My 2019 Book Challenge: "Bloomberg By Bloomberg" by Mike Bloomberg Book #2
My goal this year is to read one new book each week. The book for this week is not new to me, but it has been updated. Bloomberg by Bloomberg by Mike Bloomberg.
Amazon delivered the book to my apartment just this past Monday. Though I have other editions, I am really excited I paid the $20 for this edition, and the proceeds goes straight to the committee for the protection of journalists! I want to highlight a few of my favorite parts and things that stand out to me in the book and at the end I share how I first came to read it.
What makes this book so great?
Bloomberg by Bloomberg is the quintessential telling of the American dream. A guy from Medford, MA went to a good school, worked hard, studied hard, got into business school. He then went to work for a company and was very successful. When he got knocked down and was given a severance he saw a need, started his own company, and transformed the financial world. When he saw the city of New York needed leadership, he stepped up and transformed New York. When he saw a need for Public Health, he stepped forward. People are dying from traffic fatalities? He created a program to look at road safety. He needed news? He hired the best reporter from the Wall Street Journal to create it.
It is the story we all hope for ourselves and our children. It is inspiring because you see how one guy did it, but also makes you ask yourself what are areas of your work, be it in business, in public service, and in philanthropy that you could be like Mike. We may not all create a ground breaking terminal, but using Mike’s example, we can find a way to make the world a better place.
It Summarizes What I see Every Day
In chapter 8, Mike talks about his views on management. The importance of transparency and how it brings people together (p157). The importance of people trying and fail and being encouraged to try again. (p174). Even the mentorship and development of people that is imbued throughout the book. Mike says it plainly “The primary function of those at the top is the care and feeding of the company’s most valuable asset, its employees.” (P173) and how employees emulate the behavior of their managers. Every Bloomberg manager I have ever had – Dennis, Dave, Will, Sam, Ariel – and manager’s manager, - Angelo, Dave, Neil, Don, Beth, Domenic, Josh, and Arielle, manifest Bloomberg values in their approach, their support and their determination to make our products better.
The “We’re all the same team approach.” It’s funny, when I talk to my colleagues who are still in academia it amazes me to hear the use of titles for everyone. “The assistant to the associate vice provost for enrollment management” or “The Assistant Vice President for Academic Excellence.” Yet, at Bloomberg, Mike is Mike, Peter is Peter, Josh is Josh and so on and so forth. Why? Mike recounts his first meeting with Billy Salomon and how then Billy was Billy and Mike was Mike (P17) and how much more productive people became when Mike eliminated titles in his computer group at Salomon Brothers (P145). It does make one wonder why other companies still retain titles when Mike has shown they impede progress.
There’s also discussion of the amazing HR policies that Mike has set about to create. From the ideal of 18 weeks of parental leave, ensuring equal gender representation, to putting people front and forward within the organization are valuable lessons for any manager.
The physical space that Mike talks on page 157 about how offices are in the best parts of town is another key area. Every Bloomberg LP office is an amazing sight to behold. I love 1101 K Street for its funky ceiling, natural light, and “Jedi light sabers” from the ceiling. 1101NY for its first amendment around the floor and poetry on the walls, 120 Park for its breathtaking fish tanks and neat pantry, Boston’s epic views of the Charles, to the excitement and energy of 731 Lex. Someday I hope to be able to see the London office, perhaps even work for our Global Data Division there. In the meantime Mike’s description of it on pages 158-159 is simply incredible.
Lean and Agile
Lean and Agile are en vogue computer development things today. “Minimally viable product.” Focus on working code. Yet, when you read about the early work of Mike, Duncan MacMillan, Chuck Zegar, and Tom Secunda, and how they set about creating the terminal, you see how really Mike Bloomberg created those concepts and ideals. He talked once about how someone can always promise you the next big thing it’s a far off dream, while what works today is what is needed.
Philanthropy
I relish the philanthropic work that Mike has engaged in. Reading his early days as a Boy Scout, or reciting Longfellow’s poem, to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Publiccolor, Beyond Coal, to his groundbreaking views on philanthropy now and the work that Bloomberg Philanthropies does makes for an inspiring read.
In addition, page 233 has a series of numbers I am really proud of in 2017:
- Bloomberg colleagues prepared or served 1.8M meals for the less fortunate
- Bloomberg colleagues planted 73,059 trees
- Bloomberg assembled 1,521 bikes
Why am I proud of those? Because I know some of the people who helped make that happen (and if I was a little faster with the Allen wrench at Citi field, it may have been 1,523 bikes). I also know people who have benefited from those programs at Martha’s Table, N Street Village, DC Central Kitchen, as well as programs at the Anacostia Watershed.
There is also some great advice that Mike gives. “Giving now, rather than after you die, also allows you to share the satisfaction with others by giving in their names.” (P234). He shares how he created several programs and endowments in honor of his parents and the values they passed on to him. (p235). I know this is great advice because I followed it. I read that back in 2011 and it made me really think about my own giving. When I received my first Bloomberg bonus in 2012, I spoke with the Rockefeller College Development staff, and used the bonus money as a down payment on the Mary & Peter J. Brusoe Washington Semester Scholarship Fund. When my parents found out, mom was in tears. Mike will probably never meet the 7 (soon to be 8!) students who were helped by his advice and bonus money from the company.
My History With This Book:
This is not the first time I have read this book. I first read the 2001 edition on May 2, 2011. I had just finished my new employee orientation at 731 Lexington Avenue, and they had given us the book in addition to information about their <B>Green program, their Best of Bloomberg Program, handy tips for the terminal. After a marathon day, I hopped a train to Princeton for my orientation at our Global Data office. Getting off of NJ Transit, I checked into my room and decided I needed a shower and then would get my rental car and go find dinner. By the time I got down to the rental car desk it was closed and there was nowhere to go sans car. So I wound up ordering a pizza and cracked open the book to learn more about the company and man for whom I was working. I was expecting to just put it to the side after a few chapters, but spent the entire night reading it. Every year since then I make a point of re-reading it close to my one year anniversary with Bloomberg, LP Each year I find something else slightly different, or important. The updated edition is even more insightful because it covers public service, and addresses how Bloomberg has evolved since the writing of the last book. One time, Mike was in the K street office and I managed to have him autograph a 2001 edition. With luck, maybe I can get 2019 autographed as well.
In closing:
Go read this book. You’ll be glad you did, it really does give you an idea of who Mike is as a person and as a leader, and the values that any Bloomberg enterprise thrives on. As Mike says, he loves Monday. Having finished this book, I cannot wait to get to work on Monday and make our clients’ day!
You can order it via amazon here: