Curiosity, Preparation, and Relationships
Build a durable finance career through inquiry, readiness, and trust
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 99%
This career framework combines three mutually reinforcing practices. Curiosity drives people to ask useful questions, explore different applications of finance, and connect their work with a broader purpose. Preparation converts that interest into credibility by ensuring they enter meetings, client conversations, and training programs ready to contribute. Lasting relationships create the trust needed for candid feedback, collaboration, help during difficult moments, and long-term opportunity. These relationships differ from transactional networking because they depend on understanding other people and being willing to show uncertainty or acknowledge errors. Repeated together, the three practices turn technical ability into a sustainable career: curiosity guides learning, preparation demonstrates respect and reliability, and trust compounds across roles and organizations.
Origin
Extracted from Masters in Business when Ranji Nagaswami was asked what advice she would give a millennial or recent graduate entering finance.
Core principles
- 01Curiosity reveals more ways to create value
- 02Preparation is a personal responsibility
- 03Technical ability matters, but trust endures
- 04Relationships are not transactional networks
- 05Humility makes it possible to admit mistakes and request help
How to run it
- 1
Practice active curiosity
Ask questions about how finance works, whom it serves, and where your interests can create useful outcomes.
Pro tip Keep a running list of questions raised by each project or conversation.
Watch out Curiosity without follow-through can look like unfocused interest.
- 2
Prepare before every interaction
Research the subject, people, context, and likely decisions before meetings or client conversations.
Pro tip Prepare one useful contribution and several informed questions.
Watch out Do not assume colleagues are responsible for teaching material you could learn beforehand.
- 3
Contribute reliably
Use preparation to deliver accurate work, synthesize information, and make interactions more productive.
Pro tip Close the loop on commitments promptly.
Watch out Technical confidence should not become overstatement.
- 4
Build relationships of trust
Learn about the people around you and invest in relationships that extend beyond immediate transactions.
Pro tip Offer help before asking for favors.
Watch out Do not confuse collecting contacts with building relationships.
- 5
Use trust honestly
Acknowledge mistakes, be yourself, and ask trusted people for help when you are stuck.
Pro tip Explain what you tried and what remains unclear when requesting help.
Watch out Hiding uncertainty can compound avoidable errors.
In the wild
A new analyst researches the client, reads the relevant materials, prepares a concise insight, and identifies two unanswered questions before attending. Afterward, the analyst follows up with colleagues and maintains the relationships beyond the immediate assignment.
→ The analyst earns trust, learns faster, and becomes a useful participant rather than a passive trainee.
An early-career investor discovers an error in an analysis. Instead of concealing it, the investor tells a trusted mentor, explains the cause, asks for help correcting it, and updates the working process.
→ The mistake is contained and the relationship deepens through demonstrated honesty and accountability.
Common mistakes
Showing up to be taught
Expecting others to provide basic preparation wastes the opportunity and signals weak ownership.
Treating people as a network
Transactional contact-building does not create the trust required for candid advice, collaboration, or help.
Hiding errors
Refusing to admit uncertainty or mistakes prevents learning and can turn small problems into larger ones.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for students and early-career professionals entering finance or another knowledge-intensive field.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for people seeking transactional networking tactics or a shortcut around developing competence.
From the transcript
“First, be curious, Second, be prepared, and third bill lasting relationships.”
“There is just no substitute for walking into a meeting, to a conversation with a client, to an analyst program without being prepared.”
“It's really building relationships of trust where you can be yourself, where you can say that you were wrong, where you can ask people when…”
From the episode
Ranji Nagaswami: The Outsourced Chief Investment Officer
Ranji Nagaswami