Michael R. Bloomberg

"we don't resist multiple cross-product responsibility. We don't have problems blending short-term performance with long-term growth and development. And so far, we're not obsolete because the difference between those timid, failing companies and Bloomberg is people-from top to bottom."

"we do have to face the issue of someone who just can't do the job. Very seldom do we have the stomach for the process. But that's what management's all about. What are we doing with the bottom 10 percent? Do we as managers have a plan to improve those employees' productivity? Are there better places for them in our company? Have we sat with them and attempted to address their problems, improve their attitudes, provide counseling, discover personal problems we can help with, retrain them? And if nothing works, after all that, while we're doing well and can afford to be generous, no matter how distasteful facing the inevitable may be, have we exercised our responsibility to upgrade our staff? Management's obligation is to all of us in the organization. We sink or swim together, and when someone's not carrying his or her weight, everyone in the company suffers. It's painful, but nature is filled with examples of extinct species that didn't improve the breed. We don't want to be one of them."

"Woody Allen once said that 80 percent of life is just showing up. I believe that. You can never have complete mastery over your existence. You can't choose the advantages you start out with, and you certainly can't pick your genetic intelligence level. But you can control how hard you work."

"If you have to compete based on capital, the giant always wins. If you can compete based on smarts, flexibility, and willingness to give more for less, then small companies like Bloomberg clearly have an advantage."

""We've got the best people in the world working here. All of them think they walk on water. All of them are workaholics. Once they come, they stay for the rest of their lives because they love it. They've built the better mousetrap. They're doing somethingimportant. Giving the little guy the information he needs to fight. Having fun. Staying ahead.""

"We think those that lasted were the companies with philosophies and management practices that were appropriate for the time, well articulated to employees and clients, and consistently applied. Through both good and bad periods, staying power, we believe, requires team leadership in a constant direction, one that the organization understands and accepts. The winners have this kind of leadership. We hope we do!"

""We're out of control!" I would shout, as each software bug surfaced. "We're going to be out of business if this continues!" (I still say the same things today.)"

"As an entrepreneur, I've learned to know what I don't know, get access to the people who do know, and then study hard."

"Think logically and dispassionately about what you'd like to do. Work out all steps of the process-the entire what, when, where, why, and how. Then, sit down after you are absolutely positive you know it cold, and write it out. There's an old saying, "If you can't write it, you don't know it." Try it. The first paragraph invariably stops you short. "Now why did we want this particular thing?" you'll find yourself asking. "Where did we think the resources would come from?" "And what makes us think others-the suppliers, the customers, the potential rivals-are going to cooperate?" On and on, you'll find yourself asking the most basic questions you hadn't focused on before taking pen to paper."

"Every significant advance I or my company has ever made has been evolutionary rather than revolutionary: small earned steps-not big lucky hits."

"Did I want to risk an embarrassing and costly failure? Absolutely. Happiness for me has always been the thrill of the unknown, trying something that everyone says can't be done, feeling that gnawing pit in my stomach that says "Danger ahead.""

"It still capitalized on our cross-branding policy of naming everything Bloomberg where recognition for any one product spills over onto all others."

""You do what's right for your project and don't worry about the rest of the relationship," John said. "Each decision has to stand on its own.""

"As you discover you don't know it all, force yourself to address the things you forgot, ignored, underestimated, or glossed over. Write them out for a doubting stranger who doesn't come with unquestioned confidence in the project's utility-and who, unlike your spouse, parent, sibling, or child, doesn't have a vested interest in keeping you happy. Make sure your written description follows, from beginning to end, in a logical, complete, doable path.Then tear up the paper."

"If you're going to succeed, you need a vision, one that's affordable, practical, and fills a customer need. Then, go for it. Don't worry too much about the details. Don't second-guess your creativity. Avoid overanalyzing the new project's potential. Most importantly, don't strategize about the long term too much."

"You don't know exactly what you're going to deliver. You can't predict in what order things will be done. You have no real idea who will purchase it. Why bother gazing into the crystal ball? If you're flexible, you'll do it when it makes sense, not before."

"They all end the same way, before they start. Either they believe in me, trust me, and are willing to take the riskthat I will deliver success, or they don't. It's that simple. There's no haggling. I don't negotiate."