American Airlines

Strategic Concepts & Mechanics

Risk DoctrineNo Cross-Pledging of Crown Jewels

Signature MoveDeals Hated, Strategy Loved

Signature MoveNever Run Out of Cheque-Writing Time

Relationship LeverageShare the Pie to Keep the Table

Strategic PatternEcho Bay Model Then Surpass It

Signature MoveKlosters Mountain as Strategic War Room

Identity & CultureRefugee Hunger as Permanent Engine

Cornerstone MoveWritten Memo Then Unanimous Sign-Off

Identity & CultureReturn to Canada Only With Success

Cornerstone MoveBuy Producing Assets at Cycle Bottom, Never Explore

Signature MoveTrust Mining Operators Then Stay Away

Operating PrincipleFocus as Compensation for Ordinary Talent

Cornerstone MoveBorrow Against the Asset to Buy the Asset

Decision FrameworkGeopolitical Disruption as Buy Signal

Strategic PatternScarcity Premium as Entry Signal

Signature MoveControl Without Majority Ownership

Signature MoveAct From Day One Instead of Planning How to Plan

Cornerstone MoveBreak Big Problems Into Small Executable Pieces

Decision FrameworkWrite It Out Then Tear Up the Paper

Competitive AdvantageCompete on Smarts Not Capital

Cornerstone MoveSell While Building Instead of Perfect-Then-Launch

Strategic PatternString Together Small Advances Not Lottery Jackpots

Signature MoveMake Yourself Indispensable Through Extra Hours and Skills

Strategic PatternCross-Branding Everything Bloomberg

Signature MoveChange When You Want To Not When Goaded

Risk DoctrineParanoid Competitor Vigilance

Operating PrincipleBottom Ten Percent Upgrade Responsibility

Signature MoveThrow Everyone Into Deep End and Watch Who Emerges

Primary Evidence

"Munk set about getting all the basic pieces assembled in a credible form. By the time we went out to raise the money, we had Project Planning Associates working on the Master Plan, we had the Foundation Company of Canada for the civil engineering, we had American Airlines with landing rights, and a deal for our first hotel. We had the Fijian government. Believe me, I needed all that. Because when I first went down to Wood Gundy, the investment house, to raise the $4 million, they could hardly contain themselves laughing. They thought that Peter Munk must have lost his mind because of the setbacks. The last time they heard of me I was being fired from Clairtone and facing all the insider-trading publicity, and then suddenly I reappear as a resort developer in Fiji!"

Source:The Golden Phoenix : A Biography of Peter Munk

""Sounds like this guy Bloomberg is doing to financial information what American Airlines and United Airlines electronic reservations systems have done to the travel business: become influential by getting everybody hooked onto their data. ""

Source:Bloomberg by Bloomberg

Appears In Volumes

The Golden Phoenix : A Biography of Peter Munk Bloomberg by Bloomberg