Jamie Dimon addresses team for Real Life Wednesdays – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Feb. 12, 2015
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jamie Dimon, the chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co. who has four times been named to Time magazine’s lists of the world’s 100 most influential people, shared insights and wisdom with the Ohio State Buckeyes today to kick off the football program’s Real Life Wednesday’s initiative.
Speaking for 30 minutes and then greeting and shaking hands with many of the players afterward, Dimon opened his discussion by telling the 2014 national champions that “there is no better feeling than winning something as part of a team.”
He went on to explain that he believes leadership is an honor and a privilege and that his job as a leader is to figure out what he has to do to make things work for everyone in his company. JPMorgan Chase has 250,000 employees in 60 countries, including 10,000 employees in Columbus.
“If I do a terrible job I hurt these people,” Dimon said. “I hurt their futures, their careers, their families and their communities. I feel responsible for my employees. So I have to work hard. And I have to work smart.”
Every job matters
Dimon said he works 70-80 hours a week and that he believes in humility and in treating everyone the same.
“I treat everyone the same and I think this is very important,” Dimon said. “Treat everyone with respect. Every job in a company matters. You’ll never be great if you don’t believe this. And cronyism is a terrible way to run something.”
He advised the players that he hires people who want to learn and who care about the job, and that he spends 60 percent of his time learning.
“I read five newspapers every day and probably 10 different magazines [regularly],” he said. “You have to get knowledge…by reading and by talking with people.”
Teamwork
Dimon said that teamwork doesn’t mean to go along to get along, but that it means to be loyal to principals…to work as hard as your teammates …to tell the truth…and that “it’s ok to put pressure on each other because at the end of the day you are all part of one team.”
And he believes in the concept of meritocracy.
“Do your job and the best person for the position gets the position,” Dimon said.
“He was awesome,” senior linebacker Joshua Perry said. “We learned about leadership and what it takes to be successful and about asking the right people the right questions.”
Real Life Wednesdays
Dimon’s discussion with the team is the first of about a dozen such lectures and activities this offseason for the Ohio State players in this third year of Urban Meyer’s Real Life Wednesday program. The goal each year is to introduce the team to a variety of individuals – CEOs and business leaders; professional athletes; athletics administrators, etc. – who can share insight into succeeding in life after football is over.
This year there will be an “application” part to the lectures vs. just theory. If a financial manager comes in to talk about credit scores the players are going to actually learn what their scores are. They are also going to learn about lease payments for cars and apartments and how trouble can arise with leases.
And for the juniors and seniors, May will be an opportunity for internships – 23 players completed an internship last year – and there will be field trips to various businesses that interest the players.
Resumes will be updated in time for the annual Job Fair, which will take place May 29. Last year more than 50 companies across all sectors, including finance, business, hospitality, law enforcement, broadcasting, medical sales and athletic administration had representatives at the job fair.
“We need to help our players with a Plan B career,” Meyer has said. “Our guys will have incredible memories from Ohio State, but we need to help them get a jump start on their life after football.”
