Quote
of
the
day
by
Michael
Bloombe g.
I
a
p ofessio al
wo ld
caught
betwee
wo ki g
sma t
a d
wo ki g
ha d,
Michael
Bloombe g
always
mai tai ed
that
he
favo ed
ha d
wo k
because
he
was
o
ge ius.
Today,
this
sta ds
as
a
co t ove sial
piece
of
advice,
but
it
emai s
the
co e
p i ciple
that
sustai ed
his
busi ess
ca ee
a d
his
time
i
public
office.
Whe
he
made
his
famous
stateme t
at
a
TechC u ch
eve t
i
2011,
he
was
ot
just
a
billio ai e
CEO;
he
was
actively
se vi g
as
the
mayo
of
New
Yo k
City.
“I’m
ot
sma te
tha
a ybody
else,
but
I
ca
outwo k
you,”
he
said,
c editi g
this
exact
mi dset
fo
taki g
him
f om
a
low-level
desk
job
o
Wall
St eet
to
fou di g
a
global
fi a cial
media
compa y
a d
se vi g
th ee
te ms
as
NYC
mayo .
Who
is
Michael
Bloombe g?
Bloombe g’s
belief
i
ha d
wo k
sta ted
i
the
late
1960s
at
the
Wall
St eet
i vestme t
ba k
Salomo
B othe s.
Whe
he
a ived,
the
compa y
was
full
of
sma t
g aduates
f om
famous
Ivy
League
schools.
Bloombe g
k ew
his
g ades
we e
ave age
a d
that
he
could
ot
beat
these
people
o
aw
i tellect
alo e.
He
ealized
that
the
o ly
thi g
he
could
co t ol
was
how
ma y
hou s
he
put
i
eve y
day.
He
decided
to
a ive
at
the
office
befo e
eve yo e
else
a d
stay
lo g
afte
eve yo e
had
go e
home.I
those
days,
the
head
of
the
fi m
a d
the
top
pa t e s
a ived
at
six
i
the
mo i g.
Si ce
Bloombe g
was
al eady
at
his
desk,
he
was
the
o ly
pe so
a ou d
to
buy
them
coffee,
ha d
ove
t ade
pape s,
o
take
o
ext a
cho es.
That
ea ly
a ival
gave
him
di ect
access
to
the
most
powe ful
people
i
the
compa y.
By
the
time
the
est
of
the
staff
walked
i
at
eight
i
the
mo i g,
Bloombe g
had
al eady
spe t
two
hou s
talki g
with
the
bosses
a d
lea i g
how
the
busi ess
a .
He
used
that
exact
same
outi e
fo
yea s,
outwo ki g
his
pee s
u til
he
became
a
pa t e
at
the
fi m.
Fi ed
f om
Salomo
B othe s
whe
he
was
39
Despite
his
ha d
wo k,
Bloombe g
was
fi ed
f om
Salomo
B othe s
at
age
thi ty- i e
i
1981.
But
he
did
ot
complai
o
take
a
b eak.
He
took
his
seve a ce
mo ey,
bought
a
few
compute s,
a d
sta ted
his
ow
busi ess
selli g
fi a cial
i fo matio
to
Wall
St eet
ba ks.
The
ma ket
was
al eady
domi ated
by
big,
established
compa ies,
but
Bloombe g
applied
his
usual
st ategy.
He
wo ked
seve
days
a
week,
made
sales
calls
himself,
a d
spe t
e dless
hou s
efi i g
his
p oducts.
His
fi m
g ew
i to
a
multi-billio -dolla
global
compa y,
Bloombe g
L.P.,
simply
because
he
efused
to
slow
dow
o
let
competito s
catch
up
to
him.
Do ‘t
take
vacatio :
Bloombe g’s
co t ove sial
ca ee
advice
“I
always
t ied
to
be
the
fi st
pe so
i
the
office
i
the
mo i g
a d
the
last
o e
to
leave
at
ight,
a d
I
took
as
little
vacatio
as
possible,”
Bloombe g
explai ed
whe
desc ibi g
how
he
built
his
edge.
Du i g
his
ea ly
days
at
Salomo
B othe s,
stayi g
late
was
how
he
built
elatio ships
with
decisio -make s:
“If
[the
pa t e ]
eeded
to
bo ow
a
match…
if
he
wa ted
to
ask
somethi g
about
a
ewspape
o
a
stock,
he
came
ove
a d
so
we
became
buddies.””You
ca ‘t
co t ol
that
you’ e
the
sma test
guy.
The e’ll
always
be
somebody
sma te .
But
if
you’ e
the e,
the
you
abso b
thi gs.
You
put
thi gs
togethe
i
ways
that
if
you
did ‘t
have
all
that
expe ie ce…””Readi g
a
book
o
skii g
does ‘t
teach
you
how
to
ski.
You
got
to
go
a d
you
got
to
ski
a d
get
lots
of
miles
u de
you
skis.
A d
i cide tally,
if
you
do ‘t
fall,
you’ e
ot
skii g
ha d
e ough
a d
you’ e
ot
lea i g
a ythi g.””You
got
to
be
sma t
e ough
to
say,
‘Hey,
I
t ied
it.
Do ‘t
let
you
ego
get
i
the
way.
I
ca ‘t
keep
doi g
this.
I’ve
got
to
ea
a
livi g,
but
a
yea
f om
ow,
I’m
goi g
to
come
up
with
a
bette
idea
a d
the
I’ll
go
back
a d
do
it
agai .'””The e’s
eve
bee
a
day
that
I
have ‘t
looked
fo wa d
to
goi g
i to
wo k.
Eve
the
days
I
k ew
I
was
goi g
to
get
beate
up.
Eve
the
day
I
k ew
I
was
goi g
to
get
fi ed.
I’d
eve
bee
fi ed
befo e.
I
wo de
what
it’s
like.
Okay,
let’s
go
fi d
out.”
I spi i g
take
but
co t ove sial
today
That
advice
u s
di ectly
agai st
what
most
mode
wo kplace
expe ts
teach
today.
C itics
a gue
that
telli g
employees
to
avoid
vacatio s
is
a
fast
t ack
to
physical
exhaustio ,
me tal
health
p oblems,
a d
seve e
bu out.
They
poi t
out
that
wo ki g
e dlessly
does
ot
mea
you
a e
doi g
good
wo k,
because
ti ed
people
make
mistakes
a d
lose
c eative
thi ki g
powe .
I
a
mode
co po ate
wo ld
that
values
me tal
health,
flexible
wo k
optio s,
a d
pe so al
well-bei g,
Bloombe g’s
views
sou d
ha sh,
outdated,
a d
u easo able
to
ma y
wo ke s.But
Bloombe g
made
it
clea
that
he
does
ot
ca e
about
those
complai ts.
He
does
ot
view
wo k
as
somethi g
that
should
be
easy
o
comfo table.
To
him,
the
co po ate
wo ld
is
a
tough
a e a
whe e
o ly
the
most
dedicated
people
each
the
top.
He
ofte
says
that
if
you
ge ui ely
e joy
you
ca ee ,
you
will
ot
feel
a
st o g
eed
to
take
a
b eak
f om
it.
He
also
advises
ma age s
to
give
impo ta t
assig me ts
to
the
busiest,
most
ove wo ked
people
i
the
buildi g,
because
he
believes
busy
people
a e
the
o ly
o es
who
k ow
how
to
ma age
time
efficie tly
a d
get
thi gs
do e.The e
is
a
clea
ho esty
to
Bloombe g’s
pe spective,
eve
if
ma y
people
dislike
it.
He
does
ot
p ete d
that
buildi g
massive
wealth
a d
powe
is
easy,
o
does
he
p ete d
you
ca
achieve
g eat
thi gs
while
mai tai i g
a
bala ced
life.
He
p ese ts
a
ve y
clea
choice:
if
you
wa t
o di a y
esults,
you
ca
wo k
o di a y
hou s,
but
if
you
wa t
ext ao di a y
success,
you
have
to
sac ifice
you
time,
comfo t,
a d
pe so al
life.
Whethe
you
view
his
ideas
as
a
solid
guide
to
wi i g
o
a
da ge ous
ecipe
fo
bu out,
his
life
p oves
o e
fu dame tal
poi t.
I
his
wo ld,
showi g
up
ea ly
a d
stayi g
late
matte s
fa
mo e
tha
bei g
the
sma test
pe so
i
the
oom.
