Joel Peterson: the secret to great leadership.

• Author: Stewart, Amy K.
• Position: SALT LAKE AREA

Joel Peterson sits relaxed and unassuming in the Peterson Partners office, which has a vast southeastern view of the Wasatch Mountains. For today's interview, he has donned a red tie dotted with tiny blue airplanes and clouds.

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Besides being chairman of JetBlue Airways, Peterson is founder of Utah-based venture capital firm Peterson Partners. He also teaches Entrepreneurial Management at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB), was director of the Stanford GSB Center for Leadership Development and Research, and serves as a director of Franklin Covey as well as Ladder Capital.

When asked what the secret of his success is, Peterson laughs and says he's not successful at everything, but simply at what he feels is important to him. He is a father, a teacher and a leader in a number of business ventures.

If he could change anything about his life, Peterson says he would change course sooner on a variety of things--not sticking with something for so long when it isn't working. "You hear people talk about how they waited too long to do something," he says. "If I could do it all over again, I would trust my instincts more. Your heart knows things that your head has not yet discovered."

Hobbies? Peterson says he works for fun. "Family and work, I will not...