Taking it to the limit is what cardiothoracic surgery has done for the past 50 years and what STS has done on behalf of the specialty for that same half century; however, some things that once made CT surgery successful may now be counterproductive. In his Presidential Address at the 2014 STS Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, Douglas E. Wood, MD challenged his colleagues in the male-dominated profession to welcome in more women and transition away from a masculine, autocratic leadership style.