Move here when you’re 18 or 22, maybe even 24. Come from somewhere else-the north, south, west, Xanadu- and come to realize that everyone living in New York is a transplant. “Even the ones who grew up on the Upper East Side end up moving into a place downtown, which, as you’ll soon discover, is like moving to a different city.”
This is why us downtown kids feel superior to everyone.
There are lots of critical skills you need to succeed on Wall Street. It helps to understand market forces. A facility with numbers is useful. Having a feel for group dynamics is necessary to succeed on trading desks and deal teams. Superb time management, verbal acuity, and judgment are all important.
But, mostly, what you need to do is avoid the things that will destroy your career. And most of the things that will destroy your career go under the general heading of “people.”
I asked NetNet reporter Ash Bennington to look back on his years on Wall Street—where he was a vice-president at Credit Suisse and BB&T—and assemble a list of the people you need to avoid. I thought there might be three or four. I was way off. Ash returned with a list of 25 people to avoid.
The idea for this recipe came from my love of guacamole and my desire to eat more dark raw greens. Don’t get me wrong, I get plenty of kale in my diet. But it’s mostly in the form of green juice. I wanted to start eating kale in salads, but I wasn’t ready to jump head first into a salad…
I’m going to make this tomorrow.
“Valentine’s Day has always been about sorting according to status. And also about griping about the injustice of status sorting. You know this from your grade-school days. Perhaps you were the envy of the school, garnering more Valentines than your fellow classmates. More likely, you spent Valentine’s Day fretting and disappointed. Perhaps you even convinced yourself you didn’t care about Valentine’s Day at all. The oldest known Valentine’s Day poem, Geoggrey Chaucer’s “Parliament of Foules,” describes a Valentine’s Day on which nature commands a flock to take their station according to rank. The birds of prey are on top, the birds that eat worms next, water-fowl below them, and lowest are those that eat seeds. Three guy eagles make their case for the hand of a girl eagle. But before she can decide, the lower order birds object. What follows is a crazed debate among the birds. In other words, politics as usual. And Valentine’s Day as usual. In the end, the girl eagle bows out, asking nature for another year to make her decision. None of the eagles is matched. I spent this Valentine’s day like I have every Valentine’s day for several years. I read “Parliament of Foules,” drank as much whiskey as my constitution would allow, and renewed my vows against politics and in favor of falling in love when you can with whom you can. That eagle chick was on to something.”
(Click the link for how the rest of the NetNet squad spent the day.)
No Sock Puppets.
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak announced Thursday that he would not step down until new elections are held in September. But he may have already lost control of his country.
This is complex. Here’s the rundown.
Elizabeth Spiers was editorial director for B5Media. She got tapped to run the print and online operations of The New York Observer.
Meghan Keane was Editor-In-Chief of Crushable.com. She’s now taking over as Editorial Director.
Lilit was the editor in chief of TheGloss. She’s taking over the E-I-C role at Crushable.
Jennifer Wright was the deputy editor of TheGloss. She gets promoted to Lilit’s E-I-C position.
Almost anything you can do with your time is a better idea.
Germs, Steel, & Guns: A Slightly Reorganized Version Of That Other Book.
I just keep clicking.
Congratulations Observer!
And best wishes Elizabeth!
