JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Discusses the Qualities of a Good Executive

Hiya! Dan DeFrancesco in NYC, and I’m feeling pretty self conscious about my wardrobe after reading this story about what I shouldn’t be wearing this summer. (Sorry, but you can pry my flip-flops from my cold, dead feet.)

I’m STILL collecting questions for a future mailbag. Get them in while you can. Submit any questions you have via this Google doc. (It’s anonymous.) No personal finance questions, please.

Today, we’ve got stories on VCs to watch in the crypto space, why it’s tough to search for a job these days, and how to get your knees in shape to run.

But first, Jamie Dimon has some thoughts.

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1. Leadership 101.

What makes a good bank CEO?

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has a take that might surprise you.

Succession plans for the unofficial face of Wall Street have long been speculated on. So when Dimon got a question at JPMorgan’s annual investor day about what the bank’s board might be looking for in a successor, he had an interesting response.

Dimon said a company trying to find a leader with one specific strength, such as marketing, risk, or tech, is a “huge mistake” that is “guaranteed to fail.” 

“I think the most important strength is that you’re trusted and respected by people. That you work your ass off. That you give a shit. That you know you don’t know everything. They have curiosity. They have grit. They have courage. That you’re willing to change direction. You’re willing to go in front of your shareholders and say, ‘We screwed up. We made a mistake. We were wrong about that,'” Dimon said, according to a transcript of his remarks from Sentieo.

It’s interesting that someone with so much success finds value in acknowledging their mistakes. (Dimon, for his part, called the bank’s acquisition of fintech Frank, which blew up in its face, a “huge mistake” when asked about it earlier this year.)

I know some of you are probably rolling your eyes, and I get it. This could have easily been a rant from a wannabe LinkedIn influencer trying to go viral. Instead, it’s coming from the world’s most-famous banker.

And while it’s true Dimon could have been playing to the crowd, I think there is real value in his comments. One of the biggest issues we see on Wall Street, or in business more broadly, is an executive not knowing when to cut ties. 

Here’s more on Dimon’s management style, along with the 11 most-important slides from JPMorgan’s annual investor-day presentation.

In other news:

2. They’re still betting big on crypto. Despite the crypto winter, these young VCs see plenty of opportunity in the space. Check out the 14 rising stars of crypto investing, and hear about the sectors they are most excited about.

3. An M&A boutique makes a deal. Greenhill, one of the first boutique banks to go public in 2004, is being bought out by Japanese giant Mizuho for $550 million. A dearth of dealmaking hurt the New York firm, founded by ex-Morgan Stanley banker Robert Greenhill, to the point where first-quarter revenue totaled just $50 million, notes the Financial Times. More here.  

4. Trying to get a job nowadays is weird. It’s not just economic uncertainty that’s frustrating job seekers. Ghost jobs — no, it’s not as cool as it sounds — and using AI to review applicants is making getting a new job a real pain. More on why job searches suck.

5. Just when you thought private credit wasn’t wild enough… here comes SoftBank. The high-profile investor is considering diving into the growing world of private credit, Bloomberg reports. Here’s a recap of how private credit has exploded in recent years and the key people in the space.

6. Want to know what a Wall Street hiring raid looks like? A lawsuit brought by First Citizens, the new owner of Silicon Valley Bank, against HSBC provides rare look at the process. These are all the juicy bits.

7. Here’s Wall Street’s plan if the US defaults on its debt. As the we get closer to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s June 1 hard deadline, which might not actually be a hard deadline, Reuters has a rundown of how financial firms are getting their ducks in a row. More here.

8. The wealthy sure love using trusts and LLCs to buy homes. Almost 75% of the homes recently purchased in one Bay Area city were by done via trusts and LLCs. Here’s why the wealthy love buying houses that way. And for more creative ways the ultra-rich navigate taxes, check this out.

9. Read this if you can’t run anymore because of bad knees. We’ve got a game plan to get you pounding pavement before you know it. Just follow this 4-step plan.

10. Here’s what $500 gets you in different vacation destinations around the world. Maximize your budget with these suggestions for reasonable accommodations, attractions, and dining in locations across the globe. Check them out here.

Curated by Dan DeFrancesco in New York. Feedback or tips? Email ddefrancesco@insider.com, tweet @dandefrancesco, or connect on LinkedIn. Edited by Jeffrey Cane (tweet @jeffrey_cane) in New York and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.