The best and easiest way to become great at something is to identify someone who already is…and do as they do.
In this spirit (and in what has now become an annual tradition), please let me share observations as to best practices of our platform’s highest earning bankers.
I’ll start with something that should be very obvious but is often overlooked: high-performing bankers are, almost without exception, fantastic and very serious human beings.
It starts with work ethic. Very many of them began their careers at bulge bracket firms – Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Lazard, etc. – where they were deeply trained in the mindset that our business expects and rewards very long hours and 6-7 day work “weeks.”
Now, here’s the key: after leaving the big banks and entering into the unstructured, self-driven workflow of our independent model, they maintained this work ethic.
This is a “magic elixir” combination – work like a young Wall Street analyst but with all of the wisdom of age – turbo-charged by the “no politics / no BS” efficiency of independent banking.
And become unstoppable.
Now, at least partly because of this lifetime of hard work, they are totally rock solid personalities and characters. They are dedicated to their families, active in their communities, and generous with their financial success.
A great example of this: as so many of you have kindly done, one of our bankers reached out to me last month to check on my family’s safety during the recent LA fires. I deeply appreciate these calls, and thankfully, we were fine.
Then, he asked if there was a particular charitable organization I thought was doing good work for the fire victims. I mentioned World Central Kitchen, and he wrote back right away, saying he had just made a four-figure donation.
Class.
Finally, and very likely because of their early career big bank experience where many of them were trained and mentored by older bankers who came of age in a pre-digital, pre-virtual worth, they “get” what our business is and what it isn’t.
There are many aspects of this, but much of it devolves to an elegant mindset and ethos: they don’t sweat the nickels and dimes.
They understand that investment banking is one of the highest-margin businesses ever designed by human hands and that we make real money only when we unlock and attain real client ROI.
Put it all together and they attract and deliver great value to great clients and get paid well for so doing.
Luckily, change and trying new and different things is certainly in the air in February 2025.
So this month, let’s all strive to be our best by doing like the best. Why not?
Fund Marketing Webinar
On Thursday, February 20th at 4:30 pm ET / 1:30 pm PT, we are excited to host an informational webinar for TradeFlow Capital Management.
Tradeflow runs two funds that primarily invest in, and finance SME companies involved in international trade in physical commodities, enabling them to participate in a very large market that banks are vacating and where they can generate high yield while being exposed to relatively low default risk and volatility.
The fund currently has $105 million under management. It is currently raising an additional $100 million.
It is a presentation and opportunity not to be missed, so register today Via This Link!