Peterson's life is undoubtedly an example of the "American Dream". As the son of Greek immigrants, a young man with nothing but his own qualities, he showed amazing adaptability in his work, first jumping from the advertising industry to the unfamiliar film equipment manufacturing industry, and later turning to politics and serving as president. Economic advisor, Secretary of Commerce, and later entered the business world and blossomed on Wall Street, creating a business miracle. Let us follow his memories and see how he achieved these achievements step by step.

In 1943, young Peterson set out from his hometown town to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the process, he gradually realized that he was not cut out to be an engineer:

“I just knew I needed to find a field where I could apply my mathematical skills to interpersonal or business situations. , rather than wasting it on object structures and mechanical devices." Correspondingly, his outstanding ability to "observe words and colors" has also been demonstrated. For example, he has his own tips on how to get "good grades" in lectures:

"If you observe carefully, you will find that when people talk about their favorite topics, their movements will be particularly rich and their voices will also Full of passion. In other words, I not only listened to the surface meaning of the professor's teachings, but also listened to the implicit meaning of the lectures. The professor emphasized the paragraphs at that time, and then read these paragraphs carefully until they were memorized. Regardless of the questions on the test paper, I would try to write out the key points that aroused the professor's enthusiasm. In fact, I was nothing more than flattering them. I know it's a bit unkind, but these actions get me an A or A+ every time. The knowledge I learned in these classes not only helped me get on the honor roll, but also taught me to listen and observe others. It would play a huge role in my early career."

After graduation, Peterson worked briefly as a retail salesman before going into advertising. At the same time, he completed an evening MBA course at the University of Chicago Business School in his spare time, and one year after receiving his MBA degree, he became an associate professor of marketing at the school. Peterson believes: "I think the reason why the business school asked me to teach, in addition to my papers and good grades, is also because my work has attracted some people's attention. I am not satisfied with knowing certain knowledge. I like to bring I write down what I know and even teach it to others. Although I am only in my twenties, I have accumulated a lot of contacts, most of whom I have worked with during my research. This makes my world not limited to a small room. Chicago market research firm."

During this period, he was involved in persuading Eisenhower to run for president, and met Cha, the chairman and CEO of the photographic equipment manufacturing company Bellevue. Grams (Peterson participated in multiple economic and political organizations at various stages of his life, and these "amateur" activities also gave him great help in his career), they also have one thing in common: the University of Chicago Business School. Chuck also graduated from there and was a director of the business school. He had heard about Peterson's marketing courses at the college.

After being dissatisfied with the practices of the advertising company president where he worked, Peterson decided to leave the advertising industry, and Chuck also sent an invitation, so Peterson joined Bailey, who was in the manufacturing industry. Smart company.

At that time, the traditional photographic equipment manufacturing industry was gradually being hit by a double blow from Japanese companies and emerging electronic products. Although Bei Lingqiao under Peterson's leadership can strive to maintain annual profit growth and keep the stock price at a high level, in the long run, the decline of the core photographic equipment business and brutal competition from abroad are inevitable. This means that cost-saving measures or efficiency gains cannot sustain the company's growth and that other complementary areas must be developed and diversified.

Despite many efforts, Bellingham's decline actually continued, and Peterson chose to go to Washington to hold public office before the industry and company completely declined. Peterson was also more fair in his evaluation of his time at Bei Lingqiao. He concluded: "Just looking at the numbers, people might think that I achieved pretty good results in those eight years. During my tenure, the company's sales doubled. Doubling and quadrupling revenue, the reality is that the situation is much more complicated. I give myself an A in terms of efforts to push forward cost control; I maintain market share and profits by introducing new products in a context of rapid industry decline. , I also give myself an A in this aspect; but in terms of grasping the future of the company, I can only give myself a C. I failed to guide Bei Lingqiao into a future electronic world: cameras, video recorders, etc.”

During his time at Bellevue, Peterson gained first-hand experience in international economics and trade, as “just studying the competition from Japanese photographic equipment manufacturers gave me a clear understanding of international trade, exchange rates, and production regulations. . ”

During the same period, Peterson was elected to the Board of Governors of Brookings Institution, Washington’s oldest and most respected institution (another of his “amateur” activities), drawing on national and international contributions. From security policy to socio-economic policy, everything can be touched in this council.

This series of experiences may be the reason why the Nixon administration issued the invitation.

After joining Washington, Peterson successively served as the President's Economic Advisor and Secretary of Commerce, and went to the Soviet Union as an economic negotiator. However, political reasons caused him to be "purged" at the beginning of Nixon's second term. "Get out of the cabinet.

Peterson concluded: “Serving in the Nixon administration provided me with some unique experiences and some wonderful and lasting international friendships that prepared me for later opportunities in business and with large nonprofit organizations. Although the life in Washington was turbulent, if he had not stayed there for 30 months, his subsequent business and non-profit activities would not have been successful."

Special mention here. Also playing a large role in Blackstone's subsequent success was the good relationship formed between Peterson and Sony founder Akio Morita.

After returning from Washington, Peterson set his sights on Wall Street. The reason for choosing Wall Street, Peterson said: "At that time, I clearly realized that it was the investors and business owners who really made the big money. Not people like lawyers, consultants, and financial advisors who are paid hourly or project-based for their professional skills, knowledge, and muscle. Likewise, I knew I didn't want to devote my business energy to just one or two industries. Obviously, some units need people with extensive social connections like me."

"Although I have no working experience in the financial field, an old saying popular on Wall Street is: As long as you master second-grade mathematics, you can work in the field. Working on Wall Street. I think I have the ability to learn new knowledge quickly. Besides, there are many people on Wall Street who operate transactions such as dividends for convertible bonds. I have experience in corporate operations and many companies. Connections, and the international experience gained during his time in Washington." In Peterson's experience, getting one or more consultant positions was a piece of cake, but Peterson believes: "Although I You can be considered an expert in finance, corporate mergers and asset acquisitions. However, others may or may not adopt your suggestions. For me, if I want to truly gain wealth and truly bring myself satisfaction, I must do so. Own, build, and grow a business. Your daily decisions can build up the spirit and momentum of your business. You can watch your ideas become tangible and become reality. The tax rates vary greatly, so the risk of investing in the company is rewarded with tax exemptions."

Lehman was in crisis at this time, and the fighting among its internal factions made them need an "outsider." ” coordinated, and Peterson became their choice for the CEO position. After taking office, he took advantage of his own advantages to implement a series of reform measures, the most important of which was: "Expanding the company's mergers and acquisitions business seems to be the most promising measure to succeed, and I began to make more progress in this direction. Strength. It was difficult to lure clients away from its traditional securities underwriting banks, but I had good personal relationships with CEOs of many companies, and I think that relationship helped Lehman Brothers in its M&A As business areas develop, Lehman Brothers' role in this business is to advise and provide capital. At the same time, the company's operations will shift to areas of expertise and abandon businesses that are underperforming or require huge capital. I don't want to get involved. Areas where there is no advantage."

Peterson did successfully save Lehman from the crisis. When summarizing the reasons for his success at Lehman, Peterson said: "I have studied it carefully. Really powerful figures like Henry Kissinger and former World Bank President James Wolfensohn have been extremely successful in their consulting business with a large number of important clients. Part of that is certainly because the advice and advice they provide is extremely valuable, but I think another reason for their success is that they have held prominent civil service positions and gained a global reputation in those positions, which potential clients I'm very happy to be associated with people of Henry and Jim's stature and caliber. I do think I've made a difference with my time in government, my public service experience, and my work in the nonprofit sector. A certain amount of success, but I'm not enough to be called a miraculous person. I'm not going to pretend to have rock star status like Henry or Jim.

Speaking of high-level people, I would add here. One lesson I learned when developing new business at McCann: Potential clients are primarily concerned with their own careers and their own business problems. Before I plan to start a new business and visit a company, I usually do a lot of homework in advance. , and conduct focused research on the company's problems, and prepare various analysis reports and proposals in advance.

Some successful people who can move the world can make deals by playing golf, singing, and dancing. , they develop new businesses in their own unique charm and unique way. I concluded that this method is not my comparative advantage."

Lehman gradually entered a good situation, but after a few years, However, he was successfully "forced out" by Glucksmann, the co-CEO who later took over, and was forced to leave Lehman.

Shortly after leaving Lehman, Peterson co-founded Blackstone with Steve Schwarzman, a former Lehman employee.

Regarding the development direction of Blackstone, such as whether to make Blackstone a full-service enterprise and enter the fields of securities underwriting, stock research and securities trading. Peterson said: "Adam Smith believed that success in business consisted of focusing on what you did better than others. Or as he put it: exploiting your 'comparative advantage.' This advice has long made I have learned a lot. There is no shortage of high-quality, capable integrated services companies on Wall Street. If we try these businesses, we will face fierce competition from well-capitalized and professional service companies. More importantly, Steve and I are in these businesses. We are not experts in the field, and our capital is not sufficient. In this regard, we have only a 'comparative disadvantage'. We decided to follow Adam Smith's important words of wisdom."

After nearly two years. After a long period of hard work, Blackstone Group has gradually embarked on a development track. The "comparative advantage" they rely on is their own unique network of contacts.

The largest consulting client of Blackstone Group in its early days was Sony Corporation. Schwarzman knew Mitch Schulhoff, a senior executive at the company's U.S. headquarters, while Peterson had a long and close personal friendship with Sony founder and CEO Akio Morita during his time in politics in Washington. Represented by assisting Sony in acquiring Columbia, Blackstone’s early transactions enabled it to “grow gradually” in less than four years. By 1989, it had become a leader in the Japanese and American M&A industry.

Regarding the contribution of general trends in Blackstone’s early success, Peterson also said very frankly: “The investment conditions in the 1990s were so conducive to private equity funds that after shrewd calculations, It would have been too incompetent. In the 1990s, the economy continued to grow strongly. Low interest rates allowed companies to fund debt repayments, and competition among private equity funds was not nearly as fierce as it is today. It's very important to note that the P/E ratio rose dramatically in the early 1990s, when the average S&P 500 company earned 15.1 times its net earnings. By 1999, this multiple had doubled to 33.8. This means that without any business growth, we can sell the same company, but the price is almost twice what it was in 1990.”

Since then, Blackstone has expanded its business and entered the real estate industry. The means grew and grew, and was eventually successfully listed in 2007, making Peterson a true billionaire.

At this point, several stages of Peterson’s career have been explained.

Based on the book reviews from netizens, I use slightly harsh words to summarize Peterson’s career:

Peterson is undoubtedly successful personally. His career has been in various positions. Jumping between times, most of the time it can be said to be competent, but many times it can't be said to be outstanding. Judging from the roughest impression, he is better at being a happy prince when the trend is going well, and using his very brilliant resume and connections to find a new employer when the trend is going against him. When Bellington was in decline, he pointed out that the problem was with the ship. At Lehman, he took the credit for its development. If you interview the true voices of his partners, including Nixon and Peterson's successors in various companies, you may see more or less different evaluations. Leaders all say that certain progress has been made during my tenure, and certain achievements have been made. However, because the performance of decision-makers is inherently difficult to evaluate and quantify, it often depends on whether they lead others or are pushed by them. It's hard to tell. For example, there is something fishy about Peterson's performance at Lehman: If he really had outstanding achievements, why was he not recognized, so that the board of directors would eventually support his men's attempt to force him out of office?

Everyone has their own abilities, they just need a suitable position. It was only at the end of his career that Peterson found his area of ??expertise: dealmaking. He was good at communication, and although his political career was not entirely successful, the contacts he accumulated made Blackstone shine in his early years. The success of Blackstone in the early days relied heavily on its role as an intermediary between Japan and the United States. This was no different from the Hammer he despised when he was in the government. The same company/target could charge higher prices to the Japanese and act rogue ( At that time, the Japanese were the representatives of stupid people and rich people).

On the other hand, the life of a billionaire also has hardships that we ordinary people cannot understand.

According to Peterson’s description, during the Lehman period, he basically spent his days like this (do all billionaires seem to be like this?):

“In the morning, a few My colleagues and I took a special car all the way to the company, and they reported work or finalized plans to me in the car. After arriving at the office, I had breakfast with the client representatives of the potential projects at noon, and of course there was a business dinner later in the afternoon. , I may need to introduce a foreign leader to the members of the Council on Foreign Relations. Every day, I have to answer 25 to 30 phone calls, and I still have to make the same number of calls when I go to the dentist. Writing speeches and sometimes signing hundreds of letters to the executive chairs of the bipartisan Joint Budget Appeals Committee.

I attended not only 10 but 5 meetings in one day, not including various dinner meetings. There are several assistants working around me at high speed every day. On weekends, I also write articles for magazines and books for publishers. "

I'm afraid it's not enough to describe this kind of life!

In terms of family, due to being too immersed in work, he broke up with his two wives (Peterson is now Living with his third wife). According to Peterson's own description, his second wife "cuckolded" him for a long time before breaking up. However, foreigners may be more open-minded about this aspect. After the breakup, We are still good friends.

No matter how awesome your life is, there is always an unglamorous side, and most of the time, people will only show you the brightest side of their feathers.

In the final part of the book, Old Peter summarizes the seven life lessons he learned.

(This part is very good. It is recommended to read the original text. In fact, it is the same as this book. The original English name echoes: "The Education of an American Dreamer". The Chinese translation has to use the hot word "Black Stone", and it is impossible to see what it was translated from)

1. Give full play to your comparative advantages

Don’t be led by a job. Don’t just think it’s a high salary, good benefits, a good location, or a big office. Focus on whether your advantages can be reflected in your work. .

2. Don’t be lazy in your thinking.

Always think about the specific situation of your company, your industry, and the entire economic environment

For example, in the advertising industry, you don’t have to be called a genius to sit back and relax. You also have to think about what advertising is, what advertising can be, and what advertising should be.

3. The most important thing is investment. And try to take action

This means trying to improve or improve situations that I think are worth working on, and there is no point in trying to change things that I think need to be changed. < /p>

4. Choose your area of ??endeavor carefully based on your personal needs

Be loyal to your interests, invest in your passion, and let unexpected surprises follow you.

5. Be loyal to yourself. principles, your own heart, and your own moral standards

Say no when you should say "no"

6. Find a place that makes you healthy and happy in your career and personal life. The balance point

7. Choose long-term interests

As the old saying goes, look at the problem in the long term!

I don’t know what other autobiographical books are like. This book is more like a chronicle, which makes people feel uninspired when reading it. Judging from the reviews of autobiographies on the Internet, it is inevitable that the authors will say some good things for themselves and praise the people who have had a relationship with them. Therefore, it is difficult to be objective to a large extent in describing things.

However, Peterson is still relatively realistic in his evaluation of his life, which is reflected in his frank admission that there are many reasons for his success in his career. The element of luck.

Yes, how can such a smart, hard-working, communicative person who knows how to go with the flow not to be favored by luck?