Randy Jones | December 16, 2009
Fear is a useful thing. In an article in the New York Times Magazine a couple of months ago, Robin Marantz Henig described current research exploring the complex links between temperament and the brain. It was a fascinating article, but what struck me is that the more we learn about the psychology of fear, it seems like we become less able to predict how it will affect any given individual.
Randy Jones | October 12, 2009
A universal trait of RMITs is the ability to execute, to get across the goal line without dropping the ball. What also sets RMITs apart, however, is the ability to adapt to new circumstances, and even change the goal when necessary. Dan Duncan, the richest man in Houston, told me that he runs his businesses, Enterprise Products Partners and Duncan Energy Partners—not to mention his five-thousand-acre Double D Ranch and his considerable philanthropic contributions—according to one piece of advice his grandmother gave him: “Just get up every day and do the best you can that day.”
Randy Jones | July 28, 2009
In my last post, I said that addiction to ambition is a good thing: Find your perfect pitch, a great idea, believe in yourself, and work, work, work. That’s all well and good, but it can’t be that simple, can it? What if you don’t have that brilliant, category-killing idea? Not all of us can be business geniuses. David Rubenstein, who became the richest man in the nation’s capital through his investments in private equity, is widely considered one of the smartest people in Washington. Not so, he told me: “When you get older in life, you realize there are very few geniuses in this world. Most likely, you will never meet one, and Randy, you did not meet one today.” Rubenstein is certainly no dummy, but just as there are brilliant successes who are less than brilliant, there are also plenty of smart, unsuccessful people. Brains is part of the equation, but it’s not the determining factor in becoming an RMIT.
Randy Jones | May 27, 2009
If it’s not about the money, and money can’t buy happiness, then what are RMITs doing it for? As I’ve said before, money is a way to keep track, not of how rich you are, but of how successful. The wealth that comes from success is how they know they’re executing. So at what point do RMITs decide they’ve done what they set out to do, and settle down to play golf or sit on the beach? The short answer is never. RMITs seek accomplishment, and derive their happiness from their achievements. But just because they are happy does not mean they are satisfied.
