Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors and the first woman to lead a major global automaker, delivered the commencement address at the University of Michigan in 2014. She offered graduates six lessons learned since her own graduation, with the first and most emphatic being about passion and hard work. Barra acknowledged that the world is full of talented people, but argued that talent alone is never enough. What distinguishes those who truly make a difference is the combination of passion and relentless effort. She urged graduates not to wait to be invited to important meetings or assigned to critical projects, but to actively place themselves at the center of their profession — to be proactive rather than passive in building their careers.