The chairman of the board of Bear Stearns investment bank shares his innovative approach to business in a collection of witty, trenchant, and inspirational thoughts on success, bureaucracy, arrogance, telephone manners, and other topics.

When he assumed the position of Chairman of the Board of Bear Stearns in 1978, Alan C. Greenberg found himself with the unenviable task of meeting —and surpassing —the rigorous leadership standards set by his legendary predecessor, Cy Lewis, "the man who was credited with having made Bear Stearns what it then was." For nearly two decades now, "Ace" Greenberg, as he is affectionately known, has kept Bear Stearns on top through a unique and provocative business management philosophy —a philosophy that he frequently and effectively communicates to employees through a series of no-holds-barred company memos. Now, the inimitable Greenberg style sparks a priceless collection of his most inspirational, insightful, and instructional memoranda. Memos From the Chairman affords a rare glimpse at the motivational thoughts and management techniques of one of the corporate world's most brilliant leaders. "Many years ago, Where Are the Customers' Yachts?, through a humorous look at Wall Street, dispensed some of the best investment advice ever written. In this book, Ace has applied the same treatment to managerial advice with equal success." —Warren Buffett from the Foreword to Memos From the Chairman "I love this book. If I didn't have a dreaded MBA, I might even, at age 53, apply for a job at Bear Stearns." —Tom Peters

Former CEO of Bear Stearns, Alan Greenberg, sheds light on his life as one of Wall Street’s most respected figures in this candid and fascinating account of a storied career and its stunning conclusion. On March 16, 2008, Alan Greenberg, former CEO and current chairman of the executive committee of Bear Stearns, found himself in the company’s offices on a Sunday. More remarkable by far than the fact that he was in the office on a Sunday is what he was doing: participating in a meeting of the board of directors to discuss selling the company he had worked decades to build for a fraction of what it had been worth as little as ten days earlier. In less than a week the value of Bear Stearns had diminished by tens of billions of dollars. As Greenberg recalls, "our most unassailable assumption—that Bear Stearns, an independent investment firm with a proud eighty-five-year history, would be in business tomorrow—had been extinguished. . . . What was it, exactly, that had happened, and how, and why?" This book provides answers to those questions from one of Wall Street’s most respected figures, the man most closely identified with Bear Stearns’ decades of success. The Rise and Fall of Bear Stearns is Alan Greenberg’s remarkable story of ascending to the top of one of Wall Street’s venerable powerhouse financial institutions. After joining Bear Stearns in 1949, Greenberg rose to become formally head of the firm in 1978. No one knows the history of Bear Stearns as he does; no one participated in more key decisions, right into the company’s final days. Greenberg offers an honest, clear-eyed assessment of how the collapse of the company surprised him and other top executives, and he explains who he thinks was responsible.

Private equity firms are snapping up brand-name companies and assembling portfolios that make them immense global conglomerates. They're often able to maximize investor value far more successfully than traditional public companies. How do PE firms become such powerhouses? Learn how, in Lessons from Private Equity Any Company Can Use. Bain chairman Orit Gadiesh and partner Hugh MacArthur use the concise, actionable format of a memo to lay out the five disciplines that PE firms use to attain their edge: · Invest with a thesis using a specific, appropriate 3-5-year goal · Create a blueprint for change--a road map for initiatives that will generate the most value for your company within that time frame · Measure only what matters--such as cash, key market intelligence, and critical operating data · Hire, motivate, and retain hungry managers--people who think like owners · Make equity sweat--by making cash scarce, and forcing managers to redeploy underperforming capital in productive directions This is the PE formulate for unleashing a company's true potential.

This is a historical and critical reassessment of the field of comparative literature—the study of cultures and their literary posterity across national borders and historical frontiers—at a moment when notions of literacy and culture are under inordinate pressure by predatory globalization and militaristic realpolitik.

From microaggressions to the wage gap, The Memo empowers women of color with actionable advice on challenges and offers a clear path to success. Most business books provide a one-size-fits-all approach to career advice that overlooks the unique barriers that women of color face. In The Memo, Minda Harts offers a much-needed career guide tailored specifically for women of color. Drawing on knowledge gained from her past career as a fundraising consultant to top colleges across the country, Harts now brings her powerhouse entrepreneurial experience as CEO of The Memo to the page. With wit and candor, she acknowledges "ugly truths" that keep women of color from having a seat at the table in corporate America. Providing straight talk on how to navigate networking, office politics, and money, while showing how to make real change to the system, The Memo offers support and long-overdue advice on how women of color can succeed in their careers.

Memo to: Oaktree Clients is a compilation of forty-three memos written over between 1988-2005 by Howard Marks, chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, LLC , expressing the investment philosophy of Mr. Marks and his company. Taken individually they outline the principles and strategies upon which Oaktree was created; in sum, they provide an etnertaining and insightful overview of he business values and belifs which have guided Mr. Marks throughout his career.