The next day after I got fired, literally the next day, I started a new company.
We have an expression in New York City government – “In God we trust, but for everyone else, bring data.” It’s so easy to pick up a sound byte and say, “Oh, yeah, yeah, I believe that,” without really thinking.
Mayors are very different, because mayors can’t be on both sides of every issue. Mayors have to take an explicit stance. Just go with your gut and say what you believe, and you’ll be fine. If you’re not fine, at least you’ll like what you see in the mirror.
We’re America, and we have to stop worrying about what happens overseas, and to be optimistic, even though nobody should think we’re not going to have some difficult times.
The estate taxes, on balance, are good. They get people to give money to charity, and they prevent these family dynasties which keep other people from having opportunities. It may be good for a family, but for society it’s probably not good. And I’ve always been in favor of having an estate tax.
What we shouldn’t do is let people who want to come here make the decision themselves. America should be in control of its own borders.
The mistake that was made in the ’70s is we stopped policing the streets, we stopped cleaning the streets, we stopped cleaning the graffiti off buildings, we stopped supporting our cultural institutions and building parks and schools and all those kinds of things.
I do not think that anybody should get paid for lousy performance. I’ve said that for a long time. If you work hard and you do good, you get paid well.
I have two daughters that are the loves of my life and I want to leave them a better world, a better country, a better state and a better city.
When it comes to public school education, we have been unwilling to measure our results. We’ve been unwilling to pay based on performance. We have tenure where, even if you can’t teach, you can’t get fired. We’ve been unwilling to invest in new schools.
What the Democrats have to understand is that while we do need to reform our regulation and we do need more restrictions, it is true that it is capitalism and free enterprise and companies that create jobs and wealth for every American.
If you have one farm worker, typically they create three jobs with higher compensation and higher skills – the people that pack, the people that ship, the people that inspect, the people that sell, that sort of thing.
The public wants elected officials who have character. The public wants elected officials who are willing to stand up and say things, even if they don’t agree with them.
Those enterprises that see new needs and react more quickly, win!
If you have to compete based on capital, the giant always wins. If you can compete based on smarts, flexibility, and willingness to give more for less, then small companies like Bloomberg clearly have an advantage.
And, as I would learn later on in my life – at Salomon Brothers and in my own company – it’s the “doers”, the lean and hungry ones, those with ambition in their eyes and fire in their bellies and no notions of social caste, who go the furthest and achieve the most.
The changing climate should be seen as a series of discrete, manageable problems that can be attacked from all angles simultaneously. Each problem has a solution. And better still, each solution can make our society healthier and our economy stronger.
For the first time in the history of the world more people will die from overeating than undereating this year.
A better way to evaluate a company is to talk to the experts. No, I don’t mean journalists or analysts. I mean those who really know what’s going on and what the potential.
If you’re going to succeed, you need a vision, one that’s affordable, practical, and fills a customer need. Then, go for it. Don’t worry too much about the details. Don’t second-guess your creativity. Avoid overanalyzing the new project’s potential. Most importantly, don’t strategize about the long term too much.
Every morning when we get up, we relish the day’s upcoming battles. They keep us alive, and they keep Bloomberg’s corporate family thriving. We can’t wait for tomorrow. Who says we can’t do that? What do you mean they’ll beat us? Have them put on their boxing gloves, and send them into the ring. We’re ready!