The Terroir Whisperers
Unraveling the Secret Behind Remarkable Lives
“Thinking clearly in Omaha is effortless; irrelevant factors don’t disturb you. If you can’t think clearly in Omaha, you won’t anywhere.” — Warren Buffett
When the world’s third richest man tells you how he made it, it’s worth a listen, right? Warren Buffett’s enduring love for Omaha is not false modesty. His insight that it gave him greater clarity, enabling him to make exceptionally successful investment decisions prompted a second look.
Buffett’s affinity for the place he calls home became the cornerstone of our theory of success in “Once Upon a Terroir.” Could the environment have played a more pivotal role in the legendary Buffett saga than most of us recognized? But the man who drives himself to work and prefers an Egg McMuffin at McDonald’s to a gourmet meal is known for a level of modesty that often downplays his accomplishments. We were excited to dig deeper.
Our quest brought us face to face with the lives of a group of remarkable individuals who, like Buffett, rose to unprecedented heights. While many also credited their success to circumstances of birth, family, and community, we sensed these factors alone did not fully explain their remarkable triumphs. Like good detectives, we started looking for clues.
If Omaha’s nurturing environment was the key to Buffett’s billions, then by definition the city should produce its proportional number of billionaires compared to places like New York where you can’t think so clearly. Yet, Omaha’s population of 500,000 only boasts three billionaires including Buffett, Daniel Hirschfeld of Buckle, and Henry Davis of Omaha Meat Packers, compared to Manhattan’s 86. With the exception of Buffett, Omaha turns out not to be a surefire recipe for success.
On the contrary, if Buffett grew up on Park Avenue in New York instead of 2501 North 53rd street in Omaha, our hunch is that he wouldn’t have become the world’s most influential billionaire. Though not entirely clear why, it was quite evident that his identity is more closely connected to his home town than most. The puzzle pieces began to add up to a realization that became the thesis for our book.
Once Upon a Terroir is the story of a group of ordinary people who ascended to astonishing heights of success. These were not the usual fanciful tales of the rich and famous. In their early lives, there was no gushing over expensive cars and gaudy mansions. Childhoods were marked by divorce, abandonment, seedy housing projects, and shattered dreams were their milieux. Wealth was measured in the convertible currencies of personal transformation, bravery in the face of adversity, and triumph against poor odds.
Their lives were marked by difficult straits. Several were discriminated against for their color and gender, and none were unnaturally gifted. Yet with energy and determination they were able to reach unprecedented milestones as Nobel Prize winners, Four Star Generals, Presidents, Billionaire entrepreneurs, and Fortune 50 CEOs. It became our job, even our obsession, to find out how, when, and ultimately, where the turning points occurred.
As we delved into the timelines of each individual, we discovered a transformation that was often overshadowed by the more popular narratives.
As with Ed Lorenz’s butterfly effect, we knew these pivotal moments quietly set off a chain reaction that led to resounding success. And like him, we didn’t know exactly how.
In Buffett’s case, his life could be divided into two distinct halves: an initial stage of untapped potential captured in a nice turn of phrase by Winston Churchill, “A fluid, friendly, but unfocused circle.” That was followed by a transformation that propelled him to global recognition. But it is the second half that receives all the attention.
Brilliant futures are neither random nor planned; they are the result of loosely connected threads which mysteriously converge at the right time — and in the right place, as we discovered. They are, in effect, seeds that are planted. We went digging into the roots.
Our investigation revealed a concept akin to the terroir of wine, where specific conditions elevate ordinary grapes to exceptional vintages. In the realm of human experiences, certain places catalyze the fusion of potential and ambition, transforming ordinary talents into extraordinary abilities. Whether by choice or circumstance, entering such transformative zones mark the turning points in individuals’ lives.
We termed this phenomenon the “terroir effect,” a term borrowed from Ed Lorenz’s chaos theory. It described the profound impact of specific environments on individual growth and success.
In the realm of French vineyards, there exists a geographic designation so unique that the English language lacks an equivalent word. It is the result of a multitude of factors: the quality of the soil, the climate, and the precise location within a small village. The technical definition of terroir is a vineyard in which grapes produce wine that varies remarkably in taste and quality from similar grapes planted just a football field away. We pondered whether the disparity also applied to a “human terroir,” in which certain people flourish by the unique elements of soil and soul.
In a mind-boggling twist of the corkscrew, scientific research conducted by French experts, published in the esteemed journal Nature, supported our theory. They discovered that grapes share an astonishing 25% of their DNA with the species who drink them in one satisfying gulp. Grapes are like many people we know that come in a variety of sweet and sour flavors, complex textures, and when finished, expect us to pick up the check.
For example, some grapes enjoy exciting lives in a treasured bottle of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti 2019 bottle that sits in your wine merchant’s special section. Surrounded by 1,204 of their most esteemed cousins, they experience the pinnacle of a grape’s existence. When their time comes, and it is usually decades after they are ‘born,’ and there is much fanfare beforehand, they are quaffed in one sublime gulp.
In contrast, their less fortunate brethren spend a shorter existence beneath a layer of sticky peanut butter, not quite reaching the same heights.
The revelation sent waves of excitement down to the very roots. We had stumbled upon a profound connection, a hidden bond that implied we might be onto something big, or at the very least, the chance to sample the goods. As Falstaff said, “A man cannot make him laugh that drinks no wine.” We came to believe the concept of terroir extends beyond the vineyard and into the human realm.
In all cases, human terroirs share one element in common — they liberate people to become all they can be. Lacking a better word, we borrowed an idea from Ed Lorenz, calling it the ‘terroir effect,’ a place that completely transformed the lives of the people that resided in them.
The mechanisms varied from tranquil settings in the south of France to the hard scrabble of an upstate New York farm to the depravity of a North Vietnamese POW camp and the confines of federal prisons. But in each case, they tinkered with the individual in a way that transformed them, redirected their purpose, and put them on the road to greater future than ever imagined.
With the unique perspectives and access that our subjects gave us, we are delighted to share their captivating stories in the hopes of inspiring others to look for success in all the right places.
Our exploration began appropriately enough in Omaha. It extended as far as Malta and South Africa, encompassing conversations from Davos to Harvard Business School, the Sun Valley media event, Trump Tower’s golden escalators, the tranquil greens of Augusta National (albeit impossible to access), elegant Governor’s mansions, news anchors’ Emmy-adorned offices, and the modest environs of Berkshire Hathaway headquarters. We even captured the prominent financier at Michael Milken’s Santa Monica abode, where philanthropy sets sail on a venture capital fleet.
We encountered moments of intrigue, such as our encounter with Putin’s rival, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, in a covert hideaway accessible solely through a concealed backstairs — a successful evasion of potential Russian threats.
The co-authors, with dual backgrounds as publisher of Forbes Magazine, venture capital investor running Elon Musk’s first company, and executive leadership at companies such as Ritz Carlton and Disney, embarked on a five-year exploration to delve into the lives of over fifty exceptional individuals.
