Jamie Dimon Habits - A CEO's Guide to Peak Performance
Periodic Table of Habits
Filters & Legend
Impact:
Effort:
Category:
Impact
High
Medium
Low
Effort
High
Medium
Low
Categories
Low Effort
Medium Effort
High Effort
High Impact
4
Lh
Leadership huddle protocol
2
Mn
Multi-paper news digest
9
Dm
Deliberate mistake postmortems
11
Eb
Email batch processing
22
Am
Adrenaline modulation
1
Em
Early morning cardio routine
5
Ci
Client immersion lunches
6
Dd
Departmental deep dives
12
Fa
Fitness appointment blocking
14
Rp
Regulatory pre-briefings
16
Ss
Succession stress testing
24
Tp
Talent pipeline gardening
Medium Impact
7
El
Evening leadership reading
10
Ba
Board autonomy ritual
19
Cp
Conflict pre-resolution
3
Ce
Commute email triage
8
Fd
Family dinner lockdown
17
Cc
Cognitive cross-training
28
Cd
Cognitive diversity mapping
15
Fr
Frontline recognition tours
25
Pp
Pandemic protocol drills
26
EA
Ethical AI auditing
Low Impact
13
Sm
Social media abstinence
20
Bb
Board book minimalism
21
Rt
Regimen transparency
29
Er
Energy renewal stacking
18
Ss
Strategic silence periods
23
Lp
Legacy project auditing
27
Nc
Narrative consistency checks
No high effort habits
Early morning cardio routine
Impact:
Effort:
#Health
Begin day with 45-minute aerobic exercise session combining running/cycling with light strength training. Enhances mental clarity and physical stamina for executive demands.
Multi-paper news digest
Impact:
Effort:
#Productivity
Consume 5+ newspapers daily starting with NY Post, followed by WSJ/NYT/FT. Skim business sections but prioritize international economic developments over op-eds.
Commute email triage
Impact:
Effort:
#Productivity
Process urgent messages during 25-minute NYC commute using encrypted mobile workstation. Flags 3 priority levels before office arrival.
Leadership huddle protocol
Impact:
Effort:
#Productivity
Conduct standing 8AM meeting with 12 direct reports using single-page briefing sheets. Requires solutions-focused dialogue under 90 seconds per agenda item.
Client immersion lunches
Impact:
Effort:
#Connections
Host 3 weekly C-suite lunches at private dining room with customized menu reflecting guest preferences. Bans smartphones to foster undivided attention.
Departmental deep dives
Impact:
Effort:
#Productivity
Rotate weekly 4-hour sessions with consumer/commercial/investment banking units. Reviews raw transaction logs rather than summary reports.
Evening leadership reading
Impact:
Effort:
#Growth
Allocate 45 minutes nightly to biographies/historical texts. Maintains annotated library with 2,300+ volumes on economic cycles and geopolitical shifts.
Family dinner lockdown
Impact:
Effort:
#Connections
Block 7-8PM nightly for tech-free meals with spouse/daughters. Kitchen staff preps meals reflecting family's Greek dietary traditions.
Deliberate mistake postmortems
Impact:
Effort:
#Growth
Conduct quarterly 4-hour reviews of 3 largest operational errors. Requires unedited team testimony without PowerPoint slides.
Board autonomy ritual
Impact:
Effort:
#Productivity
Mandate 45-minute director-only session during quarterly meetings. Exits room and awaits recall to prevent unconscious influence.
Email batch processing
Impact:
Effort:
#Productivity
Check inbox 3x daily using 15-minute sprints. Flags messages requiring >2 minute responses for assistant delegation.
Fitness appointment blocking
Impact:
Effort:
#Health
Schedule 4 weekly gym sessions as immovable calendar items. Combines Peloton rides with heart rate zone tracking post-surgery.
Social media abstinence
Impact:
Effort:
#Productivity
Complete avoidance of Twitter/Facebook/Instagram. Relies on curated executive briefings for digital trend analysis.
Regulatory pre-briefings
Impact:
Effort:
#Resources
Host monthly breakfasts with SEC/FED/OCC officials. Shares draft policy comments before formal submissions.
Frontline recognition tours
Impact:
Effort:
#Connections
Conduct unannounced quarterly branch/ops center visits. Personally hands out 50+ handwritten commendation notes per tour.
Succession stress testing
Impact:
Effort:
#Growth
Requires 2 senior executives to swap roles annually. Assesses adaptability through 360-degree feedback loops.
Cognitive cross-training
Impact:
Effort:
#Growth
Alternate weekly between macroeconomic analysis and AI ethics literature. Partners with MIT on neuroplasticity research.
Strategic silence periods
Impact:
Effort:
#Productivity
Block 90-minute weekly slots for unstructured thinking. Bans meetings/calls to enable emergent insight generation.
Conflict pre-resolution
Impact:
Effort:
#Productivity
Require direct reports to settle disputes within 48 hours. Escalates only irreconcilable issues with solution proposals.
Board book minimalism
Impact:
Effort:
#Productivity
Limit pre-meeting materials to 10 pages with 30% appendix reduction. Enforces bullet-point executive summaries.
Regimen transparency
Impact:
Effort:
#Resources
Publish anonymized daily schedule templates for junior staff. Highlights time-blocking techniques via internal wiki.
Adrenaline modulation
Impact:
Effort:
#Health
Use biofeedback watch to maintain 55-70 BPM during crises. Triggers breathing exercises if exceeding threshold.
Legacy project auditing
Impact:
Effort:
#Resources
Review 2 discontinued initiatives monthly for adaption potential. Recently revived 2010 small business portal as AI chatbot.