Am I the Only Analyst Whose MD's Don't Listen to Jack-Shit That I Say?
As long as it isn't just me I'm fine with it, honestly. It's just that the one VP at our small group is on paternity leave, so there isn't really anyone to liaise between Analysts/Associates and the MDs. On several occasions we have been in working sessions where my MD was clearly making a calculation error. When I've tried to intervene it's basically like talking to a brick wall and at least three times in the past six months we've sent something out on the MD's direction that got sent right back to us by a client, pointing out an error that I tried to point out beforehand.
I have even tried before to get cute and frame my input in the form of "Hey so just for my conceptual understanding could you explain why we are valuing stock options with a strike price the same as common stock with no strike in calculating total merger consideration?" Still, I'll get a one or two word answer and he'll walk back off to his office and send out wrong shit to clients. If this is natural for analysts and wont impact my bonus I'm cool with it, I just want to make sure this isn't solely a me problem.
Law 1. Never Outshine the Master
Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. Hide the extent of your own talents, as your masters may otherwise feel insecure. The better you make your master appear, the greater the level of power you will attain. Those above you want to feel secure and superior in their positions. This may involve making a few harmless mistakes so that you can ask your master for help.
If, however, you are more naturally charming than your master, it would be best to avoid working for them entirely.
Is this from the 48 laws of power? Either way MDs should be more secure lmao
I agree, but the point is that a lot of MDs have a narcissistic superiority complex. Chances are come review time, regardless of if OP is right, they are going to remember them as the little shit who tried to constantly outshine them. OP was asking on how to best deal with this.. which in my opinion is to let the MD fall on his own sword, it's his name going before the client.
Totally agree.
Quick question: how tf people make it to being a MD, whilst not knowing things mentioned above by OP
At least in my case, some MDs don't come from IB/Accounting backgrounds but they bring in massive networks through whatever their experience is and they bring in good revenue just from onboarding clients. Also, even the hardcore bankers that get older are pretty out of touch with excel. Even if there's simple conceptual error, nest it in a nasty-looking excel formula and they'll just have to take a VP's word that it's been straightened out in the model. Unfortunately my VP is out and they don't take my word /:
You’re an analyst, you’re meant to crank work out behind a screen not be heard. You only put yourself at risk by trying to point out errors anyway (you could be right 99 times and wrong 1 time, what do you think people will point to)?Just shut the hell up and do what you’re asked, don’t make suggestions. I say this as an analyst myself - our numbers aren’t tied to the firm’s so what incentive even is there to go to bat or show goodwill for your md? Sit tight cuz in this arena less is more as far as we’re concerned
What MD in what setting is getting involved in something as basic as stock option valuation? My advice to you would be to do everything you can to avoid working with this MD, for the sake of your own career. He sounds like he is incompetent, and neglecting his job - bringing in business - to do your job poorly. Either way, probably not someone who is going to be around for very long.
In the context of the deal it made sense as we were going through final iterations on a couple items close to closing and it was a "let's sit down and hammer this out" type of meeting. Also it wasn't like he didn't get stock options vs common stock at face value, there was nuanced language in the merger agmt and the formula in question that was pulling common stock value vs. stock option value to determine total consideration was complicated with a lot of nested functions in it. It's definitely not my job to judge MD's at all, but for my personal sanity I do prefer being staffed with the MDs who actually come from banking.
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