While it was nice to see Jonathan Schwartz's blog entry sharing his appreciation for outgoing Sun chief Scott McNealy earlier this week, it was even nicer to see the first-person piece by Tom Hanks in the New York Times Styles section.

In the essay, Hanks celebrates his long-time makeup man, Dan Striepeke. And the article is notable for several reasons:

• It's awesome to see someone who's so high profile thank a member of their support staff so publicly
• Hanks' comments on the importance of developing a posse -- not an entourage -- that follows you from project to project
• If you can, choose to work with only the best
• It's OK to make fun of flop projects

Who consistently helps you succeed? When was the last time you thanked them?

(For the record, I liked "That Thing You Do.")