Fortune magazine shares the secrets of power and influence.

In keeping with its tradition of power and influence, Fortune has published Secrets of Greatness: Advice from the World’s Top CEOs and Entrepreneurs, a book that examines the personalities of some of business and politics’ greatest minds. Business icons like Steve Jobs, Richard Branson and Warren Buffet tell their stories in their words.

“The first thing I do is make some coffee,” says Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman, on getting ready for a day of work. Lex Wexner, founder of Limited Brands, has advice on pondering your success: “If you stop to smell the roses, you’ll get hit by a truck.”

Many of the interviews that make up the book were gathered as pieces in the “Secrets of Greatness” series that appeared in Fortune. The magazine’s editors then compiled these disparate and iconic voices into one book.

While Secrets of Greatness is definitely geared toward business people, it is applicable to anyone, anywhere. “The draw for the normal human is that every one of these business leaders started out as a normal human,” says Nadira Hira, a writer at Fortune who has covered many of the business leaders who appear in the book. “Now, they are all wealthy,” she says with a laugh.

A Stanford English major, Hira earned a bartender’s license so she could make enough money to write poetry. Now, she is a writer at Time Warner’s top magazine. She stresses that beyond the big numbers of a successful business, and the stats of that business’ leader, is a human element that makes Secrets of Greatness interesting to her bartending-poet side. Hira, who worked for “MTV News” and Essence magazine, brings the same thing to Fortune that all the CEOs interviewed bring to the book: the kind of dynamism that gets results.

What is the draw of Secrets of Greatness for the average American?

In the 21st century, more people than ever want to start a business. In the book, you have Bill Gates who had visionary focus. Then, you have John McCain saying that he doesn’t know how to check e-mail. The book is filled with real people and real stories. It’s not a look down from 30,000 feet … that this kind of success is impossible for the layman. Richard Branson didn’t even go to college, and he talks about that. You are hearing their stories in their voices, and that is really inspiring.

What is your favorite story in the book?

There’s a story about Abraham Lincoln. Every time Lincoln got angry with someone, he would write a letter and then put it in his drawer and never send it. That’s how he ran the country. It shows that every human relationship is exactly like a business; businesses run how human relationships work. I’m sure some of the CEOs in the book have had to do what Lincoln did. Or maybe the CEO called their assistant in to rant and rave. But it shows you how close business is to everything that is human.

Is the book a tool to get new readers for Fortune magazine?

A lot of people who read the book will have read excerpts in the magazine. And for those readers, the book is great because we added pieces that we could not include in the publication. The magazine is a business, so it always hopes to bring in new readers. But this series is one that people really responded to before the book came out.

What kind of advice do the subjects of the book give?

One thing they talk about is why dream teams fail. The book discusses how films that do the best don’t necessarily have the biggest stars. Even the Yankees’ all-star lineup can lose. It’s just like that in business. You need to have people who want to be on a team. You can’t have all stars.

In the book, you hear Warren Buffet, who says, “You’re not right because others agree with you, but because your facts are right.”

Richard Branson tells you to always be prepared to make a fool of yourself; do whatever needs to be done even if it seems crazy. He’s clearly done some crazy things, but that said, he’s done well for himself.

Dick Parsons [CEO of Fortune’s parent Time Warner] says that when you negotiate, you should leave something on the table. His rationale is that you will see all these people around, again and again. Leave something to make everyone happy. Don’t be greedy, and that’s how your business will grow.

Brian Grazer [who produced The DaVinci Code and Inside Man, among a long list of successful films] says that: “All you really own are your ideas and the confidence to write them down. “

In the book you have all these sweet stories of inspiration, really awe-inspiring stories and advice that is fully actionable.

What advice have you taken to heart, and how have you implemented that in your writing career?

I’ve tried to find my niche and focus on it. When you first start out, you want to be able to do everything. As I get older, I’m realizing that I need to focus my energy. The people in the book all found a niche, stuck with it and did it better than anybody else. That’s what I’m trying to do.

Do you think Fortune emulates some of the advice found in the book?

What all these guys do well—and what I try to apply, as does Fortune—is empower the people around them. They know how to recognize talent and use those talented people.

At Fortune, we cover business, but we are also a business. We are trying to practice what we preach in the magazine, so of course the advice of the world’s greatest businessmen is something we take very seriously.

How have you tried to empower the people around you, especially in your line of work as a writer?

I realize that I don’t need to write every story. Now, I think about the six other writers who can do it better. So, I pass the stories on. People really like it when they feel like you respect their work, and it also makes my job a lot easier. It’s about being part of a great team, not just being great by yourself.

What kind of feedback has Fortune had on this book?

Readers have been sending letters. The book has sold very well, and that speaks to the fact that people like to hear these stories.

The recurring series was already very popular with a core readership of executives and entrepreneurs. They love this idea of getting behind big people in business. In general, people like celebrity. In our world, these are the celebrities.

What people know of John McCain and Warren Buffet is the official stuff they read in the press, not the quirky esoteric things that make them human.