The Art of Being Unreasonable: Lessons in Unconventional Thinking

CONTENTS
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: The Art of Being
Unreasonable
Being Unreasonably
Unreasonable
Discovering the Art of Unreason
Chapter 2: Why Not? The Powerful
Question
“Why Not?” as the First Step to
Success
Nothing Sets Me Off More Than
Being Told I Can’t Do Something
“Why Not?” Should Be
Something You Ask Every Day
Chapter 3: Forget Conventional
Wisdom
Conventional Wisdom Strangles
Innovation
Innovation Is a Permanent
Revolution
Success Is a Starting Point, Not a
Conclusion
Nothing Lasts Forever
Look Outside Your Personal and
Professional Comfort Zone
Chapter 4: Do Your Homework No
Matter How Much Time It Takes
Don’t Waste Time on Shortcuts

—They’re Usually Dead Ends
Pay Attention to History
Is Core Competency Just Another
Term for Complacency?
Once You’ve Done Your
Homework, Put in the Long
Effort—It Will Pay Off in
Unexpected Ways
Big Ideas Don’t Happen in a
Moment
You Can’t Do It All Yourself, So
Ask Questions and Delegate
Chapter 5: The Value of Being
Second
Follow the Smart First Movers
Markets Evolve and First Movers
Sometimes Can’t, or Won’t,
Keep Up
First Movers Always Leave Some
Room—You Just Need to Find It
Study a First Mover’s Failure for
Clues to Success
Whether You’re the First Mover,
the Second, or the Last—Just
Keep Moving
Chapter 6: How to Work 24/7 and Still
Get 8 Hours of Sleep
Work Doesn’t Have to Be Your
Life, But Your Life Is Your Work
Know What You Have to Do,

Which Is Less Than You Think
Not Everyone Needs 8 Hours
Setting Priorities Means Being
Disciplined, but Not Rigid
If You Can’t Delegate, It’s Not
Them, It’s You
Try Saying “Let’s Move On”—
Even to Me
Chapter 7: Bright and Young Is a
Winning Combination
Sometimes You Are What You
Wear
Interviews Don’t Have to Be
Tricky
Qualifications Are Almost
Everything
How to Keep ’Em Once You
Hire ’Em
Youth Can Be a Risky Bet
Older People Can Be Young Too
Chapter 8: Risk
Clinging to Safety Is More
Irrational Than Taking Risk
Asking the Key Questions
Risk Can Be Contagious—Don’t
Catch the Deadly Kind
Never Bet the Farm—Or Even
Half the Farm
Chapter 9: How to Get Results
Make Sound Promises and Offer

Something in Return
Perfect Your Pitch, and Make It
Big
Chapter 10: Leverage
Some Straight Talk About the
Mother of All Loans—Your
Mortgage
Spread the Wealth—How to
Leverage Doing Good
Extend the Power of Your Dollar
—Find Money That Costs Less
Than Yours
Leveraging People and Effort
Works Just as Well as Leveraging
Money
Chapter 11: Marketing
Know Your Customers and What
Moves Them
Focus on Value Because Your
Customers Will
Market Like a Major Player, but
Don’t Spend Like One
Make What You’re Selling
Matter—From the Name and
Slogan on Down
Selling a Cause Requires More
Than Conviction
Chapter 12: Investing
Don’t Fear Risk, but Don’t Take
One if You Don’t Have to

Focus on Picking an Advisor, Not
Stocks
Diversify or Die
Volatility Happens
Chapter 13: Negotiation
How to Make a Sound Offer
Every Time
In a Good Negotiation,
Everybody Wins
Never Be Afraid to Ask
Surviving the Silences and the
Stares—Stay Unemotional and
Disciplined
Be Ready to Say Yes and Don’t
Sit Down Unless You Can Make
a Decision
Don’t Swing Wildly—Start Close
to Where You Want to End Up
Never Forget What Makes the
Other Guy Tick
Chapter 14: The Logic of Being
Logical
A Logical Idea Is One That
Makes You Say, “Why Didn’t I
Think of That?”
Like Wine, an Idea May Need to
Age
Chapter 15: I Ain’t Nothing but a
Hound Dog
Go After Big Game

Whether or Not You Succeed,
You Have to Keep Hunting
Unreasonable Persistence
Produces Big Payoffs
Even the Unreasonably Persistent
Must Know When to Quit
Chapter 16: Is that the Best You Can
Do? Motivating People by Challenging
Them
High Expectations and Shared
Challenges Create Loyalty
Nothing Motivates Like
Achievement
What’s Better Than Praise—
Money and Higher Expectations
Fear Is Not a Motivator—It Only
Gets You Unhappy Employees
and Poor Work
Whether You Succeed or Fail,
Keep Moving
Chapter 17: Competition
Just Because There’s a Winner
Doesn’t Mean There’s a Loser
Architecture—The Purest Form
of Competition
The Unexpected Pluses of
Architecture Competitions
Concept Over Cost
Chapter 18: It’s Better to Be
Respected Than Loved

Disagreement Is Healthy—Learn
How to Distinguish It from
Dissent
Good Principles Are Portable—
Stick to Them
Let Go of Power Before You Let
Go of Principles
Don’t Become Ensnared by Egos
—Not Even Your Own
If You’re in the Way, Move
Nothing Wins People Over Like
Success
Chapter 19: Giving Back
Everyone Can Be a Philanthropist
—Not Just the Rich
Don’t Just Give It Away—Look
for the Place to Make a
Difference
Start Giving Now—And It
Doesn’t Have to Be Money
Be a Philanthropic Game
Changer—Start Local and Think
Like an Entrepreneur
Chapter 20: Education: Never Let a
Crisis Go to Waste
The World Is Moving Forward,
but American Education Is
Stagnant
If There’s a Crisis, Get Involved
and Make a Change

Big Goals and Big Results
Taking Big Risks Means Getting
Big Pushback
Chapter 21: The Unreasonableness of
Art and Artists
Why I Collect
Doing Homework—Even for an
Avocation—Will Deepen Your
Experience
Pursuing a Passion Sometimes
Means Casting Aside Your
Business Sense
How Not to Get Distracted by
Your Passion
A Passion Is Not a License to
Spend
For Even Greater Rewards, Share
What You Love
Chapter 22: Reflections and Second
Thoughts
My Parents’ Unintentional Gift
My Sons and My Choice—On
That Elusive Work-Life Balance
Don’t Let Others Define Your
Failures or Your Successes
My Proudest Moments—They
May Not Be What You Think
I Hope My Greatest Achievement
Is Yet to Come
The Best Move I Ever Made

Appendix
Supplemental Images
Index

Copyright © 2012 by Eli Broad. All rights
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To Edye, the love of my life
FOREWORD
Michael Bloomberg
We have all met unreasonable people in our lives.
Some of us have even been called unreasonable—
or worse. But if ever there’s been someone
qualified to write a book on being unreasonable, it
is Eli Broad. And if ever there’s been a time when
we need more people to be unreasonable—in
business, philanthropy, and especially government
—it’s right now.
Eli Broad’s life is a great American story, not
only because it is a story of hard work and
success, but because it’s a story of dreams—of
pushing into new frontiers and believing that the
impossible can be achieved. That’s what Eli has
done throughout his life, and it’s why he has
accomplished as much as he has. But this book is
less about what Eli has done and more about how
he has done it.