Sandy Weill is the guy who made Citigroup the largest financial institution in the world. According to this biography, he did this by buying on the cheap companies in trouble with good sales channels and customer bases, usually by stock exchange in a kind of merger. Then he cut costs by integrating the back office, streamlined operations and laid off staff, and had them cross-sell. Rinse and repeat.
He obviously was a great deal maker, and apparently a strong operational manager. He did not appreciate long term strategy like Sloan. I also can not shake the feeling that he uses his biography so settle scores and justify a considerable amount of shady dealings, treachery and backstabbing on his account. And if you take that away even after reading his own apologetic finger-pointing... Anyways he was a highly successful business man, so what is there to learn?
On goals: Never give in for despair. Dream big. Take risks. Build confidence by experiences of success.
On staying sharp: Worry perpetually about the future, and do not rest on past accomplishments. Don't get tripped up by clinging to a fixed vision of the future. Read and see changes in the environment early.
On dealing with failure: When you make mistakes, surface the errors in judgment, correct the mistake, and move on. Don't dwell on past mistakes or missed opportunities, except for learning lessons. Better ones may come along.
On personal productivity: Plan for the week ahead on Sunday evening. Recognize and play to your strengths.
On Acquisitions: They should do one or more of: consolidate business and generate savings on shared functions; add products and diversity enhancing the value offered to customers; add management talent. Only make acquisitions that do not dilute your rate on equity return. Move against the crowd, buy companies cheap on the bottom of their business cycle, cut costs.
On negotiations: avoid pushing for the absolute cheapest deal. Leave some room for the other side to feel good about the transaction, too. Best enter negotiations from a position of strength.
On costs: Keep costs under control during good times and keep a strong capital position to be flexible in bad times. One-time large investments are OK, but cost day-by-day must be kept low. Contain operating risks - manage day-to-day operations conservatively to have a steady base of recurring earnings. No frivolous spending. Don't use across the board pay cuts. Fire weak performers in lean times.
On execution: The CEO must focus on execution. Corporate culture, relations and vision are meaningless if you can't execute. Speed of action is a great competitive asset. If you want to be successful you need to understand the business. Develop healthy instincts by being well informed about company and competition. Act swiftly. Think independently. Move ahead right away once you make a decision. Formality and hierarchy slows decision making. Understand how operations work -- it helps you to leverage cost, integrate new acquisitions, cross sell products.
On strategy: Manage for continuous short term results, and the long term will take care of itself. Use reporting tools that give you real-time information on each businesses' key drivers, so you can identify anomalies early.
On alertness: Ask employees how they feel, and how we can do things better, HOW WE COULD RUN OUR COMPANY BETTER. Roam around, get to know people. Someone raising a problem should also volunteer a solution. Don't manage from a thirty-thousand feet. Walk the floor and drop in unannounced. Interact with employees and ask questions all the while. It helps you to learn about your business, and helps you to seize up people. Everybody should think on their feet and express what they believe.
Read voraciously and constantly probe others to learn about parts of the business. Know and understand your competitors. Develop personal relationships with others in the industry.
On people: Don't humor power struggles, they weaken the entire company. Effective leadership demands doing what's right and not simply placating executives.
On incentives: Align management objectives with company objectives by using strongly differentiated incentives. Push for employees to hold an equity stake in the company, and have top executives hold the vast bulk of their ownership as long as they work for the company. This provides incentives for everyone to work together for long term success. Develop skill in getting others to follow your lead: insist on informality, develop personal relationships, include spouses, so people have support from home as their partners can see what they work for and feel part of it.
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