this dude is the most banker looking banker I've ever seen.

I’ve been an investment banker for 38-years, and have one thought to add to his excellent list of skills and attributes: Do what you say you’re going to do, when you say you’re going to do it. This simple commitment will set you apart from almost everyone else.

This guy has a B.S in Chemical Engineering from MIT, an MBA from M.I.T and a J.D from Harvard... Seriously impressive.

10 seconds in I knew I wasn’t destined.

He's a great speaker. Hardly heard him say 'uh' or 'erm' in the whole speech

They say he is the most charming guy at Goldman Sachs.

Plot twist: he's only 21 years old

this man is pure rationalism, that’s why he is so good in what he does. But its also terrifying

I just wanted him to start thumping his chest and shout "GOTTA PUMP THOSE NUMBERS UP!"

I've been a corporate warrior for the last ten years. Mr. Donovan left out one important piece of advice: "don't leave behind your soul."

Skills you need: 1. Make your client believe in you 2.Quantitative skills 3.Interest in business ( Wallstreet journal, front page, 4-5 every week) 4.Discreet (don't talk) 5.Fine with confrontations 6. Put the client first. make them your priority. other things to mention: Be a student when you first start. Find yourself a tutor, learn from the good guys. Have a system.

This guy is sharp AF

"The best way to convey a sense of confidence to the client is to be competent." This applies to every facet of life and is a golden ticket if you know how to use it.

The internet is such a great resource. You can get access to anything you want at the click of a finger..

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mr. Donovan & working with him on a project some years ago. If you think this video is impressive, in person he is astounding. Sheer professionalism, calm demeanor, and cunning patience are his ingredients to success. He comes across as calm, collected, and calculated - because he is. Everything he does at work is calculated. Many of the people he has managed over the years have moved up the ladder in their own rite.

Everything about him is deliberate, his body language, his tonality, his competence..........briliant

I really like these types of videos. No feel-good motivation, straight to the facts. If you guys know other videos like these ones dealing with money, entrepreneurship or sales that’d be great

I’ve spent 35 years in deal making and large client relationships. This guy is the real deal. He has a theme about competence as a core that really resonates.

'I think that's fun' in a monotone voice with zero expression whatsoever

As serious as he looks, the fact he's willing to share helpful advice shows deep down he's a helpful, approachable, even friendly person. It's just the environment he's in that molds him to be tough and stern on the outside. Makes me wonder how many other investment bankers are actually like this.

You guys making fun of him for being soulless and boring, I just see a focused intense dude.

I'm not even a law student but I feel like you could apply these principles to any field and find success by using them

Very well rehearsed; 3 reasons why it's fun; 6 skills you need; 2 routes law degree holders take. I don't think I heard a single "uhm" or "uh." Super impressive. Thanks Mr Donovan.

Work/Life Balance: Find something and protect it, everyday, such as reading a book. Eye opening advice and perspective into his world.

Well this is an unexpected, yet welcomed surprise in the recommendations

He got to become a M.D and partner in 7 years at Goldman. That is truly phenomenal.

Jim's ending point is magical. "I'm not gonna do that to you." Excellent advice.

this is probably the most helpful talk about investment banking I've seen. Thanks alot

Despite the negative image associated with investment banking, this guy actually started to come off as humble and very helpful as the video progressed

A speech I revisit time and time again when I need that reminder on how to carry myself when it comes to the world of business

This guy seems like the ultimate professional, great video

I’ve been a corporate lawyer for 25 years, most of them as a capital markets/securities/M&A lawyer. I wish I had seen this when I was a young lawyer, and I will recommend this video to all of my younger lawyers.

College: deadline is tomorrow Me: you’re too important to me, I can’t do that to you.

BS in chemical engineering from MIT, then a MBA from MIT, and finally a JD from Harvard. Wow. This guy is impressive.

Engaging confident speaker, thank you.

That was the line or rationale an MD in M&A gave me when I asked him why I should join his group. "It's the most important project for a CEO." His temperament was very very similar to this guy. Presumably, both very smart and accomplished, but also void of too many emotions. Not exactly someone you want to do a cross country road trip with, but someone you want advising you on a deal. Related, when I was interviewing with one of GS's rivals, think MS, or JPM, when I asked this MD how he was doing, it was literally like I was the first person to ask him in a very long time. He took a deep breath and sighed and bitched about his job for a while, and how after he missed a couple of social invitations, people just stopped inviting you. Kinda surreal as a bright eyed undergrad listening to this captain of industry possibly lament about his career choice. Anyhoo...this vid brought back some memories of those days. (Btw, and for what it's worth, I got the offer at said i-bank in NYC. So it definitely didn't hurt me when I tried to be a human being and asked the MD how he was really doing.)

Really helpful and insightful. I work in sales for cloud technology, and though we do a lot of interaction with the CTO/CIO on the how, the CFO is the hard sell on why us, why now. Videos like this help me to understand the realm a little bit better. It's more objective and negotiation-focused than "clapping someone on the back" as he said. This is greatly appreciated.

I have had more valuable lessons from this 30 minutes talk than I have gotten from my 4 years bachelor degree. This man is bloody smart, bloody sharp, and bloody charismatic. I am going to apply for Management Consulting firms in the next few months, and I believe this has given me such priceless lessons and lines. Thanks for sharing that, and wait for me I'm coming. Cheers

"you need to be able to work on excel without the mouse and fix REF!"

Jim Donovan is soo articulate and really knows all the stuff he is teaching about, love seeing this, great lecture.

Much better to listen to someone like this who's actually been there and done that rather than one of these clueless success gurus.

Necessary skills: Tangible skills. 1. Interpersonal skills - the ability to convey to client that they should have confidence in you. 2. Quantitative skills. Be comfortable with numbers. 3. Have an interest in business. You do not need to have a background but you need to manifest it in yourself. Read the wall street journal. Spend ten minutes reading it. 4. Be discrete. You will be trusted with confidential information - exercise good judgement. 5. Be ok with confrontation. You cannot avoid conflict - you will be sitting opposite people that you will have to negotiate with. Be ok with that. 6. Put the client first. Make sure they know that they're THE priority. Intangible skills. 1. Be a student and an open book. Find someone who does the job well and study them. Be a student of the business. 2. Have a system. This is for everything, from pitches, onboarding to celebrating with clients. 3. Be in control. Be decisive in front of the client. 4. Have empathy. Understand your client's concerns and their positions. Reflect your awareness back to them.

I watched this video so I could feel less stressed about my job teaching English in Thailand...

“Calls and E-Mails at 2.3,4am in the Morning!!” WHERE DO I SIGN

Was skeptical at first. But gradually into the talk, I was really impressed. Thank you for sharing. Some things in the professional world are not fun and games; investment banking is serious business that impact lives.

Secret sauce: logic, integrity, honesty and common sense.

He is not an entertainer. He is there to teach. So learn

I'm from the middle east and im 30 years old. My dream is to do an mba in an ivy league and venture into investment banking. Once im done with cfa level 3 I'll try my very best to get into places like wharton and then the top investment banks. Im not afraid to start all over and be a student in my 30s but i will keep learning work my butt off to build my credible reputation. My motivation is to make my father proud. That's honestly my drive. Hopefuly everything works out.

Many excellent points about working with your client, Jim. Thank you, and UVA for sharing.

Sometimes when he's feeling really wild, he will loosen his tie

Thanks for having shared this video. Jim is a great teacher. I appreciate how he clearly lists his main arguments in bullet points. A lot of contents he covered are still very much applicable today in 2020!

The questions are really good, well organised and to the point

What this man has said apply to not only investment banking but to all businessman like in general. this is the right mindset to whoever are eventually going to deal with clients and opponents or business rivals and look how sharp and articulate he is. I truly hope in the next 10 years I could develop or better “steal” some system and modify to my own and be just as successful and wisdom as he is.

8:57 there was a glitch in the Matrix

This guy is so darn sharp. I watched beginning to end. Very translatable to ANY industry.

It is all about adjusted EBITDA and sleds stop lying

Great tips on copying an existing system, the specific skills that add value. Only thing that I wonder about is the presentation/style of confidence that keeps coming up. To me, the information itself I would think would speak for itself. I do appreciate his comment about being specific if feedback is a judgement, advise, etc... Great content, thank you Jim!

What a time to be alive - in the pre digital age, 99,999 % of the viewers would have not gotten to enjoy this lecture. Nowadays it’s just at your fingertips

@UVALAW truly belongs to the world. Thank you for sharing this in-depth insight with students & non-students alike--well done!👏

Very well spoken and educated.

Relationships are more valuable than GOLD.

I’m a medical student with an interest in business. Grateful to the KZfaq algorithms for this insight. Mr. Donovan’s 12 minutes of advice will help me become a better doctor. My patients are my clients - it’ll be my job to advocate for them, advise them, empathize with them, and close deals with them in terms of collectively aligning ourselves with my recommended treatment plans. I love the high stakes of having people’s lives and health apart of every transaction. I’m just missing out on the adversarial aspect of M&As. Awesome video.

I worked in the corporate world and these people take themselves so seriously. They’ve lost sight of living life.

Not entirely sure why this was recommended to me, but happy to watch a UVA LAW video. Go hoos!

Great lecture - it is important to note that this can apply to any job with a front-facing role and not just in the private equity or investment banking space. People skills will get you places.

Guy who works at Goldman's tech division. I'm amazed these people also exist in the firm. The culture around me is very relaxed and informal.

His advice about people hiring people they have done business with in the past is spot on. I have hired the accountant from my third party administrator to be my in house fund accountant. I also hired a lawyer who worked for the fund administrator to be my in house general counsel.

Very straightforward and helpful

Thanks for uploading this, it is high-quality!

"Why it's exciting to do deals" he says, in a perfectly monotone voice, indicative of the many years he has lived without a soul actually pretty good insight though

More videos of Jim Donovan please!!!

Since his advice do not only apply to junior positions ("take control" is an advice for a more senior role), I think that he left a crucial piece out (possibly the most important): FOCUS ON CRITICAL ISSUES. IMO what caracterises true deal-makers is their ability to weed-out the noise, identify what matters and add value-on that.

This was an interesting and useful presentation. Plus, it applies to many other jobs and to life in general. Bonus point for that. 😊 Thank you.

Amazingly crisp and on the point.

he looks excited with his work. I imagine it would be exciting working for him.

Awesome free content - thanks UVA!

I could listen to this man all day.

human relationship is based completely on transaction, most of these things will come naturally to those with the aspiration to succeed.

Great 30 minutes - thank you!

Literally looks the part to a tee, this is 100% what you think a successful banker looks like

This is so so so helpful and insightful! Thank you for this.

Thank you Mr. Donovan for sharing your insightful advice and perspectives.

This video is straight gold!

I mean this speech is really good to practice my listening lol, it is compact and straightforward

One of my favorites videos on KZfaq

That was really good

His professionalism is impressive, I hope I can talk as fluent and logically as him

I can see from his demeanor he is really good at giving vibe of highly capable person and from his delivery of the speech we can analyze how his tone never varies, it never spikes or dips. it is in monotone, that helps in conveying a message of " I know what I am doing". only during the Q/A we can see his tone varies since he is not prepared with every answer. he is the person if I will employ me to represent me in IB but I would always keep him at a arm distance.

I was super intimidated by him at first and then I realized that's his intent bc I trust him so much rn that I would jump off a plane if he said "it's in your interest" lmao. Amazing video on how to gain trus!!!

Jim’s advice is useful for all customer facing roles not just bankers and lawyers

The most polished deal maker on YT

Yes, banking is super exciting

For those curious he starts talking about work/life balance around 16:18. His answer is consistent with almost every other successful equity partners'. In a nutshell, they rationalize the sacrifice of family life with a dollar value...whether you think that's worth depends on what you prioritize in life. All I can say is I've never heard of anybody's last dying words as "I wish I worked harder earlier during my career".

may work too much, but definitely knows what he is saying

Great lecture! Thanks for sharing!

really nice content. This guy knows how to speak to an audience

Very great and insightful lecture

This’s actually much more authentic than I thought. The most fascinating point to me: “it’s exciting coz it’s intense”. 2nd one: “choose something that’s special to u and protect it.” The last part is very sales...😂

This man exudes confidence

Very well to explaining process of management