He was always a fox-like sponge for new thinking regardless of its origin. John McMillin, a longtime industry analyst, once wrote, “Some people are innovators and some people borrow ideas from others. Stiritz is both (and that’s meant as a compliment).”8 He consciously carved out blocks of time in his schedule to wrestle with the key issues in the business alone, without distraction, whether on a Florida beach or in his home office in St. Louis.
