Titans of Silicon Valley and Wall Street are reinforcing a stern reality: the traditional 9-to-5 schedule is not a vehicle for reaching the C-suite. Andrew Feldman, co-founder and CEO of the $49.5 billion AI chip company Cerebras, recently described the notion of achieving greatness while maintaining a 38-hour workweek as "mind-boggling."
The Cost of Extraordinary Success
Speaking on the 20VC podcast, Feldman stipulated that while professionals can certainly find happiness and lead "great lives" through 40-hour workweeks, they will not be the ones launching the next unicorn or developing generation-defining products. "The path to build something new out of nothing, and make it great, isn’t part-time work," Feldman explained. "It’s every waking minute. And of course, there are costs."
A Consensus Among Tech Leaders
Feldman is not alone in his assessment. He joins a growing list of executives who dismiss the concept of work-life balance as a myth for high-achievers. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan has told staff that "work is life, life is work," while LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman warned that founders talking about balance are not truly committed to winning. Even Google co-founder Sergey Brin suggested that "60 hours a week is the sweet spot of productivity."
- Twilio CEO Khozema Shipchandler allows himself only an eight-hour window on Saturdays to unplug.
- Investor Kevin O’Leary advised founders to "forget about balance" and work "25 hours a day, seven days a week."
- Dan Kaplan of ZRG Partners noted that the lesson for young professionals is that 40 hours simply won't lead to rapid career growth.
Ultimately, Feldman clarified that the focus should not be on logging hours, but on being consumed by the passion to change the world and helping a team reach its maximum potential.
