Why did investment banking pay so many people with so little experience so much money? Answer: When attached to a telephone, they could produce even more money. How could they produce money without experience? Answer: Producing in an investment bank was less a matter of skill and more a matter of intangibles-flair, persistence, and luck.
Michael Lewis Liar's Poker
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In Michael Lewis's book "Liar's Poker," the author examines the high compensation in investment banking, particularly for those with minimal experience. The primary reason for this trend is that the job's structure allows individuals to generate substantial profits through their connections and communication, often linked to their roles on the phone. This highlights the transactional nature of the work, where the ability to engage and persuade clients can lead to significant financial outcomes.

Moreover, the success in investment banking isn't solely dependent on technical skills or extensive knowledge but rather relies on personal attributes such as creativity, determination, and a bit of luck. These intangibles play a crucial role in navigating the fast-paced environment of finance, where quick decisions and charisma can drive profits, thus justifying the high salaries of less experienced employees.

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Liar's Poker
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Michael Lewis
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Other quotes in Liar's Poker

If you are a self-possessed man with a healthy sense of detachment from your bank account and someone writes you a cheque for tens of millions of dollars you probably behave as if you have won a sweepstake, kicking your feet in the air and laughing yourself to sleep at night at the miracle of your good fortune. But if your sense of self-worth is morbidly wrapped up in your financial success you probably believe you deserve everything you get. You take it as a reflection of something grand inside you. You acquire gravitas
Michael Lewis Liar's Poker
If you are a self-possessed man with a healthy sense of detachment from your bank account and someone writes you a cheque for tens of millions of dollars you probably behave as if you have won a sweepstake, kicking your feet in the air and laughing yourself to sleep at night at the miracle of your good fortune. But if your sense of self-worth is morbidly wrapped up in your financial success you probably believe you deserve everything you get. You take it as a reflection of something grand inside you. You acquire gravitas
The difference between Strauss and Ranieri?" says one trader still at Salomon. "That's easy. Strauss wouldn't stoop to use the men's room on the trading floor. He'd go upstairs. Lewie would piss on your desk.
Michael Lewis Liar's Poker
The difference between Strauss and Ranieri?" says one trader still at Salomon. "That's easy. Strauss wouldn't stoop to use the men's room on the trading floor. He'd go upstairs. Lewie would piss on your desk.
Before Volcker's speech, bonds had been conservative investments, into which investors put their savings when they didn't fancy a gamble in the stock market. After Volcker's speech, bonds became objects of speculation, a means of creating wealth rather than merely storing it.
Michael Lewis Liar's Poker
Before Volcker's speech, bonds had been conservative investments, into which investors put their savings when they didn't fancy a gamble in the stock market. After Volcker's speech, bonds became objects of speculation, a means of creating wealth rather than merely storing it.
Had Volcker never pushed through his radical change in policy, the world would be many bond traders and one memoir the poorer.
Michael Lewis Liar's Poker
Had Volcker never pushed through his radical change in policy, the world would be many bond traders and one memoir the poorer.
It said something about the ability of the free marketplace to mold people's behavior into a socially acceptable pattern. For this was capitalism at its most raw, and it was self-destructive.
Michael Lewis Liar's Poker
It said something about the ability of the free marketplace to mold people's behavior into a socially acceptable pattern. For this was capitalism at its most raw, and it was self-destructive.
Making profits on Wall Street is a bit like eating the stuffing from a turkey. Some higher authority must first put the stuffing into the turkey. The turkey was stuffed more generously in the 1980s than ever before.
Michael Lewis Liar's Poker
Making profits on Wall Street is a bit like eating the stuffing from a turkey. Some higher authority must first put the stuffing into the turkey. The turkey was stuffed more generously in the 1980s than ever before.
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