The Insane Productivity of Andrew Ross Sorkin · ACQ2 by Acquired summary

Key takeaways

Andrew Ross Sorkin’s ability to juggle multiple influential roles is driven by disciplined routines, deep research, and genuine curiosity.
The early creation of DealBook in 2001 positioned Andrew as a pioneer in email journalism, long before modern digital newsletters.
The DealBook Summit aims to humanize business leaders and policymakers, providing insights into their motivations and thought processes.
Andrew’s media approach emphasizes authenticity, thorough preparation, and understanding sources deeply, which builds trust and delivers nuanced stories.
His work is motivated by a purpose to inform, educate, and leave a positive impact, rather than solely focusing on direct financial gains.
Effective interviewing combines rigorous research, attentive listening, and creating a comfortable environment for openness.

Summary

Andrew Ross Sorkin’s Multi-Hyphenate Role and Daily Routine

This section delves into how Andrew manages an incredibly packed schedule, balancing roles at CNBC, The New York Times, and the DealBook Summit, along with authoring books and co-creating the TV show Billions. It highlights his early start in media as a high school student, his discipline of waking up around 4:30 a.m., and his methodical approach to preparing for major interviews. Andrew emphasizes the importance of deep research, understanding the psyche of his interviewees, and the art of listening actively. The conversation reveals how his routines and mindset enable him to perform across diverse platforms effectively.

The Origins and Evolution of DealBook and the Summit**

This part traces Andrew’s journey from his teenage journalism experiments to launching DealBook in 2001, pioneering email newsletters before the modern SaaS era. It discusses how DealBook grew from a focus on deal makers to a broad readership including CEOs and policymakers, emphasizing the newsletter's role in shaping his larger media ecosystem. The creation of the DealBook Summit in 2011 is also covered — conceived to bring the newsletter's persona to life through high-profile interviews with influential leaders in finance, politics, and tech. Andrew reflects on the specific goals of using the summit to foster understanding of the motivations and psyche of top figures, and how it has evolved into a flagship event.

Building a Media Empire Without a Traditional Business Model**

Andrew explains how his media ventures, including the newsletter, summit, books, and TV appearances, are primarily driven by influence and reach rather than direct monetization. The newsletter and summit are sponsor-supported, with no paywall for the content, focusing on amplifying the New York Times’ brand among the world's most influential people. He discusses the importance of quality, preparation, and authenticity, contrasting his approach with traditional journalism and emphasizing the value of knowing sources deeply to tell nuanced, fair stories.

The Philosophy of Interviewing and Engagement**

A significant theme is Andrew’s approach to interviewing some of the biggest names in business and politics. He stresses the importance of thorough preparation, understanding the subject’s background, and creating a comfortable environment to elicit revealing answers. Techniques like using third-party quotes to diffuse tension or speaking in the interviewee’s language are discussed. Andrew values genuine curiosity and deep listening, believing that understanding the motivations behind actions provides more insight than surface-level questions. He also discusses the importance of meeting guests where they are emotionally, especially during live interviews.

The Intersection of Business, Media, and Personal Purpose**

This section explores Andrew’s personal motivation and the overarching purpose behind his work — to understand and communicate the human stories behind major business and policy events. He considers his work as part of a broader effort to make the complicated understandable and to leave a positive impact on the world. Andrew emphasizes that his diverse pursuits — whether writing books, hosting TV shows, or speaking at summits — all serve to tell compelling stories and deepen collective understanding of economic and political phenomena.

Show notes

Andrew Ross Sorkin does the work of about five people. He founded and writes the DealBook newsletter for the New York Times. He hosts Squawk Box on CNBC every morning at 6am. He runs the DealBook Summit, which has become the premier annual interview event across business, policy, and technology. He co-created the TV show Billions. He wrote the definitive account of the 2008 financial crisis, "Too Big to Fail", and now he's written "1929," a 600-page epic about the greatest crash in Wall Street history. So how does he actually do all of this?

Today we sit down with Andrew to answer exactly that question. We dive into his philosophy on interviewing, his start as a teenage freelancer at the New York Times, how he built DealBook from a daily column into a media empire, and his actual daily routine that somehow fits all of this into 24 hours!

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