Michael Psaros

Q: How do you view success beyond financial metrics, and do you think your Greek identity has helped shape that view?

A: I am who I am today—and the reason I have had any success—is because I am an American of Hellenic descent. Even though I was born in West Virginia, and my parents were born in West Virginia, we know exactly where we're from—the house, the village, the island. Knowing where I'm from has provided me with a grounding and with a sense of place and dignity that has been such a blessing.

I also grew up in a very, very Greek-American family, along with Greek-American values and a value system that has informed my entire life—including my business life—because there's no separation in terms of who you are as a person and as a businessperson. And then, being a Greek-American and breathing, as we say, philotimo, has really informed my entire life and career.

 

 

Q: In your work, you often have to predict potential and risk. Do you consider any philosophical groundings, such as critical reflection, when making decisions?

A: My business—and I'm in the private equity and the buyouts business—is really based on a lot of analysis, which is quantitative, but it is also based very much on judgment. In the NFL, you can't coach size; in the NBA, you can't coach height; and in the finance business, you can't coach judgment.
 

And I really think that our cultural background, as free Americans and as members of the Greek diaspora, has really helped my judgment on so many levels. Going back to the ancients—moderation in all things—we have always taken, in my business, risk-adjusted, very prudent risk. So: moderation in all things.
 

But I will tell you, and it's not so much philosophy, it's just our DNA, it's who we are. Starting a business and building it from nothing is really, really hard. My partners and I started in our 20s—we had nothing but a dream and no money—and we built a truly large-scale global business. And that was really done, as we would say in Greek, metharos—it is the Greek passion for life.
 

I have been told—and it’s been a criticism as much as a compliment, especially in the Anglosphere—that I have a passion and an opinion about everything. It's just like: why live, why breathe, if you don't do it with passion? And that is very, very much a Greek fit.

 

 

Q: Why is the Socratic method such an effective tool for teaching business principles?

A: The Socratic method is just a fancy philosophical expression for asking thoughtful, probing questions. You know, we buy businesses, we make them better, and then ultimately we sell them for profit. And in connection with our due diligence—which is the examination of the business prior to deciding to acquire it—we spend months and months and months asking management teams, experts, disciplinary experts, professional services firms, very thoughtful, very nuanced, very probing questions. So we really understand the business before we decide to buy it. And so that really goes back to the great Socrates and his methods—except in business, they call it due diligence. We “Ellines” (Greeks) call it the Socratic Method.

 

 

Q: The Stoics, such as Marcus Aurelius, advocated for self-control and acceptance of what we cannot change. How can Stoicism help business leaders navigate uncertainty or adversity?

A: I am an anti-Stoic. I don't have a stoic bone in my body. I think that’s the worst thing you can say about a person in our language, which is einai krios—a kind of cold person.
So, again I'm not a Stoic. As I just said, I’m a passionate guy, I’m the opposite.
However, from the business context, all being Stoic—and all successful businesspeople have to be Stoic—is making the correct, objective decision based on the facts that you have, dispassionately. So every day, I get up and I have to make a decision regarding one of our companies between two bad alternatives. Because sometimes, you only have a binary choice: A or B. Sometimes, either choice is not good. But you have to look at the facts, you have to separate yourself from emotions—which is Stoicism—and make the correct objective decision.