Let's face it — pride comes before a fall
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Let's face it — pride comes before a fall

We all know the power of client meetings. Those face-to-face encounters are what can make or break us investment bankers. But sometimes those 'breaks' are beyond our control.

A young chap, still very much in the early days of his banking career, told me this story recently. I’ve known him for a while, having once mentored him, and he can be a little image conscious. He always shows up to work in the most fashionable suits and sporting the slickest hair — believing that his good looks and charm help him snag clients.

Even when we meet for casual drinks over the weekend, he always looks absolutely dapper, with not a hair out of place. So what happened to him recently would certainly have given him a jolt.

Just before one particularly important meeting that he was set to lead, he ventured off to Japan for a quick ski weekend. During one run down the mountain, and perhaps buoyed with a bit of liquid courage, he decided to show off some tricks to his mates. Unfortunately, that plan when awry when he landed face down in a patch of snowy foliage.

He laughed the accident off at the time, but come Monday morning when he suited up for work, he realised how bad his tumble was. His face and his hands were covered in bruises. He attempted to call in ill to work, but his boss would have none of it.

The client meeting went on as scheduled, although his boss relegated him to the back of the room, marooned behind a stack of papers. The boss closed the deal, while the chap had to endure a bruised ego to match his face. 

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