The notion that a standard 9-to-5 workday is enough to climb the corporate ladder is rapidly fading in the fast-paced environments of Silicon Valley and Wall Street. For ambitious young professionals navigating their careers, a clear message is emerging from some of the world’s most influential CEOs: extraordinary success demands an extraordinary commitment, far beyond the typical workweek.
Andrew Feldman, co-founder and CEO of Cerebras, an artificial intelligence chip company valued at $8.1 billion, articulated this sentiment clearly in an interview with Fortune. He finds the idea that one can achieve remarkable results on a limited schedule ‘mind-boggling,’ stressing that truly transformative innovation requires relentless focus and dedication, not part-time efforts.
The Unyielding ‘Grindset’ Culture Persists
Despite ongoing conversations about shorter workweeks and more flexible arrangements, prominent leaders across the U.S. continue to champion intense, sustained work. Figures like Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary consistently emphasize that creating groundbreaking products or companies rarely aligns with a conventional 40-hour week.
Feldman further elaborated to Fortune that while a fulfilling personal life is certainly achievable within standard hours, such a schedule is unlikely to birth the next ‘unicorn’ company. For founders, he suggests, the unspoken expectation is a commitment of ‘every waking minute’ to their venture, fully acknowledging the significant personal sacrifices involved.
Redefining Productivity: Beyond the Balanced Life
The concept of ‘work-life balance’ has been frequently challenged by those at the pinnacle of their professions. Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom, famously stated that work and life are intertwined, not separate entities. Similarly, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman underscored the necessity of prioritizing work above all else for startup success. Speaking to Stanford University students in 2014, Hoffman remarked that founders claiming a balanced life are often not truly invested in their entrepreneurial endeavors, as reported by Fortune.
However, even within Silicon Valley, the extreme ideal of 100-hour workweeks is being re-evaluated. Khozema Shipchandler, CEO of Twilio, revealed to Fortune that he deliberately reserves just eight hours on Saturdays for personal time. While acknowledging that work-life decisions are deeply personal, he noted that very few of his peers adhere to a traditional 9-to-5 schedule.
Other high-profile individuals, from tennis legend Serena Williams to multi-millionaire investor Kevin O’Leary, have openly discussed how entrepreneurship’s demands consistently push beyond the boundaries of a standard day. More recently, Brin advised Google Gemini employees that a 60-hour workweek strikes a ‘sweet spot’ for productivity, reinforcing the belief that exceeding standard hours is often a prerequisite for significant achievements.
The Real Metric: Focus and Commitment, Not Just Time
Workplace experts interviewed by Fortune caution against a rigid formula for success, stressing that effectiveness and goal completion should take precedence over a predetermined number of hours. Feldman reiterated this, highlighting that passion and unwavering commitment—rather than merely logging hours—are the true drivers of impactful results.
For leaders striving to make a mark, the challenge isn’t simply to work longer, but to remain fully engaged and relentlessly driven by their vision, while also empowering their teams to do the same.
Key Takeaways for Ambitious Professionals
The insights from these Silicon Valley titans reveal a fundamental tension between pursuing personal well-being and achieving professional greatness. For those with aspirations of reaching the C-suite, it’s clear that conventional work schedules are unlikely to pave the way for extraordinary outcomes.
Instead, defining traits of high-performing founders and executives include profound dedication, intense focus, and a readiness to extend effort beyond typical limits. The ongoing discussion about work-life balance from the Silicon Valley perspective suggests that 9-to-5 simply isn’t enough for those aiming to build the next generation of transformative companies.
The prevailing view isn’t about completely sacrificing personal time, but rather recognizing that true innovation demands a level of commitment that extends far beyond the clock. The ultimate question remains: is this relentless pursuit of work an unavoidable price for success?