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David Weidner's Writing on the Wall
Jan. 11, 2011, 12:00 a.m. EST
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By David Weidner, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) "” Chinese mothers, if you weren't aware, are superior. Wall Street has the same kind of problem. Bankers and brokers are superior too.
If you haven't read it yet, Amy Chua's weekend essay in The Wall Street Journal makes the case that the singular focus of Chinese parents, especially the mothers, to make their kids accomplished students and musicians is better than the Western Wii-first method of raising kids. The essay has caused a stir in suburbs across America. Read Chua's essay on WSJ.com.
Chua, a Yale Law School professor, argues that keeping kids from playdates, sleepovers, videogames and TV, and accepting nothing less than being No. 1 in every subject except gym and drama, produces the "stereotypically successful" kids.
Reuters Henry Kravis
If this rubs you the wrong way, chances are you don't have Chua's hard-driving personality. You also probably aren't a hard-core Wall Street disciple. Recognizing this is the key to understanding why people in big finance do things that don't make any sense to us.
Much like the children raised by Chua and those of her ilk, the Wall Street culture is focused on its own brand of stereotypical success. The majority, say 90%, of this success is about money "” having it, flaunting it, using it as a gauge for self-esteem.
Like Chinese children, it isn't enough for Wall Street types to be good at their business; they have to be No. 1. If they're not or they protest, they're "garbage," as Chua once told her daughter. If a banker who falls short isn't humiliated by his or her bosses, you can bet that competitors are trashing them.
Under this kind of pressure, it's no wonder competition is so intense, and no surprise that many on Wall Street are surprised and belligerent when challenged about their practices and pay. Reward, after all, isn't just the measuring stick; it is the validation of superiority.
Some of the hottest, most expensive vehicles featured at the Detroit show are displayed in a gallery-styled exhibit at the Detroit show. Lee Hawkins picks some of his favorite eye candy for 2011.
Consider some of the great names of Wall Street, like private-equity king Henry Kravis, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s /quotes/comstock/13*!jpm/quotes/nls/jpm (JPM 43.50, +0.10, +0.23%) Jamie Dimon and Lloyd Blankfein at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!gs/quotes/nls/gs (GS 168.81, -0.95, -0.56%)
For them, the accumulation of wealth and power is paramount, but it's deeper than simply a career goal. Dimon, for example, learned early on that friendships were less than necessary. He became estranged from his mentor Sanford "Sandy" Weill at Citigroup Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!c/quotes/nls/c (C 4.94, +0.03, +0.61%) in 1998. It shocked him and sent him into a tailspin for the better part of a year.
It's not that Dimon doesn't have friends now, but it appears he wants more control. Witness his support and then trashing of President Barack Obama over the last two years. Maybe it was a lack of playdates.
Dimon isn't the only cold banker. Have you ever seen Kravis smile? Does Blankfein have any deeper beliefs other than the fact he's doing "God's work" at Goldman?
By and large, Wall Street's most successful and powerful have a devotion to their work that is fanatical. They work 24/7. They skip the kid's soccer games and graduations. They are distant fathers and mothers. They make sacrifices for the job; everything else is negotiable.
Yes, Dimon plays guitar. Blankfein loves the Yankees and Kravis has done some charity work. All are involved in politics, but isn't that a part of the job? A lot of bankers play golf. Does that make them well rounded?
David Weidner is the Wall Street columnist for MarketWatch. He formerly covered M&A and financial services at The Daily Deal, American Banker and Dow Jones. He writes the Writing on the Wall column which appears Tuesday on MarketWatch and Thursdays on WSJ.com. He also is a regular contributor to the News Hub.
If you can't beat "?em, join with someone else. That might be the best plan for ABC News, writes Jon Friedman.
11:38 a.m. Today11:38 a.m. Jan. 11, 2011
"How does a vampire squid respond to sunlight? http://bit.ly/eeMLrD" 11:38 a.m. EST, Jan. 11, 2011 from davidweidner
"The Chinese mothers of Wall Street. http://tinyurl.com/4oeyxqr" 7:11 a.m. EST, Jan. 11, 2011 from davidweidner
"David Weidner's Writing on the Wall: What if your mom worked on Wall Street?: Forget Chinese mothers: The Wall S... http://bit.ly/fsm373" 12:24 a.m. EST, Jan. 11, 2011 from davidweidner
"NYT takes a look at my old block in NYC. Great graphic. http://nyti.ms/fXYcLR" 4:09 p.m. EST, Jan. 10, 2011 from davidweidner
"From the trenches: a broker friend tells me advice is for clients to ease from bonds into dividend-paying stocks." 4:06 p.m. EST, Jan. 10, 2011 from davidweidner
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