qū)一位主修英國文學(xué)和哲學(xué)的大四學(xué)生，一門心思想考上法學(xué)院，還已經(jīng)跟即將成為醫(yī)生的高中男友訂婚了。

????聽起來就像是一位猶太裔母親為女兒編織的夢想，對(duì)吧？

????但后來發(fā)生了一件事。在學(xué)期中段的一個(gè)早晨，我醒過來后，突然意識(shí)到我一直在按照別人的想法生活。我一直是一位本本分分的乖乖女，是我們家走出的第一位大學(xué)生。我一直過著安安穩(wěn)穩(wěn)、可預(yù)見甚至令人艷羨的生活。

????但內(nèi)心深處的我充滿激情，擁有一種強(qiáng)烈的使命感，十分渴望對(duì)這個(gè)世界產(chǎn)生影響。我對(duì)父母說，我想看看我的人生是否還存在另外一種可能性。

????你可以想象，當(dāng)我透露出這種想法時(shí)，電話那端頓時(shí)鴉雀無聲的情景。

????剎那間，我中斷了結(jié)婚安排，離開學(xué)校，搬到了紐約市。

????Mindy Grossman was a rising-star retail executive, heading Ralph Lauren's (RL) Polo Jeans business and Nike's (NKE) global apparel, before she switched to TV and transformed HSN. By adding celebrity spark and digital dazzle to the once-dreary home-shopping channel, Grossman built a high-growth media-retail hybrid and multiplied HSN's stock price 10-fold from the dark days of 2008. For her unlikely success, she was honored this week at the Matrix Awards that go to top women in communications. Like NBC Universal's (CMCSA) Bonnie Hammer, whom I wrote about on Tuesday, Grossman gave an inspiring acceptance speech full of career lessons. Thanks, Mindy, for letting me share what the Matrix crowd heard:

????In May 2006, while comfortably ensconced in my office at Nike (NKE), I received a call from a recruiter who said: "I have your next challenge. You need to meet Barry Diller and run IAC Retail."

????IAC (IACI) Retail was a $3 billion direct-to-consumer business that included HSN, HSN.com, and Cornerstone Brands, a catalog and e-commerce portfolio.

????Sounded interesting. But there were a few issues:

????I had NO retail experience.

????I had NO television or media experience.

????And I had NEVER watched HSN.

????The recruiter then told me, "Oh, and by the way, you would be the business's eighth CEO in 10 years."

????So, YES, there were issues.

????But I figured: Who would pass on lunch with Barry Diller?

????For me, the path to HSNi wasn't the obvious next step in a career. "You're leaving Nike to run a TV shopping channel?" My friends and the fashion industry were in shock and disbelief.

????But by then, I already knew from experience that the obvious next step isn't always the best.

????Indeed, my journey over the past 35 years has been anything but linear.

????In 1977, I was a 20-year-old college senior in Washington, D.C., majoring in English literature and philosophy, fully intent on going to Law School and engaged to be married to my high school boyfriend who was about to become a doctor

????Sounds like a Jewish mother's dream for her daughter, right?

????But something happened. One morning, in the middle of the semester, I woke up and realized that I was living someone else's life. I had always been the dutiful adopted daughter -- the first generation in my family to go to college. I had a life that had been safe, predictable, and even enviable.

????But inside me, I had a sense of passion, a feeling of purpose, and the desire to make an impact. I told my parents that I wanted to see what else life had to offer.

????You can imagine the silence on the other end of the phone when I made that call!

????In one fell swoop, I broke off my engagement, left school, and moved to New York City.