Chief executive Bill McNabb talks to the Washington Post's Thomas Heath about everything that makes Vanguard [profile] Vanguard. And according to him, it's not about individual stardom and frivolous bells and whistles for higher-ups; it's about being a lean, mean machine as a team.

Mcnabb joined the company in August 2008, taking over for Jack Brennan.

The chief wants to grow top money managers from within the company. He said, "We want to be the destination for individual investors. We want to be the place that people think this is the firm that has my back."

When asked how he thinks one can be successful, McNabb said, "Find something you are passionate about. Something that gets you up every morning and that you believe in. And look for a match from a values perspective."

The chief said the Vanguard culture "disdains pretense":

It’s very meritocracy-driven. There’s not a lot of hierarchy ... very little turf. It’s also very egalitarian. And I don’t mean socialist. People who perform the best move ahead.

We don’t have superstars walking around. The money management group doesn’t have special parking spots or a special dining hall. The best parking spaces are for those who get there early.

Our view is to compensate what’s fair for whatever they’re doing, but don’t do it in indirect ways. Don’t do it with perks. Do it in cash. And make it based on the job.

McNabb also emphasized the importance of working as a team.

“People understanding we’re all in it together is very important," he said. “When we were more telephone-dependent ... when the phones started ringing and we didn’t have enough people in our phone group to answer them, we dropped what we were doing and we went and answered phone calls. We call it the Swiss army." 

Edited by: HFD


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