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Making a success of your first job as an analyst is an important career milestone. I remember looking up at the 53-story office building from the sidewalk on my first day of work. It was scary, exciting, and pretty intimidating. Twenty-four years on, here’s what I’ve learned about what it takes to do well from…
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You’ve worked hard all year, now it all comes down to the official assessment – the year-end appraisal. If only you could be in the room to represent yourself, if only you could be in control. For two decades, this was my refrain after getting back from the summer holidays. While it is not really…
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Compensation is a tricky topic in banking these days. It is unpopular (and many have argued even unjust) for bankers to be paid large sums given all that has gone on. On the other hand, people doing an honest day’s work cannot be expected to do so for free. Whatever the outcome of the broader…
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This is a continuation of my earlier article on how to make it to the top of the tree in an investment bank. As I stated previously, making Managing Director is an art, not a science. But there are some things that will help you along the way. Are you in a Managing Director seat?…
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Making Managing Director is in part an art, and definitely not a science. There is no set formula for achieving this status, and each firm will have its own dynamics in terms of when someone becomes eligible, what it takes, and indeed what it means to be a Managing Director. That said, there are clearly…
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There is no guarantee that having embarked on the journey toward “MD-ship” that one will make it. That having been said, sometimes you just have to be patient. If you are given bad news, then the key is to understand why and what it takes to get there. Make sure you get clear and honest…
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It doesn’t feel very good to find out you didn’t get promoted, whatever the seniority level. It’s natural to wonder, “Is this a sign? Am I remedial? Do I have what it takes? Is it me or is it them?” If this happens to you at an early stage, such as going from Associate to…
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One of my favourite quotes is film director Woody Allen’s line, “80% of success is showing up.” But once you show up, how long do you need to stick around when it comes to your workplace? The perennial question of “face time” (i.e., extra time spent at work beyond normal working hours, especially to impress…
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Should you always go for the best? Whether we are talking about going back to school or a looking for a new executive job, the question is, “Should you always go for the highest ranking university or the most prestigious corporation?” Back in my parents’ day in China, all high school students took countrywide exams,…
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Today I had the privilege of meeting with some very impressive scientists who are focused on improving the lives of people across the globe. They tell me that China, and not the US, is one of the few nations that truly “get it” as far as their field goes, and so there are important collaborations…
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The people we surround ourselves with have a big influence on how we think and behave, as well as how we are perceived. That’s why parents care that their kids are not running with the “wrong crowd”. The same holds true for the people you choose to work with and, most importantly, to work for…
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Instead of New Year resolutions, I have decided to go with the suggestion made by Chris Brogan in his end of year blog to identify three words to live by during the next year, or in his words, “my guiding pillars for what I will focus on in the coming year… a lighthouse for my…
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The following situation (or something substantially similar) actually exists in real life. How close is this to your dream job, or is it pretty much the opposite? The Job: Congratulations. You have been chosen to start work at our organization. You get to pretty much design your own job; it just has to fit within…
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Life is complicated. Things don’t always go the way we expect, much less the way we want. Yet, it is often adversity that brings out our best leadership qualities. For Steve, that moment came in early October when his wife Ann had a serious accident resulting in a brain injury. As she drifted into unconsciousness…
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Keeping your composure when you feel safe is easy. The question is how to regain and retain it when you are no longer in your comfort zone, when you feel out of your element. Add pressure to any situation (speed it up, raise the stakes, increase the competition) and at some point, performance drops. Most…
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Sports tournaments make for some interesting lessons on leadership and performance, and these apply equally to business and life overall. Last week, I had the chance to observe first hand the dynamics of winning and losing at the Women’s U18 European Championship Basketball tournament in Romania. Whereas the early rounds of competition were about separating…
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Recently, I have become fixated on what my role in the world should be. I find myself grappling with questions along the lines of: What is my next era of meaningful work? What is my best and highest use to society? Where can I make a real difference? The longer it takes to figure this…
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I was watching Top Chef just to “hang out” with my daughter (she’s 13, so you grab those opportunities when you can), and it turned out to be an unexpectedly great learning experience. What’s more, it was my daughter who pointed out this particular life lesson. This was the season finale episode, and it was…
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