For all the tough press coverage, though, Weill, who turns 70 this month, is still very much in charge at Citigroup. He is also an unusual corporate chieftain because of what he brings to the table: he’s got the drive of an entrepreneur, but he can also manage a corporate behemoth like Citigroup; he’s a numbers whiz, but he can read people. That makes Weill the rare executive whose life is worthy of a hardcover.
Langley says she interviewed almost 500 people for the book, and she’s used their stories to stitch together a brisk narrative of Weill’s life, from his early days building a firm to compete with, and win acceptance from, Wall Street’s elite. Weill has an enormous appetite not only for good food, but also for deals and accolades from his peers and shareholders. He’s a good talent scout, too, hiring people like Arthur Levitt long before they became boldface business names. His formula of buying troubled companies, then slashing costs–“Cancel all subscriptions.” “No more watering plants.”–pays off time and again as he acquires ever-bigger fish. Many business books are stuffed with obvious points about the importance of decision-making. Langley, a Wall Street Journal reporter, knows the “show, don’t tell’’ rule, and her book is more instructive for it.
Weill embodied the go-go culture of Wall Street, and he’s also handy for illustrating how corporate America overreached in the recent market frenzy. Even when he was atop a giant like Travelers in 1998, Weill still lusted after a big prize like Citibank, and approached John Reed, its brainy, reserved CEO, about a merger. Weill made his pitch, and Reed’s initial response, “Why not?’’ says as much about the spirit of the day as any two words can. Their initial chumminess quickly chilled, and Weill’s power play put him in charge.
At times, Weill’s many deals–Shearson, Commercial Credit, Primerica, Travelers, Salomon and many others–start to blur in the book because of their repetitive pattern. There’s also little reflection from Weill himself, despite his granting Langley several hours of time. Then again, Weill has never been known for introspection. He needs to keep moving forward, seeking what colleagues describe as “deal bliss,’’ and tearing down whatever wall blocked access to the many elite groups he wanted to join. Weill is a guy who operates straight from the gut. Too bad Jack Welch got to that title first. It would have worked better for this book.
