What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence

In 1985, American businessman Stephen Schwarzman co-founded the global private equity firm Blackstone Group when he was 37 years old, which is around my age today. Now, Blackstone is the largest alternative investment firm in the world and manages over $1 trillion in assets.?

I initially read Schwarzman’s book “What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence” when it came out at the end of 2019. It was meaningful to me as I had just raised my first fund for CRG in 2018. At that point in time, we were expanding our business to regions in the Northeast and southern California. We were in the early stages of building CRG into what it is today.?

Reading Schwarzman’s book at that time was inspirational because it mirrored my own journey as an entrepreneur starting a company in a similar phase of life. His experiences in industries related to alternative investments, including real estate, resonated with me, providing insights and motivation.

Lessons Learned

Schwarzman gives sound advice for young people and entrepreneurs. “What It Takes” paints an intricate story of one of the greatest businesspeople of our time. Schwarzman was/is not only financially successful but also very philanthropic, having given away over a billion dollars of profit at the time of the book’s release. Ultimately, he is a real role model and built a renowned force of a company that I still look up to today.?

Now, almost six years later, I'm rereading the book and seeing the world with new eyes. I have often leveraged Schwarzman’s advice and methods, especially in building a team of 10s, remaining focused on macro trends we believe in, and executing our real estate strategy at CRG.?

As I look to the future, Schwarzman is also helping me identify what the next step of development and improvement will be. Some of his key principles that I found most rewarding and valid include:

• The importance of meritocracy: Structure your culture so that people are rewarded for doing excellent work and feel supported to do so.?

• Openness and integrity: To cultivate long-term sustainability, foster trust, encourage transparent communication, and build strong relationships with stakeholders.
• Managing risk and never losing money: Learn how to best preserve capital, support stability, and allow for reinvestment opportunities that drive expansion and innovation.

Key Reflections?

These categories are influential and offer a compelling cultural philosophy. Schwarzman and his team had a mission to be the best in the world at whatever they desired and then fulfilled it through authenticity and reinvention. As we at CRG navigate the industrial real estate business, I have learned that you can't be great at something if you're doing it as a hobby.

I believe that a key part our success is CRG’s mission and vision to be large-scale national players in whatever asset class we pursue. Whenever we take on a new sector, we aim for a minimum of $1 billion of annual revenue for each asset class. The pursuit of that vision helps us recruit and attract the best talent and it gives our team something to be excited about every day.?

Consequently, this led to us opening various regional offices and creating a national platform. Having that clear vision helped attract the best talent and led to the growth we envisioned and worked towards. However, if we didn't follow Schwarzman’s advice to set a high bar of expectations and standards to be the best, we may have faltered along the way. The same goes for his recognition that it's as easy to do something big as it is small and the importance of making decisions when you're ready.

Schwarzman's unique perspective on surviving and thriving as a business has helped him successfully maneuver financial crises and hardships and given him the necessary knowledge for managing risks and being adaptable.

“What It Takes” is a comprehensive guide to outstanding triumph written by one of the most significant and successful businesspeople of all time. Schwarzman gives too many valuable pieces of advice to name, from how essential it is to “hire 10s” on your team (who solve problems proactively, drive innovation, and make it rain!) to the importance of being authentic, reinventing yourself, embracing failure as your teacher, and doing what you can to help others accomplish their dreams.?

Driving Forward

CRG has extraordinary talent that leads us into a self-fulfilling prophecy of reaping great achievements. I find myself being reinspired for the next chapter of my life and career by pioneers like Schwarzman who are an example of the kind of positive impact we can have on the world.

The way he thinks outside of the box and challenges the status quo has given me food for thought on how to apply this mindset to CRG. I encourage everyone to read this great book, reflect on their own journeys, and evaluate what can bring their life and career to the next level. Through continuous improvement and the drive to never be complacent, anything is possible.?