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Raymond McGuire is head of global banking at Citi, where he is responsible for managing the coverage of global industries and clients and executing strategic transactions. A member of the institutional clients group's executive committee and business practices committee, McGuire has advised on landmark transactions valued at more than $200 billion. He was featured in Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the 100 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America and on Wall Street, and by Avenue Magazine one as of New York's 50 Smartest. He received his MBA and JD from Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School (1984), and an A.B., cum laude, from Harvard College (1979). 

You Set The Standard For Excellence

Career success advice from Raymond McGuire, head of Global Banking at Citi

By Janice Endresen

Raymond McGuire, head of Global Banking at Citi, focused his presentation to a diverse audience of prospective students on “the world as it is today,” exhorting them to keep that reality in mind as they think about their careers. McGuire was a keynote speaker at Johnson’s annual diverse student hosting weekend, Johnson Means Business, on Oct. 28.

“The rules are not the same for you as for others,” he said. “Don’t let acquiring your degree be the peak of your career. You walk into a room, and automatically, you are diverse. You must invest in technical skills – they must be unassailable. If you don’t, and you get assignments wrong early in your career, you’ll pay a great penalty. In fact, you may never get out of the penalty box.”

McGuire offered prospective students several tips for success, including the following:

Pursue the right career, where you can excel, and where you understand the metrics of performance.

Pursue the interest where you have passion, and make sure the standards you have for yourselves are higher than anyone’s standards for you.

Make sure your skill set can withstand the harshest critic.

Don’t get a “but” clause in your first end-of-year review (“She’s so resourceful, but…”). The spotlight is on you, and you will be assessed early in the real world. They’ll question whether you have the right skill set. If you haven’t made the investment it will show, and it will be in that “but” clause – as in, “That race car doesn’t work.” When you assess your own performance, think about what would be on the other side of the “but” clause. Listen very carefully to feedback and determine what you need to work on. If you need to improve your technical skills, get help.

Invest your time in you.

Early in your career, you have to work hard. The sacrifices will be enormous in terms of work/life balance. Opt for work. Sacrifice means you won’t be able to go to homecoming, you may miss some parties. I know a lot of the people who went to the party early, who were the life of the party – and are asking me now for a job.

Always be prepared.

We get seduced early into thinking we’re succeeding. Don’t think because you have a certain fluidity in your field that you are always prepared: Your weaknesses will be exposed. You have to have the strength in your constitution to withstand that.

Make the most of the opportunity to form solid relationships with your peers at business school.

The relationships you form here will be invaluable throughout your life and result in mutual respect, regardless of industry. When you make a call to someone in this group, your call will get returned, no matter where you are in the world. When you take hits, make sure you have a network, calls you can make, people who can help you navigate. So — do not sit only at the black table or the Hispanic table. There’s a game out there that’s got to be played. You have to develop those relationships. Don’t take it for granted.

Develop mentors via your own excellence.

In order to develop mentors, you have to perform, number one. Two: you need people who recognize that. You have to go to them with your successes. Their commitment will come when you show how committed you are through your performance. Time is the most precious resource, and that’s what you’re asking them for. Make sure to make the best use of it: Don’t waste time; don’t chit-chat. Have an agenda, and use that time wisely.

Travel and study abroad, and develop fluency in more than one language.

I can’t overemphasize the importance of studying around the world. Make yourself an expert in some area of the world. Stay on top of it. If you read just one publication on a regular basis – read The Economist. You have to travel, interact with people from other cultures. There’s a world out there that doesn’t touch North America, people like you who are ready to become leaders - that’s the competition. They’re studying as hard as you if not harder. Familiarity with different people and places is essential: I just was in London, Stockholm, Dusseldorf, and Amsterdam. Next week I’ll be in Shanghai, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and then on to other cities.

Be a part of the conversation.

There’s a standard of excellence you ought to aspire to here, and that you can achieve. When you go on to the real world, you’ll have to live up to and exceed that reputation. You have a chance to be a part of the conversation. It’s up to you.