In an uncertain economy where workers are keeping their heads down amid layoffs and hiring freezes, many may forget that the biggest career opportunities can come from taking risks. However, Michaels CEO David Boone is here to remind young workers that fortune favors the bold—sitting around daydreaming of a career won’t actually move the needle.
“Just get moving. The universe rewards doing things in action versus analyzing and thinking about things,” Boone said in a recent interview with the WSJ. “Get moving, take some action, take some risk.”
Although Boone started his career three decades before today’s college graduates, the Gen X CEO suggested he can relate to the same career anxieties as Gen Z.
Having graduated from Canada’s McMaster University in 1992—a sluggish year for hiring and consumer spending following the recession—finding his first 9-to-5 job “did not come easy,” Boone explained. He took a summer gig that turned into a contract, then full-time role. It wasn’t something he was interested in, but it was a good company to work for amid a “tough market,” and Boone recognized the value of jump-starting a career no matter the conditions.
The Michaels leader worked his way up at his first post-college employer, Canadian retailer Loblaw Companies, for more than 15 years. And eventually, a major opportunity to join TD Bank’s leadership would force the up-and-coming CEO to make a drastic career choice: stay comfortable in his current role, or uproot his entire life to start a new job in the United States.
It was a big leap, moving from the major metropolitan area of Toronto to the laid-back coastal city of Portland, Maine. But Boone knew the chance to lead as executive vice president of marketing at the $196 billion bank was too good to pass up on. With the stamp of approval from his family, the executive took the job and charted a new course. And if it weren’t for taking that risk, Boone says he may have never ascended to CEO of the craft supplies giant last year.
“I would not be sitting here today had we not taken that risk,” the chief executive continued. “I’m sure that they don’t always work out, like they can’t, and you’re gonna have some setbacks, and you just gotta keep going.”
CEOs advise young workers to make things happen for themselves
Echoing the Michaels leader, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy also believes that entry-level professionals should get out there and try new things—whether or not the career is end-game.
Jassy recognizes that job anxiety is rampant among many budding workers, even seeing the pressure build in his own young, working-aged children. But the leader of the $2.65 trillion retail behemoth is adamant no one has to have it figured out in their twenties; Jassy even bounced between sportscasting, product management, and entrepreneurship before stepping into Amazon’s top role.
“I have a 21-year-old son and a 24-year-old daughter, and one of the things I see with them and their peers is they all feel like they have to know what they want to do for their life at that age,” Jassy said on the podcast How Leaders Lead last year. “And I really don’t believe that’s true.”
“I tried a lot of things, and I think that early on, it’s just as important to learn what you don’t want to do as what you want to do, because it actually helps you figure out what you want to do.”
Chris Kempczinski, the CEO of fast-food giant McDonald’s, similarly advises young workers that they are responsible for shaping their own professional futures. Simply fantasizing about professional wins, or waiting on a boss to hand over big opportunities, is a fool’s errand to move up the corporate totem pole. Kempczinski tells budding workers that in reality, no one cares about their careers more than they do—it may be “tough love,” but taking action is golden.
“Have a thick skin…Remember, nobody cares about your career as much as you do,” Kempczinski said in a 2025 video posted on his Instagram. “You’ve got to own it. You’ve got to make things happen for yourself.”
And just like Boone, AMD CEO Lisa Su agrees that tackling challenges and facing risks is one of the best career strategies. Instead of playing it safe, the leader of the semiconductor company tells young workers to charge towards adversity: it’s the fastest path to professional and personal growth.
“Run towards the hardest problems—not walk, run—and that’s where you find the biggest opportunities, where you learn the most, where you set yourself apart, and most importantly, where you grow,” Su told graduates at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute last year.
