Jamie Dimons Inspirations
Posted by rfn2004 on June 30, 2009
JPMorgan Chase chairman Jamie Dimons life could be straight out of a Jeffrey Archer novelhe was hired out of Harvard B-school by a billionaire who became like a father to him before they parted ways; he went from being heir-apparent at the worlds largest financial services company to working at a smaller, struggling bank; a few years later, he returned from Chicago to New York in a blaze of glory and now heads Americas largest and most influential bank (with assets of about $2.3 trillion). Today, he is arguably the worlds most powerful banker (at least in the private sector). Its an empowering tale in an era of job losses.
Dimons dramatic falling out with Sandy Weill has passed into financial folklore. The two men had worked closely together for about 15 years before they took over Citigroup. Dimon was widely seen as Weills successor at Citi, but in 1998, Weill fired Dimon (speculation has it that Dimon passed Weills daughter over for a promotion).
When TOI met Dimon in Mumbai, we couldnt resist asking him about that episode. Sandy told me you have to resign. So, I said OK . I called my wife and told her, I have to tell you something, it isnt a joke. I was concerned about my three daughters, who were then 12, 10 and 8. I didnt want them to hear about it in school, or read it in the papers. I sat them down and said, Girls, I want you to know I resigned… I was fired.
The youngest one said, Dad, will we have to sleep on the streets now The middle one asked, Can I still go to college And the eldest said, Can I have your cellphone now, because you wont be needing it
After wed finished laughing , Dimon turned philosophical . It was my net worth that was involved there, not my self-worth . I remained the same person that I was the minute before, and I was determined that my values and behaviour wouldnt change. Of course, there were times when I was depressed. I would walk into a room and people would treat me like a leper. But often, while jogging in Central Park, Id be asked, Are you Jamie Dimon and when I said yes, theyd pat me on my back and say Yeah! as if I was Robin Hood.
Everyone has their ups and downs. Tell me one person you admire, not just in business, but in life, and youll find they had their share. Nelson Mandela walked out of prison after 27 years, magnanimous to his captors. You have to get up, brush yourself and move on.
Dimon moved on to Bank One in Chicago, turned it around, and merged it with JPMorgan in a deal that ended with him becoming chairman and CEO of JPMorgan. Then, in October 2006, he decided to pull out of sub-prime loans even as other banks bet huge amounts on them. The result: JPMorgan was the only bank with enough cash to acquire the ailing Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual when they were on the brink of collapse. Today, JPMorgan has surged far ahead of the crisis-ridden Citigroup. So, is revenge sweet
No, he said promptly. I still have a lot of friends there and what happened was so hard on people. I could play a sport with you and want to beat the hell out of you. But if you break a leg or have a heart attack, Ill take you to hospital. I truly want Citi to get better. Citis problems are bad for Citi, for the people there, for America, and not good for JPMorgan. Also, its a terrible mistake to measure yourself by someone else doing badly. I want us to grow for us. Like Mandela said, If you spend your life on revenge , then you are beholden to the prior people. You haven’t moved on, youre still responding to them.
Source- Times of India Mumbai.
