Lisa Su has been chief executive of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) for a decade. Under her leadership the $190 billion chipmaker has seen great success. Su is widely recognized for her outstanding leadership and bold vision. She underscores the importance of teamwork and pushes you to go outside your comfort zone to drive your professional development. Her vision extends beyond the tech industry and speaks to the work of dreamers and doers in all fields.
In a recent interview with Time, Su pointed out how different today’s challenges are. “You can’t solve big problems alone. No single person or organization has a monopoly on good ideas. The problems we’re trying to tackle today are simply too complicated to be fixed by one person,” she said. And she hopes her workers will get in the same attitude. She demands the very best from each and every person who works for her.
Su’s story began when she was just three years old. That’s when her family made the transition from Taiwan to the US. Having a bookkeeper for a mother and a mathematician for a father did wonders in allowing her to create an incredible academic backdrop. In 1986, she graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her educational background prepared her for a successful career in technology and has served as the groundwork for connecting others.
In her largely behind-the-scenes role at AMD, Su has met a gauntlet of challenges – none more daunting than guiding the company through two major turnarounds. She recently addressed graduates at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she spoke about overcoming obstacles and the importance of tackling tough problems. “Hard problems challenge you and require your passion, ingenuity, and resolve. They grow your confidence, develop you as a person, and leave an impactful legacy,” she said.
Su further challenges each of us to pursue the kinds of challenges that bring us together with other passionate and purpose-driven people. She’s passionate about collaboration as a means of learning from different perspectives and broadening one’s professional network. When you tackle the biggest challenges, you open up the fastest path to personal development. You enhance your prospect of making a genuine difference to the world.
The importance of curiosity to effective leadership is yet another principle that Su advocates. This kind of rampant curiosity has made her and other business leaders like her, the outliers in the C-Suite. As she warns, if you think her advice is a recipe for seeking out hard challenges just for the hell of it—think again. Instead, she likes to focus on identifying possibilities that match individual passions and career goals.
Su went on to say that the greatest opportunities are in the problems you decide to tackle. It’s in these challenges that you learn the most, they make you unique and, more importantly, they push you to grow internally.
As she continues to lead AMD at 55 years old, Lisa Su remains a prominent figure in technology, inspiring others with her approach to challenges and collaborative leadership.