The Art of Being Unreasonable: Lessons in Unconventional Thinking

Eli Broad's embrace of "unreasonable thinking" has helped him build two Fortune 500 companies, amass personal billions, and use his wealth to create a new approach to philanthropy. He has helped to fund scientific research institutes, K-12 education reform, and some of the world's greatest contemporary art museums. By contrast, "reasonable" people come up with all the reasons something new and different can't be done, because, after all, no one else has done it that way. This book shares the "unreasonable" principles--from negotiating to risk-taking, from investing to hiring--that have made Eli Broad such a success.

Discovering the Art of Unreason

Chapter 2: Why Not? The Powerful Question

“Why Not?” as the First Step to Success

Nothing Sets Me Off More Than

Being Told I Can’t Do Something

“Why Not?” Should Be

Something You Ask Every Day

Chapter 3: Forget Conventional

Nothing Lasts Forever

Look Outside Your Personal and Professional Comfort Zone

Chapter 4: Do Your Homework No

Matter How Much Time It Takes Don’t Waste Time on Shortcuts

—They’re Usually Dead Ends Pay Attention to History

Is Core Competency Just Another

Term for Complacency?

Once You’ve Done Your

Homework, Put in the Long

Effort—It Will Pay Off in

Follow the Smart First Movers Markets Evolve and First Movers Sometimes Can’t, or Won’t,

Keep Up

First Movers Always Leave Some Room—You Just Need to Find It Study a First Mover’s Failure for Clues to Success

Whether You’re the First Mover, the Second, or the Last—Just Keep Moving

Chapter 6: How to Work 24/7 and Still Get 8 Hours of Sleep

Work Doesn’t Have to Be Your Life, But Your Life Is Your Work Know What You Have to Do,

Which Is Less Than You Think Not Everyone Needs 8 Hours Setting Priorities Means Being Disciplined, but Not Rigid

If You Can’t Delegate, It’s Not Them, It’s You

Try Saying “Let’s Move On”— Even to Me

Chapter 7: Bright and Young Is a Winning Combination

Sometimes You Are What You Wear

Interviews Don’t Have to Be Tricky

Qualifications Are Almost

How to Keep ’Em Once You Hire ’Em

Youth Can Be a Risky Bet

Older People Can Be Young Too Chapter 8: Risk

Clinging to Safety Is More

Irrational Than Taking Risk

Asking the Key Questions

Risk Can Be Contagious—Don’t Catch the Deadly Kind

Never Bet the Farm—Or Even Half the Farm

Chapter 9: How to Get Results

Make Sound Promises and Offer

Extend the Power of Your Dollar

—Find Money That Costs Less Than Yours

Leveraging People and Effort Works Just as Well as Leveraging Money

Make What You’re Selling

Matter—From the Name and Slogan on Down

Selling a Cause Requires More Than Conviction

Chapter 12: Investing

Don’t Fear Risk, but Don’t Take One if You Don’t Have to

Focus on Picking an Advisor, Not Stocks

Never Be Afraid to Ask

Surviving the Silences and the Stares—Stay Unemotional and Disciplined

Be Ready to Say Yes and Don’t Sit Down Unless You Can Make

a Decision

Don’t Swing Wildly—Start Close

to Where You Want to End Up Never Forget What Makes the Other Guy Tick

Chapter 14: The Logic of Being

Logical

A Logical Idea Is One That

Makes You Say, “Why Didn’t I Think of That?”

Like Wine, an Idea May Need to Age

Chapter 15: I Ain’t Nothing but a Hound Dog

Go After Big Game

Whether or Not You Succeed, You Have to Keep Hunting

Unreasonable Persistence

Produces Big Payoffs

Even the Unreasonably Persistent Must Know When to Quit

Chapter 16: Is that the Best You Can Do? Motivating People by Challenging Them

High Expectations and Shared Challenges Create Loyalty

Nothing Motivates Like

Achievement

What’s Better Than Praise— Money and Higher Expectations Fear Is Not a Motivator—It Only

Gets You Unhappy Employees and Poor Work

Whether You Succeed or Fail, Keep Moving

Chapter 17: Competition

Just Because There’s a Winner Doesn’t Mean There’s a Loser Architecture—The Purest Form

of Competition

The Unexpected Pluses of

Architecture Competitions

Concept Over Cost

Chapter 18: It’s Better to Be

Respected Than Loved

Disagreement Is Healthy—Learn

How to Distinguish It from

Don’t Become Ensnared by Egos

—Not Even Your Own

If You’re in the Way, Move

Nothing Wins People Over Like Success

Chapter 19: Giving Back

Everyone Can Be a Philanthropist

—Not Just the Rich

Don’t Just Give It Away—Look for the Place to Make a

Start Giving Now—And It

Doesn’t Have to Be Money

Big Goals and Big Results

Taking Big Risks Means Getting Big Pushback

Chapter 21: The Unreasonableness of Art and Artists

Why I Collect

Doing Homework—Even for an Avocation—Will Deepen Your Experience

Pursuing a Passion Sometimes Means Casting Aside Your

Chapter 22: Reflections and Second Thoughts

My Parents’ Unintentional Gift

My Sons and My Choice—On That Elusive Work-Life Balance Don’t Let Others Define Your Failures or Your Successes

My Proudest Moments—They May Not Be What You Think

I Hope My Greatest Achievement

Is Yet to Come

The Best Move I Ever Made

Appendix

Supplemental Images

Index

Copyright © 2012 by Eli Broad All rights

reserved

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Published simultaneously in Canada

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To Edye, the love of my life

is Eli Broad And if ever there’s been a time when

we need more people to be unreasonable—inbusiness, philanthropy, and especially government

—it’s right now

Eli Broad’s life is a great American story, notonly because it is a story of hard work andsuccess, but because it’s a story of dreams—ofpushing into new frontiers and believing that theimpossible can be achieved That’s what Eli hasdone throughout his life, and it’s why he hasaccomplished as much as he has But this book isless about what Eli has done and more about how

he has done it

I first met Eli some 30 years ago, back when Iwas just starting my own company Eli had alreadybuilt a Fortune 500 company from scratch, KBHome—and he would go on to build a second:SunAmerica Maybe the second time is easier, but

I doubt it Building a company is an all-consumingundertaking that requires an enormous amount ofdedication, an unflagging belief in your idea, andplenty of good luck But to me, the fact that he built

a second Fortune 500 company is less impressivethan the fact that he set out to do it in the firstplace Plenty of other people would have kickedback and enjoyed an early retirement Not Eli Hewanted to continue building—and he had the guts

to try to do it in an entirely different industry.Within these pages, you will find a firsthandaccount of how he built those two Fortune 500companies; how he helped shape Los Angeles into

a cultural and architectural capital; how he isworking to revolutionize the way we diagnose,treat, and prevent disease; and how he is helpingtransform public education around the nation,

including in New York City.

When I was first elected mayor of New York in

2001, I set out to transform the city’s broken anddysfunctional Board of Education and turn around

a school system that had been failing students fordecades It was a daunting challenge; the NewYork City school system has 1.1 million students,which would make it the 10th largest system in theUnited States, just behind Dallas Ending decades

of dysfunction and replacing it with a culture ofinnovation and excellence would require boldaction and a willingness to take on the specialinterests—and to do that, we knew we would needlots of support We reached out to private sectorleaders and philanthropists and asked them tobecome our partners—and Eli Broad was one ofthe very first calls we made

Eli understands how important education reform

is to the future of our country, and he is aspassionate as I am about putting the needs ofchildren first—no matter what the special interestssay Over the past decade, Eli has been

instrumental in helping us undertake major reforms,including launching the NYC Leadership Academy

to train the next generation of principals, creatingmore charter school options for students andparents, and strengthening accountability

As a result, our students have made enormousprogress, and today, high school graduation ratesare 40 percent higher than they were when webegan When New York City won the prestigiousBroad Prize for Urban Education in 2007, wecould not have been more honored

Eli and I both believe that philanthropy is mostvaluable—and powerful—when it dares to gowhere governments will not or cannot, and he hasprovided critical support in helping us launchpromising but untested ideas This willingness totake risks has been a defining characteristic ofEli’s life Yet he has been so successful not onlybecause he is fearless and forward-looking butalso because he does his homework He studies thedata, analyzes trends, and identifies opportunitiesthat others may miss Whether in business or

philanthropy, he is an entrepreneur in everything hedoes—always open to new ideas, always lookingfor new approaches, and always willing to buckthe conventional wisdom.

When Eli embraced the idea for a genomicmedical research center that would bring togetherscientists from MIT and Harvard, he was told thatthe two rival universities would never collaborate

on such a project He ignored that advice, andtoday The Broad Institute is changing the way weunderstand science and medicine Of course, Elihas also had his share of crazy ideas—like the time

he wanted to buy the Tribune Company Eventhough I own a media business, I told him he wasout of his mind, and he came to agree that he waslucky to be the unsuccessful bidder

The Eli Broad you will meet in these pages is theEli Broad I’ve gotten to know and admire: honestand tough, blunt and direct When he speaks andwrites, he has no use for business jargon ormanagement gibberish His language is as clear ashis vision You will also meet the one person who

is the secret of his success: his wife, Edye She istruly a full partner in all that they do And when Eli

is unreasonable, Edye is gracious, kind, andunderstanding Together, they are one talentedteam

This book holds lessons for anyone who has everfailed—and anyone who has ever dreamt big Assomeone who started a company after getting fired,

I know how difficult it is to swim against the tide.When I first started a business making financialinformation more easily accessible via computers,everyone thought I was crazy “That’s not the waythe industry works,” I was told And when Idecided to run for mayor of New York, everyone

thought I was really crazy “You don’t know the

first thing about politics!” I was told And that wastrue But I knew what Eli knows: If you want toachieve the impossible, you have to start by beingunreasonable

Of course, being unreasonable can also be arecipe for disaster So how do you learn the art ofbeing unreasonable? Keep reading

Michael Bloomberg is mayor of New York City, founder of Bloomberg LP, and an active philanthropist.

Although I am solitary by nature, much of what Ihave been able to accomplish in each of mycareers has been possible only because I alwayssurround myself with a team of smart,hardworking, dedicated professionals This book

is no different, and although I offer up praise andappreciation sparingly, I would be remiss if I didnot acknowledge the contributions that helpedmake this book a reality

Special thanks to Swati Pandey, whose gift forprose transformed my thoughts and ideas intowords better than I ever could have done alone.She is a talented young writer who I predict willhave a long and prosperous future as a stunninglysuccessful author Quite simply, she was a joy towork with Tim Rutten is a graceful wordsmithwhose smart edits and wise counsel provedinvaluable, and I appreciate his careful skill inrefining the stories and lessons contained in thesepages Thank you to Karen Denne, my chief

communications officer, for her exemplarycoordination and invaluable qualitative oversight.Jim Newton’s generous advice and keen eye fortalent contributed to this project in ways toonumerous to list Thanks to Dan Wolf for helpingget this book off the ground and for his continuingencouragement.

I was fortunate to have had a supportive andadept team at John Wiley & Sons, Inc Senioreditor Richard Narramore saw the potential of thisbook in its very early stages and helped shape it.Thanks to Lydia Dimitriatis and Lauren Freestonefor their assistance shepherding us through thepublishing process Special thanks to my agent,Lisa Queen, for her support

I have met a lot of people during my nearly 79years I am drawn to personalities different from

my own, people who have a unique worldview andare accomplished in their varied fields Over theyears, Jeff Koons has become a dear friend Hegenerously allowed us to use the image of one of

my favorite works of art, Rabbit, on the cover of

this book, and for that I am grateful PhotographersJay Clendenin and Nancy Pastor always make melook good, so I appreciate their talents I havenever met anyone like Eric Lander You will readabout him in these pages, and my only fear is thatprinted words could never do him justice He issimply extraordinary, with passion, energy, andfocus that are unmatched.

In our philanthropic work, my wife, Edye, and Iare fortunate to be guided by a wise andcredentialed board of governors, each of whomcontributes a diverse perspective, informed by vastaccomplishments They help shape ourphilanthropic approach, which you will read about

in the later chapters of this book

The experiences expressed in these pagesrepresent my best recollection, and any mistakesare unintended and solely my own But I was aided

in my memory by colleagues and friends JayWintrob, Jana Greer, Bruce Karatz, and AndreaVan de Kamp, who took time out of their busyschedules to help me recall many of the details I

missed because I was moving too quickly to takenote I am fortunate to know them, and I treasurethe times we shared, working together to buildcompanies and institutions And, Dick Riordan, Ithank you for working with me on some of my mostmemorable undertakings and for our enduringfriendship over nearly 40 years.

I have long admired Mike Bloomberg for hisbold leadership, business acumen, and straight-shooter approach to life He has become a valuedfriend, and I am delighted that he shared histhoughts in this book’s foreword

We have the very best team at The BroadFoundations, but there are a few people whodeserve special mention Gerun Riley is my chief

of staff and right hand in virtually all of myendeavors She is always one step ahead of me andjuggles an extraordinary workload She does it allwith grace and superb skill I am in capable andkind hands with Joane Ra and Kathleen LungrenJobe, who keep me on track, always with the mostgracious disposition Edye and I are fortunate that

Cindy Quane has overseen our family office formany years, and we are grateful for her loyalty Wehave a whip-smart investment team They advise

me, challenge me, and always exhibit sharpinsights Thank you to Marc Schwartz and K.C.Krieger for their patience and persistence whenI’m at my most unreasonable in matters of financeand investment Their assistance with Chapter 12helped me articulate what I often do instinctively

The project that is consuming much of myattention these days is the construction of TheBroad, our new museum in downtown LosAngeles Despite the daunting amount of work that

is filling their days and nights, Joanne Heyler andDeborah Kanter found time to contribute theirinsights to these pages I am indebted to them fortheir continuing commitment to our work Thereare many more members of our foundation team,too many to list individually but I have to expressappreciation to Rachel Smookler, GregoryMcGinity, Erica Lepping, Jeannine Guido, MollyRyan, Hilary Rowe, and Tara McBride for their

help with this book.

Three people have been a constant in much of mylife, and I don’t express my profound love for themoften enough To our sons, Jeffrey and Gary, Iknow I wasn’t the easiest father While I have been

a demanding boss and businessman, I was also animpatient and exacting parent Now, with thebenefit of hindsight, I wish I had more time to makeamends But I offer you my love as deeply as aparent can

Until my last day, I will count my blessings thatEdythe Lawson agreed to become Edythe Broad Inrecent years, I have referred to Edye as my chiefinspiration officer While others have tolerated me,Edye has loved me, unconditionally She has stuck

by me, covered my shortcomings, and brought awarmth and graciousness to our family and ourfriends that are unmatched While I welcomedpublic interest and attention throughout my careers,Edye was enormously private and always shiedaway from crowds and cameras Across the years,she accompanied me to most every dinner, gala,

and gathering—often tucking off in a corner of apacked room with a book Although Edye is avoracious reader—I’ve always joked that she isthe largest book buyer on the West Coast—shedidn’t want me to write a book because shepreferred to keep our lives private But she proved

to be my most valued editor and has always been

my most treasured confidante One of the bestthings about this book is the chance to tell theworld how much she means to me Edye, I loveyou

Occasionally, some of them have also called mecrazy or nuts But they’ve all told me at some pointthat I was being unreasonable because my goalswere unrealistic, my deadlines couldn’t be met, myideas were far-fetched, or my approach trampled

on the conventional wisdom

But I believe that being unreasonable has beenthe key to my success In this book I want to show

you how applying unreasonable thinking can helpyou achieve goals others may tell you are out ofreach, just as it has for me.

Over the past six decades I have had fourcareers: accounting, homebuilding, retirementsavings, and philanthropy I became the firstperson to build two Fortune 500 companies fromthe ground up in two different industries The $6billion I earned in business is now being used tohelp reform public education in America, assembletwo world-class art collections and make themwidely accessible, and provide critical start-upfunding for cutting-edge biomedical research

What gives me the most satisfaction is that all mycareers have demanded that I meet people’sessential needs—helping them realize their dreams

of homeownership and a secure retirement,educating their children, experiencing great art,and living a healthier life Each has also required

me to be quite unreasonable—to have outsizedambition, discipline, energy, and focus and to havethe confidence to ignore people who said I