You Can't Predict a Hero: From War to Wall Street, Leading in Times of Crisis [Hardcover]

Written by Joseph Grano, Jr. with Mark Levine, this book offers an abundance of wisdom from a corporate executive about whom I knew nothing until I began to read this book. Immediately, he establishes a direct and personal rapport with his reader and sustains that throughout the lively narrative. "Simply put, I'm a successful businessman who grew up working class and climbed the economic ladder on the strength of hard work, street smarts, leadership skills, and to be immodest, character. While I am not a complete unknown, particularly among Wall Streeters, mine is certainly not a household name. The average man or woman on the street is not clamoring to hear what Joe Grano has to say."

That may be true and if so, that "average man or woman on the street" now has the opportunity to purchase this book and share the career and life lessons that Grano has learned throughout several decades of corporate leadership and public service. This book was originally written as a letter, to serve as "a meaningful and memorable gift" for his only son, Joseph. "What did he really know about me?" Briefly, after Grano graduated from high school, he attended Central Connecticut State University but dropped out to enlist in the U.S. Army. He completed Officer Candidate School, eventually joined the Special Forces, served in Viet Nam where he was severely wounded, returned to the U.S. (after six years of military service), bringing home with him "not just maturity, but a body full of shrapnel and enough broken bones and torn muscles, tendons, and ligaments to quality me as 60 percent disabled. Instead of a sheepskin, I had a Bronze star with a V for valor. Without a college education and with severe physical limitations, I did not know what my future would hold."

Over time, demonstrating courage, determination, focus, and effort that are (for him)
"incomprehensible," Grano achieved success in a series of increasingly more demanding corporate positions in the Merrill Lynch, PaineWebber, and following a merger, UBS PaineWebber. He later chaired the President's Homeland Security Advisory Council. Throughout these years, it is true, he sharpened his skills, increased his business knowledge, made mistakes from which he learned (but rarely repeated), and in countless other ways sustained his professional development. Meanwhile, however, amidst this growth, his core values remained the same during the various crises he encountered on the battlefield and then in the business world. Grano possesses what Ernest Hemingway once characterized as a "built-in, shock-proof crap detector" and, to his credit (unlike Hemingway), he applied it to himself as well as to others.

I think that this book will be of interest to all executives (whatever their age and circumstances may be) but of greatest value to those who are now preparing for a career in business or who have only recently embarked on one. Although initially written as a letter to his son, the thoughts and feelings Grano shares, the experiences he recalls, and his abiding faith in human potentialities can help to guide and inform young women as well as young men as they pursue their goals. Of special interest to me are the situations in which Grano "walks the walk" when setting an example of the core values he affirms. While serving in Viet Nam, he exercised his authority as commander on the ground and denied permission for the division's commanding officer's helicopter to land. The area was too dangerous. The pilot called back and repeated, "Requesting permission to land," and then added, "Don't you know who's asking?"

Grano replied, "I know who's asking, but I don't give a damn. Permission's still denied." A day later, once the area had been secured, he gave permission for the helicopter to land. The general stormed out of it and headed straight fir him. "Who the hell do you think you are stopping me from visiting my troops?" he bellowed. "Sir, we were having contact with snipers," Grano explained, and pointing to the general's gleaming belt buckle, said, "You see that big eagle on your stomach? Well, I don't give a damn about you, but those guys are terrible shots. I'm afraid they'll miss you and hit me." The general stared at him for a minute, then burst out laughing.

Leaders need to be decisive, making tough decisions under pressure, but it also helps to have a sense of humor. That certainly proved to be true on numerous occasions later in Grano's career. However, he always took his fiduciary responsibilities seriously, especially to his employers and to those associates for whom he was responsible. He also took his personal obligations very seriously, as when he repaid a substantial debt rather than declare bankruptcy. However, he never seems to have taken himself too seriously.

"One of the realities of combat is that you can't predict a hero." That may be true in most instances but Grano seems to be an exception because in combat and then later throughout his career as a corporate executive, his behavior was predictable because his values were non-negotiable. I am grateful for what I learned by reading this riveting, at times refreshingly candid memoir. I also wish I had had the opportunity to serve with Joe Gano or work with him. He seems to be authentic leader as well as an authentic human being.