Jamie Dimon offered some words of wisdom and advice to members of the Harvard Business School MBA class of 2009 at Class Day this spring. Below are some notes and also the full video recording.
- Importance of lifelong learning and building a reputation - a personal brand - for hard work, integrity and trust.
- A book about each of us is put together as we go through life, and "you can chose the way you want the book to be written."
- Emotional intelligence is as important as brain power because "I.Q. alone won't get you through tough times." A dose of toughness is required as Dimon proposed. People in positions are bound to take some heat along life's way, he quoted Teddy Roosevelt's observation that players are the people who get criticized, not the spectators in the stands.
- Leaders need self-discipline, a work ethic and dedication to continuous improvement.
- Have fortitude and a penchant for action.
- Set high standards of performance. "Compare yourself to the best," he advised, "and treat other people the way you treat your parents. Do the right thing, not the expedient thing."
- Take a hard and honest look at all the facts including "things we're not doing well."
- Willingness to share information with others and us it as the basis for making the right decision. For that to happen, everyone a leader works with should feel free to engage in open, uninhibited conversations and discussions. "Have many truth tellers around you, not just one."
- Respect for everyone at every level and a sense of humility based on the acknowledgement that no one rises to a leadership position without the help of others, beginning with one's parents.
- Have a feel of the firm's morale as organization bureaucracy and politics can cause severe damage.
- Leaders should be able to adjust for the fact that a person tried but ended up being wrong.
- He said, "I shouldn't have to bride you to join us."
- Success is not given. "All good deeds are predicated on the fact that my colleagues and I keep JP Morgan healthy and vibrant."
3 comments:
I think a lot of those maxims can be summed up by, "don't be so competitive that you wind up with emotional or cognitive tunnel vision." I wonder how many of the grads will see Mr. Dimon's advice as meaningful, rather than as something that comes from Mr. Dimon.
Haha, Daniel, actually I think who or where any advice is given, it is up to the individual to make sense out of it, or if it sounds logical to the individual.
For example, even if Mr. Buffett gave the advice of buying with a margin of safety, I'm sure not all people agree with him but it works well at least for me.
So ultimately, for people who think they can make sense out of advices from whoever they listen to and make it work out, then I guess it proves they follow the right path.
Well, what i meant is everyone have a choice and surely, never follow an advice just because it came from someone they know or feel familiar with but to follow only if it makes sense to the person and can understand the true meaning behind the advice.
I don't thing the banksters have anything of value to add to the conversation.
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