The Way of the Wall Street Warrior

CHAPTER 12Quack Like a Duck: Learn the Lingua Franca

“If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.”

When first starting out, you're raring to go, ready to conquer the business world and make your mark. But before you open your trap, know that the corporate game plays by a different set of rules, and there are forces that propel you up and down the ladder like gravity—you can't fight them, so use them to your advantage. Do everything possible to learn the rules, the backdoor entrances, the human hacks, and play like a pro.

If you have followed my sage advice, you know your boss's interests and hobbies and you've shifted your drink of choice from Miller Lite to Pappy Van Winkle. It's a good thing because if everyone's a duck, you need to look and sound like a duck. So let's get quacking.

Speak the Lingo

All companies are made up of tribes, some more territorial than others. The key to being accepted into the tribe is not only to look the part, but also to speak the unique language that develops in every workplace, particularly on Wall Street. Nothing demonstrates that you're part of the group more than if you learn to speak the tribe's lingua franca. Otherwise, it's like stumbling upon a pack of cannibals. If you have no way to tell them that you have syphilis, they will eat you alive!

Let me tell you how I learned to quack like a duck and became a mallard of Wall Street. Even though I was born in America, I grew up in Asia, ...