Secrets of Greatness

"If there's no tension, then you're not serious about what you're doing."

- Wynton Marsalis

Fortune magazine interviewed Marsalis as part of their Secrets of Greatness spread in the March 20 issue. It details the day-to-day and approach to working of some of today's top performers; Senator McCain, Howard Schultz (CEO, Starbucks), Vera Wang (CEO, Vera Wang Group), Carlos Ghosn (CEO, Renault & Nissan), Marissa Mayer (VP Search Products & User Experience, Google), etc.

A few things stuck out from the interviews:

1) These folks either don't even know how to use e-mail, or sleep with their Blackberries in hand - there is no happy medium.

2) No matter what, they are people-people and prefer personal interaction in their daily lives.

3) They all exercise - the Chief Investment Officer of Pimco (one word: stocks) has done yoga everyday for the past 30 years and his staff has only interrupted him three times; one of which was the '87 market crash.

4) They all have and rely on their personal assistants (anyone interested? I have a position to fill...).

The thing that stuck out most was Marsalis' quote. That's a truism if I ever read one - complacency and placative behavior hampers real development and success, and while it's easier to avoid temporary conflict, it's hella more difficult to fix a mistake or achieve a greater good. I write this more for my benefit - to remember to always speak my mind and do what's best, not what's easy.

PS - Yes, I used hella. Yes, I know that I am a New Yorker.