Stephen A. Schwarzmann, co-founder and former CEO of Blackstone–the investment firm that manages over $500 billion in assets–captured my attention in What It Takes when he figured out how to get Little Anthony and the Imperials to perform at his High School. This was 1963 and Schwarzman had no money. But, he devised a way to lure the group who sang “Tears On My Pillow” from Brooklyn to Philadelphia for an unforgettable event. This incident caused Schwarzman to conclude: “It’s as easy to do something big as it is to do something small, so reach for a fantasy worthy of your pursuit, with rewards commensurate to your effort.” (p. 351)

What makes What It Takes different from most books by billionaires, is that Schwarzman’s stories are mostly about his failures. He wants to get into Harvard, but they don’t accept him (perhaps because he was Jewish). Schwarzman ends up at Yale and immediately makes waves. Later, Schwarzman begins his career in the investment field and stumbles badly…and almost gets fired! This leads Schwarzman to conclude: “Failure is the best teacher in an organization. Talk about failures openly and objectively. Analyze what went wrong. You will learn new rules for decision making…and [be] more successful in the future.” (p. 354)

I’m impressed by Schwarzman’s philanthropy. He gave millions to MIT for a new Artificial Intelligence school. He gave $150 million to Oxford University. He set up Schwarzman’s Scholars (an updated version of Rhodes Scholarships) at Tsinghua University in China. Clearly, Schwarzman is a guy who wants to give back. I’m willing to bet you’ll find What It Takes as inspiring as I did! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Made, Not Born 1
Remove the Obstacles
Go Big 11
Everything Is Interconnected 31
Hold the Table: Advice on Interviews 53
The Best Way to Learn Is by Doing 57
All Deals Are Crises 67
Money Is a Poor Cure for a Bad Situation 75
Pursue Worthy Fantasies
The Harder the Problem, the More Limited the Competition 91
Call, Then Keep Calling 105
Go Where Others Aren’t 115
Don’t Miss the Can’t Miss Opportunities 125
Cycles: Investing Through Ups and Downs 143
There Are No Brave, Old People in Finance 147
Don’t Lose Money!!! Developing an Investment Process 157
Spinning the Wheel Faster 161
Seeing Around Corners
Expand 171
Ask for Help When You Need It 189
Entrepreneurship: No One Tells You About the Pain 199
Listen for Discordant Notes 203
Time Wounds All Deals 213
Load the Boat 221
Sprinting Downfield
Be a Friend to the Situation 239
Turn Crisis into Opportunity 263
Engage 283
Answer When Your Country Calls 305
Spin the Virtuous Cycle 325
A Mission to Be the Best 337
Epilogue 345
25 Rules for Work and Lite 351
Acknowledgments 355
Index 369