Best Career Advice

JANE ADAMS: It’s all about the shots on goal. Keep working hard and good things will come!

SCOTT AMES: Focus on your strengths to drive the ball forward. An executive coach I worked with in 2021 taught me a lot about how to prioritize time, harness my strengths and hire for my weaknesses. One strategy I start with every day is putting together an Eisenhower Matrix to dictate where I focus. Items that fall in the “Important, Not Urgent” category are the real needle movers that I try to give the most attention to.

BRYAN D’ALESSANDRO: The simplest piece of advice that has served me the best in the relationship-driven space in which we operate is: “Just be a normal person.” If you can develop a trusted relationship, you can uncover opportunities/issues and deliver appropriate solutions.

JUSTIN LOEB: People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it—a quote from author Simon Sinek.

PAUL L. NOVAK: Surround yourself with young talent and give them just enough rope to make them uncomfortable. It’s the best gift you can give these young professionals for their development.

MICHAEL PIRIC: Never lose your intellectual curiosity.

TRICIA SALINERO: When I asked a client recently about a 2024 expenditure, he said to me, “That’s a Future-Me Problem.” It really stuck with me. You can’t be a banker without being a bit of an optimist, though, so now my glass-half-full rebrand is “Future-Me Opportunity.” It’s easy to imagine all the permutations of a decision and attempt to prepare for every outcome, but it’s vitally important to be present, in the here and now, for my team and my clients.

ANDREW SUEN: Make the lives of those above you easier—although I’ve modified this advice over the years to “make the lives of everyone easier.” This piece of professional advice has served me well over the years and changed the underlying way I think about my entire life. A long-term approach to selflessness and a genuine desire to be helpful are indispensable assets in building not only a successful career but also a quality life.

TRISTAN TAHMASEB: Be curious—which encompasses a number of other traits. Within curiosity is self-motivation, thoughtfulness, sense of humbleness and respect for others. I have found if you set a path based on continuous learning and investigation, it can lead you to some incredible places.

PANOS TSILIKAS: “The analyst’s responsibility is to analyze” is a piece of advice that I still follow today and that was shared by Todd Kaltman, a veteran of Kroll’s Transaction Opinions group. We believe in the importance of precise analytical work, regardless of our roles or the projects we work on. Through rigorous and objective analysis, our work also sparks and encourages intellectual curiosity to ensure we put forward unbiased and fact-based decisions.