Steve Ballmer lists 3 features that you must have for a successful career

Luck is a crucial key to success, according to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. But you also have to put yourself in a position to become lucky.

In an interview for Business Insider’s podcast, “Success! How I Did It,” Ballmer said he advises younger people who are just starting their careers to find something they are really passionate about. Once they have a passion, they can build a career by working hard, being thoughtful, and getting a little lucky.

“There are people who are willing to work a little harder, willing to be a little smarter, and still don’t have success,” Ballmer said. “And some people do and there’s a luck element that distinguishes those.”

The three most important things any ambitious future leader needs, he says, are:

Hard work Good ideas Luck

“There are two kinds of people,” Ballmer explained. “My son will tell me this, ‘Dad, there are people who live to work and there are people who work to live,’ and I respect both of those things. But if you’re trying to have a career, you’re going to have a little bit more live-to-work in you than work-to-live.”

Once a solid career has been developed, Ballmer has additional advice for how to be a successful leader.

He told his successor at Microsoft, Satya Nadella: “You’ve got to be bold, but you’ve got to be right.”

A leader has to point employees in the right direction. “If you should be zagging left and you send people down the right, that’s the biggest failure a leader can make,” Ballmer told Business Insider.

Below, check out the episode with Ballmer explaining how he helped build Microsoft, or keep scrolling for a transcript detailing his advice to the next generation of leaders.