No. 1 CEO: The Strategies I Used to Build 5 Billion-Dollar Companies (And How You Can Use Them)

Throughout his tenure, Brad Jacobs has built multiple billion-dollar companies. While there is no “playbook” for growing a business, he focuses on a few factors above all else in every company he operates, and in this conversation, he reveals them all. Shane and Jacobs discuss how to read anyone during an interview through a series of intentional questions, the exciting role of AI and technology in the future of business, and where money-making ideas hide in companies. Jacobs also shares how his training in math and music made him a better business operator, the one thing he focuses on to grow his businesses, how to spot big trends before everyone else, and the only thing a company should focus on for success. 00:00 - Intro 01:13 - The future of AI 03:50 - How to think rationally 05:17 - The major trend 07:26 - The research process 09:58 - On asking better questions 16:04 - On rearranging your brain 18:52 - On music, math, simplicity, and business 28:55 - Leverage, debt, and optionality 31:40 - What it takes to take contrarian bets 37:14 - Confidence and parents 46:50 - Why negative-only feedback is detrimental for employees 52:43 - Money lessons 54:42 - A deep dive on M&A (Jacobs' secret sauce to growing his companies) 01:04:20 - Questions to immediately get to know anyone 01:07:43 - On boards and board meetings 01:13:26 - On decision-making 01:20:06 - The role of capital markets 01:22:10 - The type of person you don't want to hire 01:27:45 - The best capital allocators 01:30:22 - Biggest lesson Jacobs learned from the past year 01:33:49 - On success The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday you can immediately apply to business and life. https://fs.blog/newsletter/ My New York Times Bestselling book: Clear Thinking (https://geni.us/FG4odAE) The encyclopedia of big ideas from the big disciplines https://fs.blog/tgmm/ Follow me: Twitter: https://x.com/ShaneAParrish Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farnamstreet Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-parrish-050a2183/ ABOUT THE KNOWLEDGE PROJECT Like the mentor you’ve always dreamed of having, The Knowledge Project shares timely yet timeless lessons for work and life. Past CEO guests include Patrick Collison, Tobi Lutke, Steven Schwartzman, John Mackey, John Bragg, Keith Creel, Frank Slootman, and more.