7 secrets this new book can teach you about being a superboss

Photo credit: Gareth Simpson

Hedge fund titan Julian Robertson was one of the most successful investors of the nineties. But his value investing ran into trouble in the dotcom boom years, because he kept short-selling overvalued stocks only to see them rise in the irrational exuberance of that period.

Julian Robertson shut down the Tiger Management fund and returned the money to investors. He had absolute faith, however, in his methods and the proteges who worked with him. In 2000, he handed US$25 million to one of them as seed money. That was the start of Tiger Global Management.

Chase Coleman, who was 25 years old when he received the 25-million-dollar cheque, confesses he felt anxious, given his lack of experience, but also “very appreciative of someone having that level of confidence in me.” Today, Tiger Global is one of the world’s biggest and best-performing hedge funds.

It wasn’t the only one Julian Robertson seeded. By 2015, 30 “tiger seeds” were managing US$32 billion in assets. “I’ve got reenergized at my time of life,” says Julian, who will be 84 in three months. “It’s wonderfully fun.”

Sydney Finkelstein, professor at the Tuck School of Business, recounts his interviews with Julian Robertson and Chase Coleman in his new book Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent published last month. It leads us to the first of seven takeaways from the book on what makes superbosses different.

1. Finding diamonds in the rough

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How did Julian Robertson place a US$25 million bet on young Chase Coleman? Was it instinct? Sydney Finkelstein argues it’s more than that.

Superbosses engage with the people who work with them and get to know them well. There’s a purpose in this, which is opportunity spotting. “Just as they’re always on the lookout for the next great business opportunity, they’re also consciously prowling for people inside their organizations who are ready and willing to tackle the next great challenge,” writes Sydney.

They’re also free from stereotypical constraints of age, background, or growth ladders. They throw opportunities at people, see how they respond, and figure out their potential – even if their proteges themselves are unsure, like Chase Coleman when he suddenly got US$25 million to manage.

2. Hiring those who ‘get it’

Photo credit: Sue Waters.

More than qualifications, superbosses look for that “special something” in the people they hire. As Oracle founder Larry Ellison, one of the superbosses profiled in the book, puts it: “We look for people with a strong aptitude for mathematics and physics and music (which is correlated to mathematics), but who can also make judgements as to where they’re going to invest their time.”

3. Adapting the job to the person, and not vice versa

4. Giving room for others to shine

5. Removing the fear of failure

6. Working side by side

7. Clarity of vision