The Drive For Progress Doesn't Wait For

The Best Ceos In Our Research Display Tremendous Ambition For Their Company Combined With The Stoic Will To Do Whatever It Takes, No Matter How Brutal (within The Bounds Of The Company's Core Values), To Make The Company Great. Yet At The Same Time They Display A Remarkable Humility About Themselves, Ascribing Much Of Their Own Success To Luck, Discipline And Preparation Rather Than Personal Genius.

Good Is The Enemy Of Great. And That Is One Of The Key Reasons Why We Have So Little That Becomes Great. We Don't Have Great Schools, Principally Because We Have Good Schools. We Don't Have Great Government, Principally Because We Have Good Government. Few People Attain Great Lives, In Large Part Because It Is Just So Easy To Settle For A Good Life.

Not Every Financial Company Toppled During The 2008 Crisis, And Some Seized The Opportunity To Take Advantage Of Weaker Competitors In The Midst Of The Tumult.

All Companies Have A Culture, Some Companies Have Discipline, But Few Companies Have A Culture Of Discipline. When You Have Disciplined People, You Don't Need Hierarchy. When You Have Disciplined Thought, You Don't Need Bureaucracy. When You Have Disciplined Action, You Don' T Need Excessive Controls. When You Combine A Culture Of Discipline With An Ethic Of Entrepreneurship, You Get The Magical Alchemy Of Great Performance.

For, In The End, It Is Impossible To Have A Great Life Unless It Is A Meaningful Life. And It Is Very Difficult To Have A Meaningful Life Without Meaningful Work.