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cover of episode #190 Brad Jacobs — How To Build a Billion Dollar Company: The Unconventional Playbook

#190 Brad Jacobs — How To Build a Billion Dollar Company: The Unconventional Playbook

2024/3/19
logo of podcast The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

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Brad Jacobs
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创始人和CEO,专注于网络安全、投资和知识分享。
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Brad Jacobs: 我认为混乱的组织结构图是赚钱的好机会。通过对Conway公司的收购,我证明了这一点。成功的关键在于灵活性和适应性,而不是僵化的商业计划。僵化的思维模式会错过赚钱的机会。 我花了大量时间思考趋势,并通过考虑更广泛的背景、起源、现状和未来可能性来发现趋势。抓住主要趋势是赚钱的关键。我将自己视为一个终生的学习者,并乐于向他人学习。保持好奇心和学习的态度能够帮助发现趋势。我喜欢亲力亲为地参与细节,并从心理治疗中学习了提问的技巧。在提问之前,需要创造一个安全和舒适的环境。给予对方全部的注意力是建立良好关系的关键。非评判性专注是有效沟通的关键。有效的会议需要参与者集中注意力,避免分心。 我将冥想、正念和积极心理学等方法融入到我的思维方式中。音乐、数学和商业之间存在联系,都与关系、分析和简化有关。我将自己视为一名音乐家,而不是商人。僵化的商业计划会错过机会。灵活性和适应性是成功的关键。数学和音乐能力对我的商业成功至关重要。商业成功的最终衡量标准是为股东创造的价值。数学、音乐和心理学的训练帮助我取得了商业上的成功。复杂性中隐藏着机会,但坏主意无法在简单性中隐藏。适度的杠杆作用是有益的,但过多的杠杆作用会带来风险。地缘政治风险和经济冲击是需要考虑的重要因素。为了获得高于平均水平的回报,必须采取与众不同的策略。我的公司之所以能够获得超额回报,是因为它们采取了与众不同的策略。 并购是创造股东价值的重要途径,也是实现业务大幅增长的途径。并购需要选择合适的行业和公司,并进行有效的整合。成功的并购需要对目标公司进行深入的尽职调查,并制定周密的整合计划。作为CEO,要对员工进行积极的评价和建设性的反馈。金钱只是业绩的衡量标准,而不是我人生的全部意义。 Shane Parrish: 在对话中,Shane Parrish主要通过提问来引导Brad Jacobs阐述其观点,并对Brad Jacobs的观点进行深入探讨。

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Shownotes Transcript

Brad Jacobs doesn't just build big companies – he builds industry giants. As the founder of eight multibillion-dollar companies, he's cracked the code on scaling businesses from zero to billions. In this conversation, the secrets he's earned over decades.

You'll discover where billion-dollar opportunities are hiding in plain sight, how to spot massive trends years before your competitors, and the most crucial factor determining a company's success.

Currently serving as Chairman and CEO of QXO, Jacobs brings a mathematician's precision and a musician's creativity to scaling businesses. His track record speaks for itself: every company he's founded has reached billion-dollar status or beyond.

(00:00) Intro

(04:44) The future of AI

(07:21) How to think rationally

(08:48) The major trend

(10:57) The research process

(13:29) On asking better questions

(19:35) On rearranging your brain

(22:23) On music, math, simplicity, and business

(32:26) Leverage, debt, and optionality

(35:11) What it takes to take contrarian bets

(40:45) Confidence and parents

(50:21) Why negative-only feedback is detrimental for employees

(56:14) Money lessons

(58:13) A deep dive on M&A (Jacobs' secret sauce to growing his companies)

(01:07:51) Questions to immediately get to know anyone

(01:11:14) On boards and board meetings

(01:16:57) On decision-making

(01:23:37) The role of capital markets

(01:25:41) The type of person you don't want to hire

(01:31:16) The best capital allocators

(01:33:53) Biggest lesson Jacobs learned from the past year

(01:37:20) On success  

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos)

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