PRIME MOVERS
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Bruce Wasserstein

Strategic Concepts & Mechanics

Strategic PatternProcess of Bites, Not Grand Plans
Decision FrameworkCash Flow Over Earnings as Debt Survival Test
Relationship LeverageHighly Confident as Substitute for Actual Capital
Capital StrategyInterest Deductibility as Leveraged Assault Fuel
Competitive AdvantageNOL as Bidding War Nuclear Option
Signature MoveSpeed-of-Sale as Debt Survival Doctrine
Signature MoveLawyer as Deal Principal, Not Hired Gun
Signature MoveParis Apartment Discipline
Signature MoveAll Debt Disguised as Equity
Cornerstone MoveBuy the Whole, Sell Everything But the Crown Jewel
Cornerstone MoveBlind Pool Before the Target Exists
Cornerstone MoveBribe the Gatekeeper, Storm the Castle
Cornerstone MoveBankruptcy's Tax Corpse as Acquisition Weapon
Cornerstone MoveStress-Test Every Deal Three Rounds Deep
Decision FrameworkBig-Unique-Timely Startup Filter
Identity & Culture100 Percent Standard, Zero Tolerance
Strategic PatternOwnership Value Over Purchase Price
Signature MoveFill the Firm With 9s and 10s Only
Risk DoctrineMarket Top Recognition Signals
Signature MoveOwn the Asset, Not the Negotiation
Capital StrategyMake Investing Easy for Investors
Signature MoveEveryone Speaks, Only Criticism Allowed
Cornerstone MoveOnly Swing at Things Worthy of a Life
Signature MoveEach New Business Makes Every Business Smarter
Competitive AdvantageTax Arbitrage as Structural Weapon
Operating PrincipleProfessional Manager Decay Across Generations
Risk DoctrineNever Cut Back a Committed Deal
Signature MoveMilken: Four-Thirty AM Cathedral-Builder With No Office
Capital StrategyVenture Capital Masquerading as Debt
Signature MovePeltz: Spittle-on-the-Check Persistence from Near-Broke
Signature MovePerelman: Borrowed $1.9M to a Boeing 727 in Seven Years
Cornerstone MoveManufactured Credibility from Thin Air
Decision FrameworkContra-Thinking as Default Mental Operating System
Identity & CultureForced Savings as Loyalty Handcuffs
Cornerstone MoveCash Flow Over Earnings as the Only Truth
Cornerstone MoveBuy the Core, Sell the Pieces, Erase the Debt
Signature MoveKingsley: Mount Everest Desk, Twenty-Year Sounding Board
Signature MoveIcahn: Wrestling-a-Ghost Negotiation Until the Last Penny
Cornerstone MoveOwner's Equity as the Non-Negotiable Discipline
Strategic PatternProfitable Service Over Growth for Growth
Operating PrincipleIncorporating Problem Causers Into Solutions
Capital StrategyMoral Obligation Bond Innovation
Strategic PatternBear Hug Takeover Strategy
Signature MoveRelationship Banking Over Transaction Focus
Signature MoveGovernment Partnership During Business Crisis
Signature MoveTheater in High-Stakes Negotiations
Decision FrameworkSquare Pegs Into Round Holes
Signature MoveCrisis Action Before Complete Data

Primary Evidence

"At that 1982 session, Joseph and the others drew up a list of the people who were the stars of the M& A world. It included Martin Siegel of Kidder, Peabody; Eric Gleacher of Lehman Brothers; Bruce Wasserstein of First Boston; Felix Rohatyn of Lazard Frères; Ira Harris of Salomon Brothers—and lawyers too, like Martin Lipton of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz, and Joe Flom of Skadden, Arps, Meagher, Slate and Flom."

Source:The Predators' Ball

"Bruce Wasserstein,"

Source:What It Takes

"At that 1982 session, Joseph and the others drew up a list of the people who were the stars of the M&A world. It included Martin Siegel of Kidder, Peabody; Eric Gleacher of Lehman Brothers; Bruce Wasserstein of First Boston; Felix Rohatyn of Lazard Frères; Ira Harris of Salomon Brothers—and lawyers too, like Martin Lipton of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz, and Joe Flom of Skadden, Arps, Meagher, Slate and Flom."

Source:Predator's Ball

"Bob Greenhill of Morgan Stanley, the late Bruce Wasserstein of First Boston, the late Jim Glanville of Lehman Brothers, Marty Siegel of Kidder, Peabody—all would make celebrated, hard-driving deals, and fortunes for themselves and their firms."

Source:Dealings

Appears In Volumes

The Predators' BallWhat It TakesPredator's BallDealings