Lessons Learned From Anna Wintour

After spending 8 months with Vogue‘s editor in chief Anna Wintour, The September Issue‘s director RJ Cutler learned a lot from being around the devil.

And since not everyone can be in the presence of the goddess of all fashion magazines, he’s sharing some oh-so-important life lessons that you too can apply to your life.

Here’s the deets on what RJ learned:

Lesson 1: Keep Meetings Short
…Meetings are long if they go more than seven minutes and everyone knows to show up on time, prepared and ready to dive in. In Anna’s world, meetings often start a few minutes before they’re scheduled. If you arrive five minutes late, chances are you’ll have missed it entirely.

Lesson 2: Trust Your Instincts
One of my favorite moments in the film is a short scene early on, in which Anna is reviewing some boards with Fashion Market/Accessories Director Virginia Smith. Anna rifles thorough the boards, saying “yes” and “no” as she goes. It’s quintessential Anna Wintour: knowing what she wants, making clear decisions and moving on.

Lesson 3: Surround Yourself with Great Talent
The September Issue is really a film about Anna Wintour’s relationship with long time Vogue Creative Director Grace Coddington…But if Anna’s collaboration with Grace is remarkable (and it is), equally impressive is the astounding level of talent represented by all of the other senior members of her team at Vogue…The lesson is clear — Anna Wintour knows that you’re only as good as the people who work for you, that bad leaders are threatened by strong team members, and that success comes from surrounding yourself with the most talented people you can find.

Lesson 4: Don’t Look Back
If I had to choose a statement that summarizes Anna’s management style, it might come from her own comment at the end of The September Issue, when she says, “Fashion’s not about looking back. It’s always about looking forward.” Or it might come from Karl Lagerfeld whose favorite expression, Anna once told me, is “On to the next.”