Anything is Possible: Interview with HighVista Chairman Ed Hajim
I recently went one on one with Ed Hajim. Ed is a seasoned Wall Street executive with more than 50 years of investment experience, having held senior management positions with the Capital Group, E.F. Hutton, and Lehman Brothers before becoming chairman and CEO of Furman Selz. Ed has also been the co-chairman of ING Barings, Americas Region; chairman and CEO of ING Aeltus Group and ING Furman Selz Asset Management; and chairman and CEO of MLH Capital. Ed is now Chairman of the wealth management firm HighVista and is the author of On the Road Less Traveled: An Unlikely Journey from the Orphanage to the Boardroom.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here?
Ed: My father kidnapped me from my mother when I was 3 years old and took me to Los Angeles where he told me she had died. After we arrived, my father shipped off as a radio operator on a cargo ship and I was cared for by a kindly neighbor. In 1941 after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, my father became an officer in the U.S. Merchant Marine and left me, a Jewish child, with a Catholic welfare agency foster-care system. After five years of Catholic foster homes that ranged from abusive to caring, my father returned and we moved to Coney Island, N.Y. Within a couple of years, my father needed to sign onto another merchant ship to get work, and I was left alone at the age of 11 in a hotel. Clearly this was a problem, so my father contacted a Jewish welfare agency and I was placed in the Israel Orphan Asylum, and later, another orphanage for older boys. I went from there straight to college. It was a difficult childhood but I learned many lessons that would sustain me throughout my life.
What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Ed: The disadvantages I experienced in my early life later became advantages and gave me certain abilities that resulted in my business success, I was even able to channel any anger I had toward improving myself. This gave me adaptability, resilience, perseverance, empathy and gratitude. These were important elements that contributed to my ability to work well with others and accept changes easily.
Adam: What do you hope readers take away from your new book?
Ed: At first, my book was only going to be a memoir. My family was encouraging me to write about the adversity I experienced in my youth and talk about my success in life and work. I’ve received so much positive feedback since the book’s release: I’ve come to see that it can be a guide to facing adversity and understanding that no one has to be a victim of their personal circumstances if they’re willing to work hard. The beginning does not have to define the end—anything is possible.
Adam: What are the three best business lessons you learned over the course of your career?
Ed:
1. Try to understand the environment in which you’re working. What are the major drivers and headwinds?
2. Recognize that a company’s culture is its most important characteristic.
3. Find the right business partners and take care of them.
4. Own your mistakes.
Adam: What are the three best leadership lessons you learned over the course of your career?
Ed:
You must make your team feel and believe you want them to do better than they think they can.
You can accomplish almost anything if you don’t worry about who gets credit, and you should even try to deflect credit.
Support your team’s growth by letting individuals concentrate on what they do best. Then celebrate them.
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Ed: An effective leader understands the relationship between culture, strategy, people and the numbers. I’ve worked with thousands of people through the years and one of the secrets to my success was creating a caring culture through mentorship so my colleagues could exceed beyond their own expectations.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Ed: I advise young people – and anyone who would like to grow their leadership skills – to follow the Four Ps. They are:
PASSION: How do you find it? Follow the interests and ideas that energize you most. If you’re unsure what road to follow ask yourself this:
What keeps me awake at night?
What makes me take two stairs at a time?
What’s the difference between my “should” and my “must”?
If money wasn’t a factor, would I still want to do this?
PRINCIPLES: These are the fundamental precepts that guide your choices and actions, the values that you shouldn’t compromise. Know what you believe in and don’t cross those lines – know your boundaries and stick with those.
PARTNERS: You’re only as good as the people with whom you surround yourself. Find people who do things that you can’t do but must be done. Find partners who do things you can do, but do not want to do. That leaves you with what you do well and what you want to do. Make sure they recognize your worth, and reinforce your strengths. You will know you have found the right partners when they support you even when you’re experiencing a challenging time. They have a perspective you lack when you’re uncertain, and they understand your true potential.
PLANS: Your plans are your personal GPS. The more you plan for the future the more easily you can adapt to unexpected changes. Plan using a written step-by-step process; having a specific direction in mind will help you get there. Check in with yourself and your goals regularly and annually review what you accomplished and what you still have on the list to do.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?
Ed: Finding the right partners was a key determinant of my success. I realized I was only as good as the people I surrounded myself with. My CFO/COO spent 35 years with me, and made a difference in almost everything I did. You need different partners with different skills for different tasks, especially when it comes to the difference between the needs of nonprofit and profit ventures.
Adam: What are your best tips on the topic of investing?
Ed: Throughout my career I was able to find waves, cycles or latent demand that was unfulfilled. My mantra has always been, “What’s next?” In most cases if you are not willing to spend a great of time on investing, find a professional organization to work with.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Ed: Although I’m good at accepting advice, I’ve never been very good at being told what to do. I need to come to my own conclusions. That’s why the best advice I’ve ever received is to write everything down and really look at it. Consider your list from every angle before you make a decision.
Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.
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