American Consequences - May 2018

THE UNEXPECTED UPSIDE OF... A WALL STREET EDUCATION

I was out- connected, out-degreed, and out- experienced.

University and knew how to recite the night’s dinner specials while taking an order from a table of 12 without writing anything down. On my first day, I realized there was no way I could stand out at my job by faking it. So my first lesson was a quick one... I learned the importance of knowing what I didn’t know (which was a lot) and being teachable. There’s no shame in saying: “I don’t know.” The guilt only comes after you say it again and again after you’ve already been taught. I saw many “smart” kids come and go. They disappeared into obscurity because

they believed they already knew things and wouldn’t ask for help. I learned how to say “I don’t know” for survival. Wall Street taught me the benefit of identifying when I didn’t know something and then proactively trying to learn it. When you don’t know the answer – get it. After four years at Morgan Stanley, I started looking for my next gig. One interviewer asked me about the value of the Japanese yen. I had no idea what the answer was. Heck, I didn’t even really understand the question. But I knew the worst thing I could do in that

By Turney Duff

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American Consequences 45

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