Mr. Meyer

"When at last Mr. Meyer spoke, I learned I was wrong. I was not dismissed. Instead, he offered me the opportunity to go to Europe as part of a training program. “I realize you have other interests than finance,” Mr. Meyer said. Nevertheless, he suggested that I go work at several European firms associated with Lazard to learn the basics of the business. “When you return, then you can decide what you want to do in your life.”"

"I had escaped a career-ending disaster to learn, instead, an important lesson: if a deal seems too good to be true, it is. It is often more prudent to walk away from seemingly glittering opportunities than to chase after them. As Mr. Meyer would lecture, a small profit is still a profit."

"We were committed to running the firm as Mr. Meyer had shaped it—private, high-quality deals; low overhead; the David-Weill family and the heirs of André Meyer still maintaining their controlling interest. But to provide greater stability and balance, we decided the firm needed an asset management business to serve the needs of institutional investors. (This franchise within the firm now manages $1356 billion.) To help us continue to be aggressive, to regain our market share, and to attract able young people, we decided to hire more investment bankers. And we also realized we needed to weed out a number of people who had for some time not been productive. To accomplish all this, we moved rapidly, and rather ruthlessly."