If you’re a student or junior banker looking at investment banking, it’s natural to focus almost entirely on technical skills. You’re told to master accounting, valuation, financial modelling, and Excel shortcuts. All of that matters, especially early on. But there’s a skill that quietly becomes...

For most students and junior bankers, “investment banking” is taught as a linear, rational process. You analyse a company, build a model, prepare a polished deck, pitch to the client, and eventually execute a transaction. Actually, that description captures only half of the job, and in many...