No around the clock days at Goldman… What up!

Investment banking is known to ask a lot to its bankers, especially in terms of energy and hours. Coming from this universe, I can tell you this is not an urban legend. As an investment banker, you really burn your youth as a Hummer burns gas. It is brutal and with no recovery.

The real issue with long hours is that it is not just about volume of work. It is a strong culture. And as in any strong culture, it is getting worse and worse because each person tries to be more Catholic than the Pope. If you speak with an analyst that has huge and dark rings under his eyes, he will always deny his awful situation. He will even carry things to extremes. “I like it!” “Pressure is so good!” “Have you seen my car?” Each person hired in investment banking builds and strengthens this culture. How do you expect to change things?

Maybe the crisis will allow revolutionizing the industry. But I have doubts. I tried to do it my way. I was not rejected but I could hope to go real high in the hierarchy. I was different. I was the ugly duckling. My hours? 7am to 6.30pm. Not more, never less. How was I able to perform and achieve my goals? I was the best in my department at my level and at the direct upper level. Was I fairly rewarded for that? Of course not! Many people try to hinder me behind my back. I had to manage many conflicts and to deal with many people hatching vicious plots all the time against me.

That is why I am doubtful about Goldman and the culture of brightness against the culture of volume. Inside the culture of volume, people feel threatened by brightness. Brightness is not the driver of success. You have to spend long hours at work and advertising yourself via this angle. “I spent the weekend working at the office!” “Really?” “Yeah, and it was so hard but so exciting in the same time.”

I do hope these conversations will cease to exist in investment banking and anywhere else. I come from engineering and I used to be a rocket scientist. In this world, the shortest answers and demonstrations are the best and most elegant ones. You are rewarded for your genius and you spend your evenings and weekends with your wife and kids. This is the real life!

“Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black” – Henry Ford

Building an Authentic Brand

A personal brand that is based on authenticity is a powerful one.  Is it because we live in an age when corporate fraud, deceit, fake memoirs, and lip-synching on Saturday Night Live are no longer shocking that we find authenticity all the more appealing?

One only needs to glance at tabloid cover pages to see that celebrities often go to great lengths to hide their flaws.   In contrast, Oprah openly shares and even brings attention to her flaws to ensure that her audience does not expect perfection from her:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/24/oprah-defends-her-hair-th_n_191287.html

http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200901_omag_oprah_weight

Perhaps it is her willingness to show her vulnerabilities that makes Oprah endearing to the public.  Her inclination to admit and to show that despite her fame, wealth, and influence, she is not perfect, and she, too, struggles with issues her audience faces, be it losing a puppy, weight gain, medical issues, or bad hair days.  Instead of presenting herself as a perfect image, she strives to present her authentic self to her audience, and encourages others to do so.   In contrast from the image that Martha Stewart presents, by revealing her own flaws and imperfections, Oprah yields even more influence over her audience because they more readily identify with her.

Similarly, during Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer’s “weeklong feud of the century,” journalists and commentators mostly agreed that Stewart won the battle of public opinion. Perhaps it was because Cramer was the purported expert in finance and investment who confidently asserted that Bear Stearns was a safe investment days before its bankruptcy was announced. Perhaps it was because Stewart presented the story of his grandmother as the face of one of millions of average investors who were adversely affected by the advice espoused by such celebrated pundits.  Finally, perhaps it was because the audience expected Cramer to live up to his promise of being a knowledgeable expert and he failed to deliver, while Stewart never promised to be well-versed in the world of finance,  yet came across as the articulate host of a comedy show who represented the voice of the average investor.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/index.jhtml?episodeId=220533