Jenrette: The Contrarian Manager

During his 40-year career on Wall Street, Dick Jenrette did things "differently." He co-founded the upstart firm of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and turned it into an international investment banking and securities powerhouse. As CEO of Equitable, he spurned "business as usual" tactics and revitalized the venerable but floundering insurer. Now Jenrette, famed as the Great Contrarian, offers his candid account of the lessons he learned and the unorthodox approaches he took in becoming a Wall Street legend. He shows how unconventional thinking can help anyone running a department, a division, or a company to overcome adversity, find success, and have fun in the process. Jenrette advises on how to: develop a contrarian business strategy...make deep cost cuts without destroying morale...and put together a top management team using highly unconventional but effective tools. He also pinpoints the single biggest cause of corporate failures...forecasts what the next big financial product will be...and predicts the need for more Contrarian Managers for the 90s and beyond.

Richard Jenrette--cofounder of investment banking and securities firm Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, and the retired head of Equitable Life, who is credited with saving the company from collapse--is a firm believer in developing strong CEOs, setting specific goals, preserving historic homes, and using astrology to make certain decisions. His easy-going memoir, The Contrarian Manager, details how such unorthodox thinking has served him well during a 40-year Wall Street career.