Throughout my decades-long career as a hedge fund manager (of a family office), C-suite executive, and counselor to PE firms, I have worked with a wide range of investment banks — from renowned bulge-bracket firms to small boutique banks, and from major U.S. institutions to smaller, lesser-known firms based in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Ten things I’ve learned about investment banks and clients — as a client:

☐ Paying attention is not enough. Putting yourself into the fabric of the client isn’t an easy feat. For example, knowing executives on an informal basis is one of the most important elements in client relations. However, there is no way to teach this kind of informal work other than to fail a few times. The hurdle everyone faces isn't simply getting noticed but getting believed. Having said that, anything you do repeatedly will get you there. 

☐ Clients prefer teams. Clients consider the teams serving them as direct windows into the capabilities across the bank. The era of the individual virtuoso is declining. This is obvious, but some investment banks don’t seem to get it. Individual heroes should be anonymous. There is no 'I' in a team.

☐ Clients ‘like’ quality work, but they ‘love’ impact. The work of banks should be better than clients expect but not more or less than the situation calls for. Be impossible to ignore. Clients cannot reward those they cannot remember.

☐ Investment banks must never confuse success with excellence. Many banks have enjoyed a lot of the former. Most do not have enough of the latter (Don’t confuse awards with achievement). You can’t argue with excellence. Become bullish on skills, not bonuses.

☐ Clients are human beings, they need stroking and affection. It isn’t necessarily part of the service investment banks offer, but a thoughtfully developed and regular personal dialogue with clients can put a useful, highly positive frame of reference around the work bankers do with them.

☐ Outstanding work is remembered for a year, poor work lingers on for a decade. Message: relatively small client projects are key in terms of reputational impact. It's not the big things that will kill you — it's the accumulation of little things. The essence of investment banking seen through the lens of bankers? Creating ‘referral value’.

☐ Clients admire the ability to mobilize the best of the best. They expect investment banks to be intellectually vibrant, professionally proactive, and continually innovative. Don't spin a story — be a story.

☐ Quite often, the most valuable contributions to clients are not analytically based. The best advice I receive is usually heavily judgmental — and subjective — by nature. Occasionally, they are contributions made simply by asking the insightful question at the right moment. Having all the answers is less important than knowing what to ask. That’s when professionals really shine.

☐ Investment bankers must tell clients the truth. William Blake, the English poet, said it best, “When I tell any truth, it is not just for the sake of convincing those who do not know it, but for the sake of defending those who do.” Make the truth as interesting as it can be.

☐ Investment banks are all about clients, people, and ideas tied together by a collaborative mindset. They have to continually make investments along these four dimensions (echo: all four dimensions). Otherwise, it’s ‘game over’ — fast.