The Way of the Wall Street Warrior

CHAPTER 24Congrats, You've Arrived: Now Get Back to Work!

Welcome! You've finally made it to the coveted spot at the top of the pyramid. On Wall Street, that's managing director, but on Main Street it's typically executive management. As managing director, you've mastered the skills I've preached. You may not be the Messiah (yet), but you have a gaggle of clients singing your praises and a cadre of disciples doing your bidding. You stand out in a sea of robotic bankers, give Oscar-winning performances at every interaction, and passed 10,000 hours of pitch practice years ago. You dodged every landmine along your career path, mastered every quirk of human nature, and are considered by everyone to be their BFF. You speak the lingua franca of Wall Street alpha dogs and covered up every one of your million blind spots. In fact, you turned every one of your bugs into features and you use your own time wisely. You're not only on good terms with your boss, but also your boss's boss and are getting paid handsomely. You're in the running for Boss-of-the-Decade and now you're officially a Big Swinging Dog.

Becoming a BSD

Big Swinging Dogs (BSDs)¹ are the Bigwigs. The Queen Bees. The Kingpins. The Boss Ladies. The Grand Pooh-bahs. These rainmakers rake in enormous fees to the firm and get paid for it. Becoming a Big Swinging Dog is the ultimate prize on Wall Street and can be the culmination of one's career. It's what every senior banker craves. Without it, you'd just be a Big Dog—read ...