Chapter 4: He worked the phones, and on Thursday, October 15, 1987, Blackstone wrapped up the fund at around $635 million, with some mop-up legal workChapter 4: He worked the phones, and on Thursday, October 15, 1987, Blackstone wrapped up the fund at around $635 million, with some mop-up legal work on Friday. The following Monday the U.S. stock markets nose-dived 23 percent. Black Monday // "We got in just under the wire," Schwarzman says. "It was probably the luckiest moment" in Blackstone's history
Chapter 5: USX wanted to sell more than 50 percent of the transport business to an outside party so that under accounting rules it could take the unit's debt off its books. However, it didn't want to give up too much control. More than half the railway's business came from other shippers, but U.S. Steel was almost wholly reliant on its subsidiary's train and barges // USX also lent Transtar $125 million in the form of bonds--a kind of IOU known in the trade as seller paper because it amounted to a loan by USX to help Blackstone finance the purchase // Of the dozen investments that Blackstone went on to make with its 1987 buyout fund, seven would be partnerships akin to Transtar
Chapter 15: At the time it looked like "probably a three-year opportunity," says Schwarzman. After that, more capital would flow into the industry, boosting competition, driving down premiums, and causing returns to fall back to historical levels. "We would not make an amazing return, by the nature of the industry, but you could make twenty-one or twenty-two or twenty-three percent return a year for a few years." Ultimately, Blackstone made a 30.2 percent annual return on Axis. Aspen might have matched that but it suffered big losses from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, so Blackstone ultimately earned only a 15 percent return // In another instance, Blackstone effectively provided financing for a public company to make an acquisition. There PMI Group, a bond insurer wanted to buy Financial Guaranty Insurance Company, a municipal bond insurer, from General Electric, but PMI's bond ratings were lower than FGIC's and an outright purchase would have jeopardized FGIC's ratings. To insulate FGIC's credit rating from its new parent's, Blackstone and Cypress Group, another private equity firm, stepped in and agreed to take 23 percent stakes each so that FGIC was not deemed to be a subsidiary of PMI
Chapter 16: If Blackstone could leverage a deal enough that it had little money at risk and the freak possibilities on the downside were few and the payoff from an unlikely event on the positive side of the ledger was huge--it was a cheap call option
Chapter 17: Blackstone needed about $850 million of cash to close the deal, but that would amount to 13 percent of Blackstone's new fund--far more than it was willing to risk on any single investment. Chu had assumed he would be able to bring in other buyout firms to take smaller stakes but soon found that he was alone in his conviction that the chemicals market was turning up. All six of the competitors he approached turned him down. "A lot of them thought the cycle would get worse before it got better and told us, 'You guys overpaid,'" Chu recounts. Ultimately he lined up $206 million from Blackstone investors, which invested directly in Celanese in addition to their investments through Blackstone's fund. Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, and Morgan Stanley, the lenders for the buyout, agreed to buy $200 million of preferred shares...more
192: You're nuttier than I am. One look at you and I have to laugh. Do you think that is sufficient ground for marriage?
As good as any. Better than lo192: You're nuttier than I am. One look at you and I have to laugh. Do you think that is sufficient ground for marriage?
As good as any. Better than love.
Love! What do you know about love?
I didn't say I knew anything about it.
193: Whenever I see through one of Sam's little schemes, I feel a sensation of warmth. Ah ha, think I to myself, it must have been in the world once--men and women wanting something badly and scheming away like beavers. But you--
Yes?
You're like me. So let us not deceive one another.
Her voice is steadier. Perhaps it is the gentle motion of the train with which we nod ever so slightly, yes, yes, yes.
She says: Can't you see that for us it is much too late for such ingenious little schemes?
As marrying?
The only way you could carry it off is as another one of your ingenious little researches. Admit it.
Then why not do it?
You remind me of a prisoner in the death house who takes a wry pleasure in doing things like registering to vote. Come to think of it, all your gaiety and good spirits have the same death house quality. No thanks. I've had enough of your death house pranks.
234: But I think I see a way. It seems to me that if we are together a great deal and you tell me the simplest things and not laugh at me--I beg you for pity's own sake never to laugh at me--tell me things like: Kate, it is all right for you to go down to the drugstore, and give me a kiss, then I will believe you. Will you do that?
Yes, I'll do that.
241: What if I don't make it?
Get off and walk home.
I've got to be sure about one thing
What?
I'm going to sit next to the window on the Lake side and put the cape jasmine in my lap?
That's right.
And you'll be thinking of me just that way?...more
p19: children whose vision has been damaged have been known to smash their fingers into their eyes to recreate color sensations that have been lost top19: children whose vision has been damaged have been known to smash their fingers into their eyes to recreate color sensations that have been lost to them
p20: keep in mind the effects of all the various surfaces, volumes, light-sources, films, expanses, degrees of solidity, solubility, temperature, elasticity, on color // fifteen days after we are born, we begin to discriminate between colors. For the rest of our lives, barring blunted or blinded sight, we find ourselves face-to-face with all these phenomena at once, and we call the whole shimmering mess “color.” You might even say that it is the business of the eye to make colored forms out of what is essentially shimmering. This is how we “get around” in the world. Some might also call it the source of our suffering // “we mainly suppose the experiential quality to be an intrinsic quality of the physical object”–this is the so-called systematic illusion of color. Perhaps it is also that of love. But I am not willing to go there–not just yet. I believed in you
p88: in watching her, sitting with her, weeping with her, touching her, and talking with her, I have seen the bright pith of her soul. I cannot tell you what it looks like, exactly, but I can say that I have seen it // Likewise, I can say that seeing it has made me a believer, though I cannot say what, or in what, exactly, I have come to believe // Imagine someone saying, “Our fundamental situation is joyful.” Now imagine believing it // Or forget belief: imagine feeling, even if for a moment, that it were true...more
I like this book. But I don't like it as much as I thought I would. Whereas power point journal feels natural to me (because I've done it), “if thr rI like this book. But I don't like it as much as I thought I would. Whereas power point journal feels natural to me (because I've done it), “if thr r childrn, thr mst b a fUtr, rt?” feels like someone is trying too hard. I think I would have liked it more if the book ended on the page that said: “The pause makes you think the song will end. And then the song isn't really over, so you're relieved. But then the song does actually end, because every song ends, obviously, and THAT. TIME. THE. END. IS. FOR. REAL.”
Followed by 30 pages of white space.
I mean, when I read the first chapter where Sasha was sure that Alex would barely remember her, I knew the last chapter would be about Alex trying to find her, although what he really needs is a piece of paper that says “I BELIEVE IN YOU”. I love the structure. I do. I think the last chapter is meant to be hopeful. Hence, “if thr r childrn, thr mst b a fUtr, rt?” But the tone is too dead, as if the writer has decided long ago that the past is better than the present.
I love the Stephanie chapter because this is the chapter that introduces Jules. “Sure, everything is ending,” Jules said, “but not yet.” But Stephanie herself is too annoying (e.g. “her suspicion that there isn’t anyone worth knowing”). Is the perspective of such a character worth writing from? Given the Proust quote at the start of the book, I would say the answer is NO. But maybe she is worth knowing because she introduces Jules.
I love the Jules chapter. As we all know, time is just a side effect of quantum entanglement. Real writers that employ physics metaphors annoy me. But fictional writers can do so freely. Especially if they plan to wave at their rape victim from a distance. Wave.
I love the Mindy chapter. Feels like an essay on Hemingway.
I thought Ask Me if I Care was pitch perfect.
I love the second last chapter. You can find the slides on the writer's website. Love. Love. Love.
Maybe I hate the last chapter because I love the second last chapter too much. Maybe power point journal seems TSEliotish to me because I do this myself. The second last slide is entitled the persistence of pauses over time. The fact that a power point journal can be poetic confirms that today is no worse than yesterday. It’s just different.
Maybe I don’t like this book as much as I thought I would because I was expecting TSEliot. The point of reading is probably not to assess whether something is as good as TSEliot. It’s just different.
T. S. Eliot’s Little Gidding Let me disclose the gifts reserved for age To set a crown upon your lifetime’s effort. First, the cold fricton of expiring sense Without enchantment, offering no promise But bitter tastelessness of shadow fruit As body and soul begin to fall asunder. Second, the conscious impotence of rage At human folly, and the laceration Of laughter at what ceases to amuse. And last, the rending pain of re-enactment Of all that you have done, and been; the shame Of things ill done and done to others’ harm Which once you took for exercise of virtue. Then fools’ approval stings, and honour stains. From wrong to wrong the exasperated spirit Proceeds, unless restored by that refining fire Where you must move in measure, like a dancer....more
And in a more subtle, perhaps unintentional meassure, regulators historically limited the amount of competition among banks, making a banking licenseAnd in a more subtle, perhaps unintentional meassure, regulators historically limited the amount of competition among banks, making a banking license a valuable thing in itself, possessed of a considerable "franchiase value"; licensees were loath to jeopardize this franchise calue by taking risks that could break the bank. But in the 1980s these restraints broke down in many places. Mainly the cause was dregulation. Traditional banks were safe, but also very conseravtive; arguably they failed to direct capital to its most productive uses. The cure, argued reformers, was both more freedom and more competition: let banks lend where they thought best, and allow more players to compete for public savings. Somehow reformers forgot that this world give banks more freedom to take bad risks and that by reducing their franchise value it would give them less incentive to avoid them.
It seems, in other words, that the Keynesian compact is a some-time thing. The common view among economists that floating rates are the best, if imperfect, solution to the internationl monetary trilemma was based on the experience of countries like Canada, Britain, and the United States. But during the 1990s a series of countries--Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea--discovered that they were subject to different rules. Again and again, attempt to engage in moderate devaluations led to a drastic collapse in confidence....more
Going behind someone's desk without being invited is another examples of invasion of space.
Work at getting the other person's arms open as quickly asGoing behind someone's desk without being invited is another examples of invasion of space.
Work at getting the other person's arms open as quickly as possible to affect an attitudinal change: extend your hand if you have not yet shaken hands; ask for a business card; offer your business card; etc.
Women tend to look a man in the eye when he is talking but not when they are talking to him.
Taking time to read cards to then commenting on any part of them shows other people that you are interested and want to learn more about them.
If you want the other person to have your card, ask for his/her card first.
Arrive early to meet organizers but don't launch into a long conversation; keep your eyes peeled for people who are alone and help them feel welcome; introduce contacts to each other with a sentence or two of information; pull people into conversations by reviewing what you were talking about and asking his/her opinion.
To remember names, repeat the person's first name several times during the first few minutes of the conversation; study the person's business card; repeat the name when ending the conversation.
Help others when they cannot remember your name....more
Almost everybody messes up during marital conflict. What matters is whether the repairs are successful.
Most marital arguments cannot be resolved. CoupAlmost everybody messes up during marital conflict. What matters is whether the repairs are successful.
Most marital arguments cannot be resolved. Couples spend year after year trying to change each other's mind but it can't be done.
Comical as it may sound, romance actually grows when a couple is in the supermarket and the wife says, "Are we out of bleach?" and the husband says, "I don't know. Let me go get some just in case," instead of shrugging apathetically. It grows when you know your spouse is having a bad day at work and you take sixty seconds out of your own workday to leave words of encouragement on his voice mail. It grows when your wife tells you one morning, "I had the worst nightmare last night," and you say, "I'm in a big hurry, but tell me about it now so we can talk about it tonight," instead of "I don't have time."
When you have a conflict, the key is to be willing to compromise. You do this by searching through your partner's request for something you can relinquish.
When choosing a long-term partner you will inevitably be choosing a particular set of unsolvable problems that you'll be grappling with for the next ten, twenty or fifty years.
When you let a child know that his or her feelings are okay to have, you are also communicating that the child himself or herself is acceptable even when sad or crabby or scared. This helps the child to feel good about himself or herself, which makes positive growth and change possible. The same if true for adults. In order to improve a marriage, we need to feel accepted by our spouse.
Softening the startup is crucial to resolving conflicts because discussions invariably end on the same note they begin. That's why 96 percent of time I can predict the fate of a conflict discussion in the thirst three minutes!
Partings. Make sure that before you say good-bye in the morning you've learned one thing that is happening in your spouse's life that day from lunch with the boss to a doctor's appointment to a scheduled phone call with an old friend.
Reunions. Be sure to engage in a stress-reducing conversation at the end of each workday.
Admiration and appreciation. Find some way every day to communicate genuine affection and appreciation toward your spouse.
Affection. Kiss, hold, grab, and touch each other during the time you're together. Make sure to kiss each other before going to sleep. Think of that kiss as a way to let go of any minor irritations that have built up over the day.
If you consider yourself inadequate, you are always on the lookout for what is not there in yourself and your partner. The problem is that we tend to focus on what's missing in our mate and overlook the fine qualities that are there we take those for granted.
One of the most meaningful gifts a parent can give a child is to admit his or her own mistake, to say, "I was wrong here" or "I'm sorry." This is so powerful because it also gives the child permission to make a mistake, to admit having messed up and still be okay. It builds in the forgiveness of self....more
The book reads like a evolutionary psychology version of Sex and the City. It uses Buss's Error Management Theory to explain why men overestimate inteThe book reads like a evolutionary psychology version of Sex and the City. It uses Buss's Error Management Theory to explain why men overestimate interest from women and women underestimate interest from men. Does this also explain why men tend to ask women out on dates, not the other way around? Other questions to ponder follows.
1. Did women become smaller than men to mature earlier, hence compete earlier, in a polygynous society?
2. In the US, the strongest predicator of remarriage is sex: men tend to get remarried and women do not. Hence, serial polygyny.
3. Diamonds are the perfect courtship gift because they are expensive and have no intrinsic value.
4. It is the wife's age, not the husband's age, that determines the timing of the husband's mid life crisis. Similar logic can be applied to spousal abuse.
5. While men tend to be single-minded about making money, women tent to place much more importance on the criterion that "the work is important and gives me a sense of accomplishment".
6. Sexual harassment surveys often ask women if they have experienced unwanted sexual advances at work, but do not ask if women have experienced wanted sexual advances.
7. On racial discrimination, as opposed to that based on sex and age: since encountering people of other races daily is a recent phenomenon, there cannot be innate categorization of race in our brain.
8. Pascal's wager: given that one cannot know for sure if God exists, it is rational to believe in God.
9. On the survival of the homosexual gene: because gay men in the past were forced to get married and have children....more
"I told you I was selfish, a long time ago," I said. "I promised you that I'd always act in what I thought was my own best interest, and I hoped you'd"I told you I was selfish, a long time ago," I said. "I promised you that I'd always act in what I thought was my own best interest, and I hoped you'd do the same ..."
"Spare me your definitions, please!" she said, "It is by not always thinking of yourself, if you can manage it, that you might someday be happy. Until you make room in your life for someone as important to you as yourself, you will always be lonely and searching and lost ..."...more
Gerda and Kay went hand-in-hand towards home; and as they advanced, spring appeared more lovely with its green verdure and its beautiful flowers. // TGerda and Kay went hand-in-hand towards home; and as they advanced, spring appeared more lovely with its green verdure and its beautiful flowers. // They went upstairs into the little room, where all looked just as it used to do. The old clock was going “tick, tick,” and the hands pointed to the time of day, but as they passed through the door into the room they perceived that they were both grown up, and become a man and woman. The roses out on the roof were in full bloom, and peeped in at the window; and there stood the little chairs, on which they had sat when children; and Kay and Gerda seated themselves each on their own chair, and held each other by the hand, while the cold empty grandeur of the Snow Queen’s palace vanished from their memories like a painful dream.
Now compare this to the last part of 1Q84.
Just like years before, when she had held his hand in the classroom after school. // Even as dawn approached, the number of moons didn’t increase. It was just the same old familiar moon. The one and only satellite that has faithfully circled the earth, at the same speed, from before human memory. // She quietly stretched out her hand and Tengo took it. The two of them stood there, side by side, as one, wordlessly watching the moon over the buildings. Until the newly risen sun shone upon it, robbing it of its nighttime brilliance. Until it was nothing more than a gray paper moon, hanging in the sky.
I’m not saying that Murakami is trying to rewrite the Snow Queen but who didn’t read this tale as a child even if they cannot remember?
Now my favorite part of 1Q84.
Leader explained it this way just before he died. The train is the story that Tengo wrote, and I was trapped inside that tale. Which explains why I’m here now–entirely passive, a confused, clueless bit player wandering in a thick fog. But that’s not the whole picture, Aomame told herself. That’s not the whole picture at all. I am not just some passive being mixed up in this just because someone else willed it. That might be true. But at the same time I chose to be here. I chose to be here of my own free will. She was sure of this. // This might be Tengo’s story, she thought, but it’s my story, too.
P.S. Maybe I’m leaning in too much but whereas Orwell’s Julia only has a first name, Aomame goes by her last name....more
P31: You'd be in a weak position unless you lined up a fallback in advance. The point of the premortem exercise isn't to identify each and every possiP31: You'd be in a weak position unless you lined up a fallback in advance. The point of the premortem exercise isn't to identify each and every possible way a deal might go wrong. // Rather, it's to foster an attitude of watchfulness, so you'll be quicker to see that the process is going awry. If you're alert, you may be able to get back on track. If not, you'll have a plan B.
P133: Negotiation vegabonds pinball their way through the process. // They overreact to whatever they saw or heard most recently. // Successful negotiators are flexible but not erratic. They start with a clear hypothesis about how to approach a case but then test it.
P144: Paradoxically, seeing something as a negotiation can make it harder to reach agreement.
P172: Bill Ury observes that when you say no to others, you're really affirming something that's important to you. // Bill recommends what he calls a yes-no-yes.
P218: Negotiations likewise has similar ebbs and flows. Proposals ignored or rejected early on can be revisited, revised and integrated later, when the parties realize that they are stuck.
P229: Beware of mislearning. Admitting that you don't know is better than operating from an erroneous conclusion.
P240: Before closing discussion of the case, I come back to the people who'd inform the owner that the property is underpriced // If the buyer wouldn't be able to use the property all the time, for instance, maybe she could rent it to the owner's family at a bargain rate // informing the seller seems like the most promising avenue for expanding the deal space.
P248: If they can't give you a yes or no, the most you should give them is a maybe....more
Chapter 2: Don't drink milk or milk products before you speak--they cause phlegm.
Chapter 4: I remember reading a Dear Abby many, many years ago in whiChapter 2: Don't drink milk or milk products before you speak--they cause phlegm.
Chapter 4: I remember reading a Dear Abby many, many years ago in which a man wrote in saying he wanted more than anything to be a veterinarian, but between the seven years of school and internship, he would be 40 years old when he could finally be a vet. In response, she asked him how old he would be in seven years if he didn't do it.
Chapter 8: Working from home is the worst of everything. // In my view, you'd be teasing the kids with your physical presence but your complete lack of mental availability. The can get used to your leaving home, but they will have a hard time getting used to you ignoring them.
Chapter 9: Pre-printed grocery lists--including lunch-bag items on preprinted sheets that have all the foods/stuff we like. When we run out of something, you just put a quantity by it to show how many to get....more
I find the ‘statistical’ studies unconvincing but very inspired by the stories of kids who did not have a great start in life working their ass off toI find the ‘statistical’ studies unconvincing but very inspired by the stories of kids who did not have a great start in life working their ass off to catch up with the well-off kids that party throughout university...more
48: Remember: simply displaying a genuine desire to learn and understand translates into increased credibility and influence.
59: Once you have distill48: Remember: simply displaying a genuine desire to learn and understand translates into increased credibility and influence.
59: Once you have distilled these early discussions into a set of observations, questions, and insights, convene your direct reports as a group, feed them back your impressions and questions, and invite discussion. You will learn about both substance and team dynamics and will simultaneously demonstrate how quickly you have begun to identify key issues.
93: One good way is to focus on three things that are important to your boss and discuss what you're doing about them every time you interact. In that way, your boss will feel ownership of your success.
125: In general, new leaders are perceived as more credible when they display these characteristics: demanding but able to be satisfied; accessible by not too familiar; decisive but judicious; focused but flexible; active without causing commotion; willing to make tough calls but humane.
129 (launch early win projects): Does the focal point offer an opportunity to make a substantial improvement in the performance of your unit? Is this improvement achievable in a reasonably short time with available resources? Would success also help lay foundation for achieving agreed-to business goals? Will the process used to achieve the win help you make needed changes in behavior in the organization?
208: Whatever supporters' reasons for backing you, do not take their support for granted. It's never enough merely to identify support; you must solidify and nurture it. So don't forget to preach to the converted. Be sure, too, to ask supporters to be force multipliers by helping you influence others and by providing them with the most persuasive arguments fro doing so.
211: Keep in mind, too, that success in winning over adversaries can have a powerful, symbolic impact. "The enemy who is converted to the ally" is a powerful story that will resonate with others in the organization. (Another example is the story of redemption--for example, helping a person who has been marginalized or labeled as ineffective prove himself.)
213: Concerns about the implementation of agreements also fall into this category. People may believe that concessions offered by others will not materialize and that they are better off fighting for the status quo than taking a chance. // If worries about insecure agreements turn out to be blocking progress, see whether there are ways you can increase the confidence level. For example, you might propose phasing in the changes, with each step linked to success in implementing the previous ones.
215: The art of effective communication is to repeat and elaborate core themes without sounding like a parrot....more
I realize that it’s only August but I think this will be my favorite book this year. My general belief with regard to career management is that, if II realize that it’s only August but I think this will be my favorite book this year. My general belief with regard to career management is that, if I have a valuable skill set, I will be able to find interesting opportunities and everything will turn out great. My biggest concern is that I’m not learning as much as I could be and therefore my skill set is not as valuable as it could be. I’d like to think that this “could be” is intrinsic (i.e. I don’t like to compare myself with other people). Nevertheless, sometimes when I read glossy success stories, I’m like … how is it that this person who is about the same age as me knows how to do all these things?! Sheryl’s answer is … you ask for the opportunity to do it and keep doing it until you get good at it.
“After working at Google for more than four years, managing well over half of the company’s revenues, I was embarrassed to admit that I had never negotiated a business deal. Not one. So I gathered my courage and came clean to my boss, Omid Kordestani, then head of sales and business development. Omid was willing to give me a chance to run a small deal team. ” … “In that first deal, I said too much.” … “Once I identified this weakness, I sought help to correct it.”...more
2013 seems to be a good time to reread this book ...
"If the investor concentrates his portfolio on common stocks he is very likely to be lead astray e2013 seems to be a good time to reread this book ...
"If the investor concentrates his portfolio on common stocks he is very likely to be lead astray either by exhilarating advances or by distressing declines. This is particularly true if his reasoning is geared closely to expectations of further inflation. For then, if another bull market comes along, he will take the big rise not as a danger signal of an inevitable fall, not as a chance to cash in on his handsome profits, but rather as a vindication of the inflation hypothesis and as a reason to keep on buying common stocks no matter how high the market level nor how low the dividend return. That way lies sorrow."...more
I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beI saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet....more
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