by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
In view of the current state of America’s commercial economy, particularly the real estate market and the financial institutions that support it, members of two Rotary Clubs arrived at Monday’s combined meeting expecting to hear about the state of the market and perhaps even a few predictions. After all the guest speaker was Peter Rummell, former CEO of St. Joe who led the company’s evolution from a regional paper manufacturer to a leading real estate development company.
Two months ago, he accepted the same position with the Nicklaus Company, a developer of golf courses and the residential communities that surround the layouts designed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus.
Rummell had something entirely different on his mind.
He opened his remarks to the Rotary Clubs of Jacksonville and South Jacksonville with, “I’m not going to talk about real estate today because I’d rather talk about transition and change.”
Rummell then explained when he retired from St. Joe in May, he was in a position that he didn’t have to take another job and could simply enjoy time with his wife and family. After two months sitting by the pool, however, he said he came to the conclusion, “That was stupid and the opportunity at the Nicklaus Company was too intriguing to pass up.”
Retiring from St. Joe then taking on this next challenge, “Made me think about what it’s like to move from position to position in life,” said Rummell. It also brought to his mind an article he read years ago by the late John Gardner, who was U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare during President Lyndon Johnson’s administration.
“The article was six pages long, but I found eight lines of it so powerful those words are hanging on my wall to this day,” said Rummell.
The concepts he learned from the article have become part of his philosophy of life and, “These lessons are relevant whether you’re just out of high school or at the end of your career,” he added.
One of the most important things Rummell learned from the article was life is about self-renewal.
“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts,” he said. “We spend most of our younger years learning information. These days with the Internet, basic information is available with a couple of key strokes. What is more important is critical thinking, the ability to connect the dots.”
Another of Gardner’s philosophies was to not engage in self-destructive behavior, Rummell said and then he shared what he called his favorite example of that axiom. It’s former New York Gov. Elliott Spitzer, who resigned from office after he was involved in a prostitution scandal.
“What would drive an ambitious, successful person to engage in self-destructive behavior like that?” wondered Rummell. “It just proves you can be famous and still be stupid.”
That led to another of Gardner’s philosophies that states, “The world loves talent but pays off on character.”
“A good example is the world of sports,” said Rummell. “Character is more important than talent and a lot of very talented athletes never make a team because their character is lacking.”
Rummell also said he thinks one of the hardest lessons to learn is that, “No matter how hard you try to please, there are some people who just aren’t going to love you. I saw it as a CEO. There are always people who are analyzing you and trying to second-guess and judge you. People make misguided decisions when they are trying to seek the approval of others. You have to focus on what you feel, not what others feel about you.”
Whatever the future will bring with his new position following his short retirement, Rummell said he will keep to the philosophy, “Life is an endless unfolding and if we wish it to be, a constant process of self-discovery.”
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