87-year-old chairman’s secret to success is at all times being on time, warning Gen Z ‘if you’re one minute late, it’s the identical as being an hour late’

However, for George Gellert, now 87 years old, the grind still hasn’t stopped.

He is the chairman of Gellert Global Group, a network of food importing and distribution companies that rack in a collective $1.7 billion in revenue each year. And while his career has spanned nearly 60 years and has included navigating international trade through wars, natural disasters and recent tariff battles, he reveals to Fortune that the biggest secret to his success hasn’t been reading every management book or mastering an elevator pitch. Instead, it’s always paying attention to his watch.

“My mother would say to me, if you’re one minute late, it’s the same as being an hour late,” he recalled to Fortune. 

For Gellert, keeping to a strict schedule starts most mornings before the sun has even risen—at 4:45 a.m. But the first part of his day isn’t checking his email or sipping his coffee in peace, it’s placing a call to his business partner, Charles Kushner (who just became the U.S. ambassador to France).

“I talk to him for 15 minutes every morning from 4:45 to 5:00. Then I work out an hour before tennis, and then I start my tennis from 6:00 to 7:30 and I’m in the office a little after 8:00.”

Staying on time and sticking to a routine may sound like no brainers, but there’s indications that tolerance for tardiness increases among younger people. A 2024 study found that Gen Z don’t see running late as a big deal, with almost half of those surveyed ages 16 to 26 saying that being between five and 10 minutes behind is just as good as being punctual. However, that drops to around 40% of millennials believing 10 minutes behind schedule is OK. Only 26% of Generation X and 20% of baby boomers feel the same. 

Success means getting your hands dirty, according to Gellert

When Gellert first started his career at his father-in-law’s company, Atalanta, in 1966, he was tasked with opening mail (back when they didn’t have email, he joked). At the time, it may have seemed like monotonous clerical work, but it opened his eyes to the entire inner workings of the company—a lesson he says young people of today can learn from.

“Get your hands dirty,” he tells Fortune. “Start at the bottom.”

But for many young professionals today, staying at the same company for decades is no longer what they enjoy. Instead, Gen Z in particular are job-hopping more than ever, in part to try to secure a more lucrative title or higher salary. In fact, one study found that 56% of Gen Z think it’s acceptable to change jobs every two to three years.

It’s on companies to do better about fostering an environment where junior employees can grow, Gellert says.

“You gotta motivate them to feel you,” he says. “They’re always wondering, what’s my future? What’s the next step? So, you have to really make sure that they have a career path going forward, because if not, they’ll leave.”

That also means picking employees who are growth-oriented to begin with: “I make a joke if they play golf, I don’t want to hire them. They have too much time,” he says.

And while Gellert’s leadership has helped his family’s business grow from being simply a Polish canned-ham importer to a billion-dollar enterprise now in its 80th year, he says validation of success shouldn’t come from others—but rather in reaching your own goals.

“Find satisfaction in what you do,” Gellert says. “Try to keep a low-key profile. When success comes to you, you know you’ve worked hard.”

The end of silent generation leadership

While many of Gellert’s fellow members of the silent generation are now enjoying their retirement years away from the board room—he’s not alone. Billionaire Warren Buffett, now 94-years-old, still serves as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (though is set to step away later this year). However, his routine is contrary to the early-riser mantra of Gellert.

“I get quite a bit of sleep. I like to sleep,” Buffett said in a 2017 interview with PBS NewsHour. “I will usually sleep eight hours a night, and that—no, I have no desire to get to work at four in the morning.”

And while Buffett also notably had a lasting bond with his respective business partner, the late Charlie Munger, ultimately, what might distinguish Gellert and Buffett from others is not their net worth or title, it’s their attitude.

“We enjoy what we’re doing here,” Gellert said.