Anna Wintour

Anna Wintour once looked at photos from a $300,000 fashion shoot and killed the entire story without explanation.

The photographer was Steven Meisel, now one of fashion's legends.

He was so furious, he refused to work with her for years.

Today, he credits her with making him better.

This is the Anna Wintour paradox.

She's fired assistants for poor clothing choices.

She's made editors stand during meetings because sitting wastes time.

When asked what job she wanted once, she replied, yours.

And the meeting ended abruptly.

She got the job anyway.

For 40 years, people have been predicting her downfall.

She's too harsh, too demanding, too unwilling to compromise.

Meanwhile, she keeps getting promoted.

At 75, she now runs every magazine at Condé Nast.

Because Anna figured out something most leaders never learn.

In a world awash in mediocrity, maintaining standards looks unreasonable.

But standards are also the only moat that matters.

And if you want to understand how a British girl who couldn't type built the most bulletproof career in media and what that means for your own ambitions, you need to hear this story.

Welcome to The Knowledge Project.

I'm your host, Shane Parish.