I wish I had read this book just two years ago, not earlier or later. Nevertheless, it's never too late. It's practically a PE 101 book. If you're interested in smart investments and amazing companies and are on the lookout for super-talented people, you can learn a great deal from BlackStone's legendary founder, Stephen Schwarzman.
- I’ve always believed that it’s just as hard to achieve big goals as it is small ones. The only difference is that bigger goals have much more significant consequences. Since you can tackle only one personally defining effort at a time, it’s important to pursue a goal that is truly worthy of the focus it will require to ensure its success.
- Every entrepreneur knows the feeling: that moment of despair when the only thing you are aware of is the giant gap between where you find yourself and the life and business you imagine. Once you succeed, people see only the success. If you fail, they see only the failure.
- Blackstone is a remarkable success because of our culture. We believe in meritocracy and excellence, openness and integrity. And we work hard to hire only people who share those beliefs. We are fixated on managing risk and never losing money. We are strong believers in innovation and growth—constantly asking questions in order to anticipate events so that we can evolve and change before we are forced to.
- For me, the greatest rewards in life have come from creating something new, unexpected, and impactful. I am constantly in pursuit of excellence. When people ask me how I succeed, my basic answer is always the same: I see a unique opportunity, and I go for it with everything I have. And I never give up.
- Today, I understand. You can learn to be a manager. You can even learn to be a leader. But you can’t learn to be an entrepreneur.
- Being a strong and accurate assessor of talent is perhaps one of the most critical skills required of any entrepreneur.
- The most important asset in business is information. The more you know, the more perspectives you have and the more connections you can make, which allow you to anticipate issues.
- There are no patents in finance. A good business with high profits today can be a poor business with low profits tomorrow. Because of competition and disruption, if all you rely on is a single line of business, your organization may not survive. We have assembled an extraordinary team at Blackstone, driven by a common mission to be the best in the world at whatever we choose to do. With a benchmark like that, it’s always easy to measure where we stand.
- There is nothing more interesting to people than their own problems. If you can find out what they are and come up with solutions, they will want to talk to you no matter their rank or status.
- Sales rarely get made on the first pitch. Just because you believe in something doesn’t mean everyone else will. You need to be able to sell your vision with conviction over and over again. Most people don’t like change, so you need to be able to convince them why they should accept it. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want.
Bonus Highlight: Hire 10s whenever you can. They are proactive about sensing problems, designing solutions, and taking a business in new directions. They also attract and hire other 10s. You can always build something around a 10.
And remember, your comments and book recommendations are always welcome in the comments below.????????
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