The Character Edge

JURGIS V. ONIUNAS
IMAP Chairman
jurgis.oniunas@imap.com

I am sure that what makes “good” organizations “great” is not any one thing, like financial savvy, or wealth of experience, or sector expertise, or any one of many other similar characteristics. It is, of course, also all these things. But most importantly, it is almost always about character

Recently, I finished a book about character by a former Superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point, and a Professor of Psychology from the same institution that blends the experience of a military leader with the scientific perspective of a trained psychologist, to give us a practical handbook on the values that lead to character. In our societies that mostly measure success by the amount of money earned, the size of house and car, and where winning is everything, "values” seems like a quaint, even old-fashioned word. Even worse, these days “values” are sometimes used as weapons against political opponents that supposedly don’t have the same “values” or are used in some perverted or cynical context. And yet, it is precisely “values” that make each person unique. And it is “values” that lead individuals and organizations to greatness…. or to mediocrity

Many years of research have led to a list of 24 universal values, classified into any number of categories. But the easiest way to think about values, as Caslen and Matthews do, is to classify them as values of the gut, the head, and the heart: a “Wizard of Oz” scenario where the lion wanted courage, the scarecrow wanted a brain, and the tin man wanted a heart. Let us consider each one in turn.

First, Strengths of the Gut

Many of the descriptions proposed by our Board Members were related to the strengths of the gut. We used words like “perseverance”, or “grit”, which is defined as the “passionate pursuit of long-term goals”. “Relentless” was also a word often mentioned, or “resilient”. These terms refer to an essential characteristic of our profession - following through on processes that can take months or even years to complete, in the face of an oftentimes volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment, or VUCA, for short. And if we think that that we have been in a VUCA environment for the past few years, I can safely predict that the next few years will require an extraordinary level of strength and resilience.

Next, Consider the Strengths of the Head

Obviously, intelligence is one of the most important pre-requisites in our field. But there are different types of intelligence4. Let’s break them down into three types: analytic, or being able to analyze, compare, and evaluate a problem; creative, or being able to use innovation and inventiveness to design solutions to problems; and practical, or being able to apply the components of intelligence to follow through and implement a solution, rather than just talk about it. To be successful you need all three.

But how do you develop these different types of intelligence? One way is to develop a high level of curiosity about different subjects; being open-minded to various solutions, approaches, and outcomes; and, maybe most importantly, having a genuine love of learning, being excited about new discoveries, new trends, and new market dynamics. And IMAP people are curious about the world, about new opportunities and new ways of approaching old problems.

Finally, we consider the Strengths of the Heart

This category is probably least associated with investment bankers, and yet, in every “having a beer” discussion about M&A war stories, we talk about how it is always more about understanding psychology than understanding finance. Deals fall through at the last minute, usually not because of a flaw in the financial model, but because of a change of heart by the buyer or seller. Being empathetic and completely aware of the needs of your client, your co-workers, and team-mates, is an essential ingredient of success. Being fair, loyal, kind, and polite are not weaknesses, as sometimes portrayed by popular media, but essential strengths, and, I hope, characteristics of all IMAP team members.

Finally, it is the combination of these three types of values, both at the personal and organizational level, especially when combined with a high dose humor and big slices of humility, that leads to character and integrity, and ultimately builds trust. And trust is, after all, our most important asset - the trust of our clients, our team-members, and of our co-workers. So, it is these values that we look for in new IMAP members, it is these values to which we hold all our members accountable, and it is these values against which we measure our success.

Today, as we begin thinking about 50 years of IMAP in 2023, we remember the accomplishments – the deals, the tombstones, the growth. But we also remember the setbacks and disappointments, and the resilience that was needed to survive those times. Most of all, we remember the people who did the hard work, and made the sacrifices to build one of the leading M&A organizations in the world.

So, can we reduce IMAP to three simple words that will resonate in people’s hearts and minds and guts and convey all that is unique about IMAP? Maybe, but I’m not as sure as I was when we started this exercise. What I am sure about is that the IMAP family, old and young, will continue to serve our clients well into the future with vision, integrity, and, above all, character.