Five Lessons from JP Morgan Chase

Posted on June 30th, 2009 by Keith Ferrazzi
Jamie Dimon

Jamie Dimon

All over the country before the banking bust, there were people sitting in their desk chairs so tense and anxious – and painfully silent – they could have been holding pennies in their butt cheeks. Too bad. If we had a business culture that truly embraced candor and collaboration, things might not have built to a such crisis point.

Take JP Morgan Chase and CEO Jamie Dimon, one of few heroes in all this. Dimon is well known for his no-holds-barred leadership style that involves a lot of listening and sparring – along with total candor. Dimon himself has been called “outspoken, profane, fearless” – but is also known for relying on a “trusted team of talented lieutenants.”

A few broad lessons to take from the company:

1.    Don’t blindly follow the pack. The bank’s competitors were making bundles off of the subprime market. That didn’t stop Dimon and his crew from saying “uh-uh.”

2.    Don't forget the long view. Dimon saw that the long-term outlook of mortgage-backed securities was very, very risky.

3.    Create an environment where people feel free to say, “That’s $#%@ stupid!” Jamie Dimon recently told me that that was was their CFO’s immediate reaction to securitizing subprimes.

4.    Make fast and efficient information sharing a MUST. Dimon’s top crew are focused on gathering information from across divisions and businesses, and making sure it’s spread through the organization, quickly.

5.    Favor collaboration rather than rigid hierarchy. When Dimon needs information, he doesn’t pay attention to rank or title – he goes straight to the best source.

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4 Responses so far | Have Your Say!

  1. hey,Great blog post dude! i am Tired of using RSS feeds and do you use twitter?so i can follow you there:D.
    PS:Do you thought about putting video to this blog posts to keep the visitors more enjoyed?I think it works.Kind regards, Kathryn Loque

  2. This is really true. Businesses will sometimes aid you only because you were earnest and direct with them. Honesty is perpetually the healthiest choice. You may have preserved yourself the trouble by telling them before it was awaited.

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