There are certain women in the retail industry that capture the attention of a room. Jenna Lyons is one of them. Over the last decade, Lyons has made J.Crew into a household name and, in the process, she herself has become an icon. Lyons is recognized not only for her signature look, but for her leadership skills as well. Luckily for all of us, Lyons is open to sharing her secrets to success.

Last week, Lyons sat down with Laura Brown, editor of Harper’s Bazaar, for Hearst’s Master Class series. In addition to discussing wedding attire and J.Crew’s position on “athleisure,” Lyons shared her advice on how to get ahead in the corporate world.

“Think about what you want to do and what you love,” Lyons said. “Because you’ll never be successful if you spend too much time thinking about how you’re going to get ahead. It doesn’t work that way. The way you get ahead is by doing something that you love and committing to yourself to do that, because then you’ll be happy, and you’ll work hard, and you’ll get noticed for that. If you’re trying to get somewhere because it’s important to you to get somewhere, those are often the people I don’t promote.

“People who are in my office asking for a raise, asking for a promotion, I’m not going to promote you first. I’m going to promote the person who is still there when I leave at 6:30, and is there when I come in the next morning, and instead of going home says, ‘Can I do anything else?’ [Someone who] is so obsessed with what they’re doing, surprises me [and] helps other people. And I’m not saying it’s a bad question, just that I think our culture has created this scenario where it’s like ‘I have to climb.’ I just feel like if you love what you do, you’ll get there and it’ll happen.”

When you first read Lyons’ advice, it seems a little off-putting. So, we get ahead by not trying to get ahead? Not quite.

The underlying message Lyons is trying to convey is that being passionate about what you do and remaining nimble in a changing climate is critical for all companies. If you’re not passionate, it shows. Focus on the short term in order to gain in the long run.