TY - BOOK AU - Schwarzman,Stephen A. TI - What it takes: lessons in the pursuit of excellence SN - 9781471193491 PY - 2019/// CY - London PB - Simon & Schuster KW - Blackstone Group KW - Biography KW - Chief executive officers KW - United States KW - Philanthropists KW - Securities industry KW - Management KW - BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY KW - Business KW - BUSINESS & ECONOMICS KW - Entrepreneurship KW - Finance KW - Wealth Management KW - Success in business N1 - Includes index; Made, not born -- Go big -- Everything is interconnected -- Hold the table: advice on interviews -- The best way to learn is by doing -- All deals are crises -- Money is a poor cure for a bad situation -- The harder the problem, the more limited the competition -- Call, then keep calling -- Go where others aren't -- Don't miss the can't miss opportunities -- Cycles: investing through ups and downs -- There are no brave, old people in finance -- Don't lose money!!! Developing an investment process -- Spinning the wheel faster -- Expand -- Ask for help when you need it -- Entrepreneurship: no one tells you about the pain -- Listen for discordant notes -- Time wounds all deals -- Load the boat -- Be a friend to the situation -- Turn crisis into opportunity -- Engage -- Answer when your country calls -- Spin the virtuous cycle -- A mission to be the best -- Epilogue -- 25 rules for work and life N2 - People know who Stephen Schwarzman is -- at least they think they do. He's the man who took $400,000 and co-founded Blackstone, the investment firm that manages over $500 billion (as of January 2019). He's the billionaire philanthropist who founded Schwarzman Scholars, this century's version of the Rhodes Scholarship, in China. But behind these achievements is a man who has spent his life learning and reflecting on what it takes to achieve excellence, make an impact, and live a life of consequence. Folding handkerchiefs in his father's linen shop, Schwarzman dreamed of a larger life, filled with purpose and adventure. His grades and athleticism got him into Yale. After starting his career in finance with a short stint at a financial firm called DLJ, Schwarzman began working at Lehman Brothers, where he ascended to run the mergers and acquisitions practice. He eventually partnered with his mentor and friend Pete Peterson to found Blackstone, vowing to create a new and different kind of financial institution. Schwarzman focused intensely on culture, hiring great talent, and establishing processes that allow the firm to systematically analyze and evaluate risk. Schwarzman's simple mantra "don't lose money" has helped Blackstone become a leading private equity and real estate investor, and manager of alternative assets for institutional investors globally. Schwarzman is also an active philanthropist, having given away more than a billion dollars. From deal making to investing, leadership to entrepreneurship, philanthropy to diplomacy, Schwarzman has lessons for how to think about ambition and scale, risk and opportunities, and how to achieve success through the relentless pursuit of excellence. Schwarzman not only offers readers a thoughtful reflection on all his own experiences, but in doing so provides a practical blueprint for success ER -