Book Review: The Accidental Investment Banker

Rarely does an individual take the time to record first-hand experiences, especially in the hectic industry of investment banking.  When working relentlessly to close a deal, it can be easy to lose sight of the forest and focus on the trees.  In his book, The Accidental Investment Banker, Jonathan Knee takes a step back and analyzes the development of investment banking while retaining an insider’s perspective.  He uses his own experiences to tell the story of how investment banking underwent a fundamental transformation from a relationship-oriented, values-driven profession to a transactional, at times corrupt industry with a reputation for being aggressive and opportunistic.

Why should you, a business professional, have a thorough understanding of investment banking?  First, investment bankers provide advice on the issuance of bonds and handle selling a company’s stock to the public.  Not only do I-bankers manage different kinds of financial assets, they also serve as crucial players in the shaping of the American and world economies by:
overseeing mergers and acquisitions of multi-billion dollar corporations 
directing capital to companies that provide valuable products and services to people.

Although Knee can come across as excessively nostalgic and romantic, he does an excellent job of capturing the sense of meaning we all receive when doing something important.  Through his writings, you can sense he yearns to return to a time when relationships govern investment banking. 

Why is this book better than the rest?  Experience is the best teacher of all.  Knee is not a journalist collecting diluted facts and stories second-hand.  Nor is he a historian writing from an ivory tower.  He’s spent years in the trenches at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which have culminated into a wealth of knowledge and insight to be shared with the general public.  Even clients and professionals often find the role of investment bankers mysterious, and this book does a superb job of explaining what  they actually do.  In sum, it would be impossible for someone outside the industry to write this book.

Book Review: The Introvert Advantage- How To Thrive In An Extrovert World

Are you interested in purchasing The Introvert Advantage or any of your favorite products from Amazon.com?  If so, go to Amazon here, and help out a college student.  


Although introverts only compose roughly 25% of the population, Marti Olsen Laney argues there is nothing wrong with being quiet and introspective.  In her book “The Introvert Advantage- How To Thrive In An Extrovert World”, Laney does an adequate job of explaining the differences between introverts and extroverts.  

Largely written from an anecdotal perspective, Laney is an introverted psychologist, and she methodically divides her book into three main sections.  The first part explores the fundamentals of introversion, offering self-assessment quizzes, descriptions, and stories.  Part two discusses the challenges introverts face in a extrovert-dominated world, covering topics such as relationships, parenting, socializing, and work.  The last section deals with coping skills introverts can use to live a better life.  

Although “The Introvert Advantage” fails to live up to its name, it will provide quite a few “Aha!” moments for introverts like myself.  You will realize you are not abnormal because there are other people out there just like you.  To me, the most refreshing part of the book was the explanations of the neuroscience and biochemistry behind introversion.  This scientific research helps validate to me that there is a reason I feel exhausted in social situations, and that introversion is less of an “illness” and more of a personality trait.  Paradoxically, the research and anecdotal evidence that Laney shares do not culminate in a strong argument as to why being introverted is advantageous.  Perhaps the book should have been more appropriately titled- “Non-Specific Introversion: Who We Are, Challenges We Face, and Coping Skills For Us.”   

Laney explains that introverts are like a battery--they need to slow down and rest in order to recharge.  On her website, Dr. Laney lists qualities:

Introverts:

-Enjoy time alone

-Consider only deep relationships as friends

-Feel drained after outside activities, even if they were fun

-Are good listeners

-Appear calm and self-contained

-Think before they speak or act

This book made one subtle point that really got me thinking--you will never be an extrovert, so stop trying so hard.  In the past year, as I have taken on leadership positions at the University of Kansas, I’ve found myself needing to interact with people in highly stimulating environments.  Even this blog is evidence of my change in temperament--I write about many different topics instead of narrowly focusing on a few.  Over this time, I have become increasingly more comfortable with voicing my opinion and speaking publicly.  

I also felt that Laney reaches out to a female audience, perhaps more than she intended.  Men are expected to be outgoing especially in the dating world because it is perceived as a sign of masculinity.  This book doesn’t address the expectations and difficulties of introversion specific to each gender.   

All things considered, “The Introvert Advantage” is a comforting read that blends stories and facts.  Unlike most self-help books, it does not feed you lines in an effort to boost your self-esteem.  The author is brutally honest in laying out the challenges introverts face in a culture that emphasizes constant communication and overstimulation.  However, if you are analytically-inclined, this book won’t do much for you because it makes generic, high-level points.  

Book Review: How To Win Friends And Influence People

For all of you that love to get information and dislike actually sitting down and opening up a book, you are in look.  Today, I am going to give you an ultra-condensed version of Dale Carnegie’s 1936 book “How to Win Friends and Influence People”.  How to Win Friends and Influence People is one of the first self-help books ever published and it has sold 15 million copies globally.  The book has four main sections and the core principles of each section are quoted below.  

Fundamental Techniques in Handling People

-Don’t Criticize, condemn, or complain

-Give honest and sincere appreciation

-Arouse in the other person an eager want

Six Ways to Make People Like You

-Become genuinely interested in other people

-Smile

-Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language

-Be a good listener.  Encourage others to talk about themselves

-Talk in terms of the other person’s interests

-Make the other person feel important- and do it sincerely

Twelve Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking

-The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it

-Show respect for the other person’s opinions.  Never say, “You’re wrong.”

-If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically

-Begin in a friendly way

-Get other person saying “yes” immediately

-Let the other person do a great deal of the talking

-Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers

-Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view

-Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires

-Appeal to the nobler motives

-Dramatize your ideas

-Throw down a challenge

Be A Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment

-Begin with praise and honest appreciation

-Call attention to the person’s mistakes indirectly

-Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person

-Ask questions instead of giving direct orders

-Let the other person save face

-Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement.  

-Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to

-Use encouragement.  Make the fault seem easy to correct

-Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest