The Key To Oprah Winfrey's Success: Radical Focus
Fast Company|November 2015
After revamping her once-struggling TV channel, Oprah Winfrey has figured out how to make time for the projects she cares about most.
J.jJ. McCorvey
The Key To Oprah Winfrey's Success: Radical Focus

I’ve come to interview the world’s most famous interviewer, and she has already caught me off guard. “So, what’s your intention here with me?” Oprah Winfrey asks, her legs crossed, a serious look on her face. We’re talking in Winfrey’s office at the Los Angeles headquarters of her television channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network (aka OWN), and the flowing white drapes, gilded light fixtures, and flocculent, cloudlike sofa make the room feel more like heaven than Hollywood. A floor-to-ceiling oak bookshelf behind her immaculately tidy desk is full of intimidating mementos, including one of her 18 Emmy awards and a photograph of her with Nelson Mandela.

Winfrey has invited me to spend some time watching her run her media empire, and so far, my visit has been going well. Despite her massive celebrity (and the fact that she met me just an hour ago), she is warm, huggy, and— true to her spiritual-guru persona—immediately invested in teaching me something I can use to improve my life. We have already bonded over Mississippi, where we were both born (“What a wowzer that is for me!” she says). But then she drops this oddly blunt question about my intent, and I’m unexpectedly stumped. Finally, after a bit of rambling, I come up with an answer. “I’m here,” I tell her, “to learn how Oprah gets stuff done.”

Denne historien er fra November 2015-utgaven av Fast Company.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra November 2015-utgaven av Fast Company.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA FAST COMPANYSe alt
Campus Radicals
Fast Company

Campus Radicals

Welcome to UATX, Austin's new well-funded and controversial anti-woke university.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Summer 2024
What Went Wrong at 23 and Me
Fast Company

What Went Wrong at 23 and Me

The company's DNA spit tests were going to remake healthcare. The science proved more complicated.

time-read
8 mins  |
Summer 2024
Toxic-Workplace Avenger
Fast Company

Toxic-Workplace Avenger

Her landmark lawsuit helped ignite the Me Too movement. Gretchen Carlson is now on a crusade to protect all workers.

time-read
8 mins  |
Summer 2024
A Lousy Bet
Fast Company

A Lousy Bet

Sportsbooks, leagues, and networks: the new unholy alliance to promote legal gambling.

time-read
7 mins  |
Summer 2024
CAN'T STOP ROLLING
Fast Company

CAN'T STOP ROLLING

MOBILE GAME MAKER SCOPELY TOOK IN $2 BILLION IN JUST 10 MONTHS FROM ITS HIT GAME MONOPOLY GO. PLAYERS, IT SEEMS, ARE ADDICTED TO THE FUN.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Summer 2024
A minimum hourly wage law for NYC delivery workers has boosted their pay-but not everyone is reaping the benefits.
Fast Company

A minimum hourly wage law for NYC delivery workers has boosted their pay-but not everyone is reaping the benefits.

$19.56, the hard way

time-read
6 mins  |
Summer 2024
IT'S A TOUGH JOB BUT GENZ NEEDS TO DO IT
Fast Company

IT'S A TOUGH JOB BUT GENZ NEEDS TO DO IT

HOW DAVID HOGG IS RALLYING YOUNG PEOPLE TO PURSUE ONE OF THE TOUGHEST AND MOST IMPORTANT CAREERS IN AMERICA: POLITICS.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Summer 2024
INNOVATION BY DESIGN
Fast Company

INNOVATION BY DESIGN

For 13 years, our Innovation by Design Awards have been shining a light on stunning creations. The following pages highlight 20 of this year's winning projects, from an app that helps resettle political refugees to a massive restoration project in Detroit. Plus, a list of winners and finalists in all 50 categories.

time-read
1 min  |
Summer 2024
How's This for a Cliffhanger?
Fast Company

How's This for a Cliffhanger?

That poor henchman over there has a hammer stuck in his forehead.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Spring 2024
CREATOR ECONOMY
Fast Company

CREATOR ECONOMY

Carpe DM New platforms monetize intimate\" bonds between creators and their fans.

time-read
6 mins  |
Spring 2024