Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco

Author: Bryan Burrough and John Helyar


I re-lived the the high drama that surrounded the Leveraged Buyout (LBO) of RJR Nabisco 25 years ago. The authors have done a phenomenal job in researching all of the characters involved and lay it out in excruciating detail. Whenever they introduced a new company or major character they went back several generations to lay the foundation for the story. This made the book rather long (500 pages) and towards the end, I was eager to see it through. The cast of characters is like a Who’s Who of Wall Street circa 1988 and many of the people like Ted Forstmann, Henry Kravis, Louis Gerstner, went on to achieve much greatness in the years to come.

Ross Johnson is the happy-go-lucky CEO of RJR Nabisco, is convinced that his company’s shares are grossly undervalued. He tries several different things to move the share price up, but none of them seem to work. Finally, he decides the best way for him to raise share-holder value is to make an offer for RJR Nabisco through an LBO at what he believed was the highest possible price. One of the first things I learnt when I attended an auction is that once you bid on something, the whole world wants a piece of it. RJR Nabisco was no different and pretty much all of Wall Street was in some way, shape or form involved in a bid for the company. What follows is high-stakes drama that has a nail-biting finish that I won’t reveal here. Read the book and you will have a better appreciation for some of the behind the scenes action in a major M&A story.

I am Forbidden: A Novel

Author: Anouk Markovits


Anouk tells the story of two sisters who grew up in an ultra-orthodox Jewish family. Zalman Stern is the patriarch of this family and is very strict about following every edict of the Satmar Hasidic sect. I was surprised to learn about how restrictive some of the customs are. Once a girl comes of age she is not allowed any secular study. One of the sisters is very eager to learn more about the world and hence has to leave home and is renounced by her family. The story begins in Szatmar, Transylvania, moves on to Paris and then finally ends in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where the Hasidic sect has resettled after being destroyed in the Holocaust. The novel is fast paced and Anouk tells a good story filled with page-turning drama. If you are curious about learning more about orthodox Jews and some of their customs and rituals, this book is both educative and entertaining.

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Authors: Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace


The title of this book gives the impression that it is all about unleashing the creativity in our organizations. Pixar is the epitome of creativity, having released brilliant animated movies that captured the hearts and souls of people from all corners of the globe. Who better to write their story than Ed Catmull, Pixar’s co-founder and leader since 1986. At it’s heart this book is a business book that has many pearls of wisdom. Ed writes in characteristic understated fashion and I find his wavelength resonating with many of my personal beliefs.

He emphasizes that Managers should not be looking to prevent risk, but rather spend time building the ability to recover. He does not mince words in emphasizing the importance of being honest with your employees. In his words,  “You don’t want an organization where there is more candor in the hallways than in the rooms where fundamental ideas or matters of policy are being hashed out”.

One of the great traditions at Pixar that Ed is most proud of is the concept of the “Braintrust”. Early in the film-making process, they hold a screening with employees who are tasked with giving candid feedback to the Director. These employees come from all parts of Pixar and are collectively referred to as the Braintrust. The great part about the Braintrust is that the Director is required to listen to the feedback, but is not required to incorporate it all into the movie. This prevents the Braintrust from becoming a power-house that cn eventually be corrupted.  The nice thing about Pixar is that the Braintrust has employees from different levels in the organization and they have created an atmosphere where there is no fear of retribution if the feedback is not favorably received by the Director.

While creativity is the focus, the book is really about business and there are many pithy business quotes sprinkled in the book. There are many anecdotes in the book that make it clear that Pixar treats its employees well.  Ed writes, “Your employees are smart, which is why you hired them. So treat them that way”.

Ed also emphasizes the need to create a culture where failure is accepted and is a necessary part of the creative process. He says, “Do not fall for the illusion that by preventing errors you won’t have errors to fix. The truth is, the cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them”.  The end of the book summarizes the many smart business nuggets that are the key takeaways from this book. I wish I could implement all of them in my workplace.