JPMorganChase CEO on brand death: 'We torture our customers with things we think are great'

“Sometimes we torture our customers with things we think are great, [but] they can't stand it,” said Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorganChase on a fireside chat with Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen at Day two of Adobe Summit held in Las Vegas.

This complacency in thinking that the company knows best, said Dimon, is the reason a lot of big companies come to an end.

“My view is that a business should always look at itself point of view consumer. And I have gone into a lot of companies and meetings, where it is about [the company] and not about the consumer,” he said.

He also added that internal processes can minimise risks for the company, it will undoubtedly slow down the company and make it less responsive. As such, companies must strive to empower the staff on ground to make decisions, given they feel the pulse of the market.

On the management level, Dimon added that his management team and he “talk about every single thing” that is an issue, no matter how big or small across departments. Complacency, bureaucracy and arrogance, he said are all reasons for a company’s demise.

“With my management teams, there are no meetings after meetings. All the dead cats are on the table and we challenge ourselves all the time, hopefully to avoid the disease that kills companies,” he said.

When it comes to leadership and being ahead of the pack, he adds that it is important to assess everything, honestly, directly, and forthrightly.

“A lot of companies don't do that - acknowledge their competitors. They get kind of complacent,” he said, adding: “Don't try to use numbers to prove what you think. Try to use numbers to understand what you're really doing.”

Does purpose really mean anything?

When it comes to purpose, the outspoken Dimon said in a rather candid manner that he thought it to be “BS” and a lot of people had overused it.

“We finance countries around the world. We finance individuals, cities, states, schools, hospital, governments, our military, the biggest companies, the richest people in the world,” he said. "Its our job."

Hi advice instead, is to just be genuine and leave the world a better place. “Be an artist, be a politician, be a wonderful parent, and do it as well as you can do it and make the world a better place,” he said.

He added that in general, people know when you care about them. “They know when you're real. They know what you're full of sh*t. They know know all those things,” he said.

Finding a balance

When asked how he maintains a balance while running an organisation that employs over 300,000 people worldwide, Dimon admits that he “wasn't always good at it” but advices the audience to take care of their mind, body, spirit and family.

Employers are not going to be able to do that. They can help and create more flexibility, but the actual work needs to come from the individual.

“If you don't recharge, if you don't get your breath, you're going to get sick, you're going to damage your health. And so yes, you got to fight for it. And those are things you fight for,” he added.