What It Takes – Stephen Schwarzman
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Rating: 4/5
Book Summary: What It Takes – Stephen Schwarzman
Date Consumed: May 2022
You Should Read If: you want to see what it takes to continuously push for more in the pursuit of business excellence.
ISBN: 978-1501158148
The Book in Three Thoughts:
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This book distills a lifetime of lessons learned in building Blackstone, one of the most successful investment companies in our recent history.
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It is organized into chapters that follow 25 life rules from Schwarzman. There were some extremely helpful principles to live and operate by through these 25 life rules.
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Although there was lots of sound advice, at points, the book did drag on and lacked the storytelling and emotional impact that other books (like Shoe dog) had.
Key Takeaways
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Everything will be more complex than imagined, and pursuing something big will be almost as difficult as something small. Therefore we should always make sure our pursuits have a large enough potential upside to make our effort worth it.
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No matter how difficult a situation is, never deviate from doing what is right. Our integrity must be unquestionable. If we are honest and stay true to our word, we will build a positive reputation that will follow us everywhere.
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Never become complacent. Nothing last forever, and if we assume that we are on top and are the best, then it is only a matter of time until someone finds our weakness and exploits it. We should try our best to improve continuously, both personally and in business.
What I Am Going to Implement
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Extend my time horizon. So much success comes from staying in the game long enough to seize the few opportunities that matter exponentially more than the rest. If I think in time scales of years to decades instead of months, my choices change from small immediate wins to significant life-changing wins.
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Continuously learn and level up my skills and knowledge. This will come from courses, books, mentors, and most importantly, taking action.
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Be bold. When an opportunity inside my area of influence has massive upside and yet seems very difficult to solve, I need to take action while everyone else is frozen.
Top 3 Excerpts
Excerpt 1
Success comes down to rare moments of opportunity. Be open, alert, and ready to seize them. Gather the right people and resources; then commit. If you’re not prepared to apply that kind of effort, either the opportunity isn’t as compelling as you think or you are not the right person to pursue it.
Excerpt 2
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.
Excerpt 3
Information is the most important asset in business. The more you know, the more perspectives you have, and the more likely you are to spot patterns and anomalies before your competition. So always be open to new inputs, whether they are people, experiences, or knowledge
