#6 Ursula Burns

Chairman and CEO, Xerox

One definite way to understand how any company runs is to start working from the lowest position in it. This technique was followed by Ursula Burns when she joined Xerox in 1980 as an intern while pursuing her master’s degree in engineering and afterwards she took up a permanent job there. She kept moving upwards in the hierarchy of this company and became the first African American woman to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company in 2009. She believes that when we start working from the base level, we learn how every department in the company functions and these insights help us find our way to the top. If we wish to grow in a company, it is important to keep company’s growth in mind.

Message: To attain greater heights one can even begin from the ground level, In fact this method helps us learn about the organization in detail.