Lessons from Joe Mansueto, Founder and CEO of Morningstar

Tonight, I had the pleasure of meeting Joe Mansueto, the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Morningstar, Inc. at the closing ceremony of the Chicago Careers in Business Program. The evening started with a cocktail reception, and followed with a delightful dinner. His talk was preceded by Keith Dipple, Director of the Business Program; John Boyer, Dean of the College of the University of Chicago, and Sunil Kumar, Dean of Booth School of Business, and two of our fellow students.

Mansueto is a graduate of the College and Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago. An approachable and charismatic philanthropist, Mansueto laughed when I suggested that a few friends and I were starting "Eveningstar", a late night version of his company.

In this post I want to share the 5 lessons he left us with towards the end of his speech:

1- Be a contrarian. Look to where other aren't looking. Rousseau has a famous saying, "take the course to contrary to custom, and you will always do well". Mansueto sees great value in a person who doesn't follow the crowd when it comes to interests, career choices and research. After all, that is partly how he made his money.

2- Finish what you start. Plan meticulously and don't overreach. Napoleon once said: "If you start to take Vienna... Take Vienna". I guess what Mansueto was trying to say is, at some point commit and go really deep.

3- Work with people you admire. Find a good environment, and a "good business" (a Warren word). Mansueto describes this good business with a nice metaphor, insisting on the importance of its brand. Find a castle that has a moat (ditch around a castle), and from there learn to build your personal moat. Topping it he quoted Lynch "You want to invest in a business that an old idiot could run, because odds are, someday, an old idiot will run it".


4- Be patient. Take your time. Spend it with one, go deep and enjoy it.


5- Think independently. Analyze your sources independently.