Jamie Dimon’s Crisis Playbook

In 2008, as Wall Street reeled, Jamie Dimon told shareholders that JPMorgan would run with a “fortress balance sheet” enough capital and liquidity to take punches and keep lending. Fifteen years later, when regional banks wobbled in 2023, that same discipline helped JPMorgan steady markets and absorb First Republic’s assets. Dimon’s lesson is stark: resilience is not defensive; it’s the foundation of offense.

The back office, built for founders

We’ve worked with over 800 startups—from first-time founders at pre-seed to fast-moving teams raising Series A and beyond—and we’d love to help you navigate whatever’s next.

Here’s how we’re willing to help you:

• Incorporating a new startup? We’ll take care of it—no legal fees, no delays.

• Spending at scale? You’ll earn 3% cash back on every dollar spent with our cards.

• Transferring $250K+? We’ll add $2,000 directly to your account.

Get started today.

Origin Moment: Apprentice to Architect

Dimon cut his teeth under Sandy Weill, learning M&A, gritty operations, and the unglamorous plumbing of banking. After a highly public exit from Citigroup, he took over Bank One in 2000, cleaned it up, and merged it into JPMorgan Chase in 2004. The turnaround cemented his reputation as a builder who sweats details others gloss over.

At JPMorgan he obsessed over risk basics credit, liquidity, interest-rate exposure, operational controls and the culture that enforces them. He simplified reports, shortened feedback loops, and insisted on candor in meetings. The goal wasn’t perfection; it was early-warning systems that surface trouble while it’s still small.

Turning Point: Building the Fortress (2006–2010)

On the brink of the global financial crisis, Dimon raised capital, tightened underwriting, and kept a thick liquidity cushion while peers chased yield. He pushed stress tests, turned up skepticism on exotic structures, and kept exposure to fragile counterparties in check. When the storm hit, JPMorgan could keep lending, support clients, and selectively acquire assets others couldn’t stomach.

Internally, he rewired incentives so that risk-adjusted returns not raw volume drove rewards. Post-crisis, he doubled down on controls and capital planning instead of relaxing after the win. The bank exited the era larger, more credible, and with the dry powder to invest ahead of rivals.

Why it mattered: Resilience bought speed; when others froze, JPMorgan could move. In crises, preparedness compounds into opportunity.

Cultural Reset: No Surprises, Brutal Simplicity

Dimon’s meeting rule is simple: no surprises bring the ugly facts early. He favors “brutal simplicity”: short memos, plain language, and dashboards that make risk posture obvious. Executives are rewarded for escalating problems, not hiding them.

The culture rejects “clever but fragile” products that fail under stress. Audit, risk, and compliance have real power and visible independence. Client-first execution is the north star, because trust is the bank’s scarcest asset.

Second Turning Point: Tech, Payments, and the 2023 Shock (2016–2024)

Dimon funneled billions into technology modernization cloud migration, cybersecurity, real-time data, and machine-learning risk tools. On the front end, JPMorgan scaled a universal payments network, modernized consumer apps, and fused data across businesses to serve clients as one firm. The result was a platform that felt more like infrastructure than a traditional bank.

When regional banks stumbled in 2023, JPMorgan stayed liquid, absorbed flows, and acquired First Republic’s assets after a government-facilitated process. The bank didn’t just survive volatility; it gained share and credibility. Discipline in peacetime amplified advantage in wartime.

Key insight: Systems built for day-to-day efficiency should be stress-ready; the best growth strategies double as resilience strategies.

Mindset & Habits: Five Practices You Can Steal

Lessons for Readers

1. Resilience Is a Strategy, Not an Accessory

Capital, liquidity, and boring processes look costly until you need them. Buffering for bad times creates the freedom to act decisively when others can’t. Resilience is the cheapest optionality you’ll ever buy.

2. Make Risk Everyone’s Job

Central risk teams can’t carry a whole enterprise. Give operators simple dashboards, clear limits, and incentives to escalate early. When risk ownership is distributed, surprises shrink.

3. Reward Candor, Not Spin

Leaders get the behavior they celebrate. Praise early warnings and transparent post-mortems; punish information hoarding. Candor speeds fixes and builds trust with regulators and customers.

4. Build Platforms in Peacetime

Invest in systems, data, and talent before a crisis hits. The ROI arrives when volatility spikes and your platform absorbs shock gracefully. Prepared firms gain share while others triage.

5. Grow Where You’re Strongest

Focus expansion on lines where your capabilities are repeatable payments, data, service reliability. Strength compounds faster than breadth for breadth’s sake. Let coherence be your moat.

Weekly Challenge

Audit one core risk in your business credit, delivery, security, or compliance. Define a single metric that best predicts trouble early and set an explicit threshold for escalation. Share the metric, owner, and playbook with your team this week, then rehearse the drill.