Jeff Bezos and his deal-flow chart.

AuthorKristie, James
PositionLEADERSHIP - Reprint

Book it: best bets for board reading

From a roundup of new books, insights on corporate investigations, workforce diversity, job creation, CEO succession, independence of boards, civility ... and finding a wife

From One Click by Richard L. Brandt. Copyright [c] 2011 by the author. Published by Portfolio/Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. (www.penguin.com).

BEING SOMETHING OF A MARTIAN and dedicated to his work, Jeff Bezos was not the most sought-after bachelor in Manhattan. So he decided to spice up his love life and become what he was later to describe as a "professional dater." He took a particularly geeky approach to the problem.

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Having always been the methodical type, he set about trying to find a great girlfriend by using the same methodology that Wall Street bankers use to find a great investment: He set up a "deal flow" chart. Wall Streeters' deal flow charts are listings of all of the attributes a deal must have before they will take a chance on it, in order to remain objective and not be influenced by an emotional response. Likewise, Jeff's "women flow" chart listed the criteria his potential partners had to have before he would consummate a deal.

"The number one criterion was that I...

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