Steve worked "upstairs" at 245 Park. He was one of the really talented (read "smart") people that Bear hired to help them develop the technology, etc. that kept them competitive and gave them an edge in the market. There was a whole group of guys that worked upstairs - and every one of them was really smart.
Anyhow, Steve and I developed a friendship while we were there at Bear. Steve was not an "insider" at Bear - at the time, there was a lot of political maneuverings going on and steve just liked to do his job and didn't try to endear himself to the more Machiavellian players. He was liberal in sharing what he knew of finance with others - unlike many of the other people who guarded everything they knew as if the calculations of finance were their proprietary knowledge and their guarantees of success. Steve worked at Bear maybe two years, at most, but during that time we struck up a friendship that has lasted nearly 20 years.
During either the winter of 1988 or 1989 I remember inviting Steve over to my home in New Jersey. We were going to celebrate the Christmas holidays, etc. and since Steve wasn't married, I thought that I would share my expansive family with him.
I knew it would be an interesting visit because Steve is Jewish... at the time he was not extraordinarily religious, but he was still very much Jewish. I (as some of you might know) have been Mormon all of my life, and fairly active for most of it (and for those who don't recognize this, Mormon = member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).
So Steve came for Christmas... and we had a great time. Steve met my wife, my kids, and we just began to converse about a broader range of topics. I, in turn, started visiting Steve in New York. I met some of his family, had the priviledge of meeting his uncle, etc. We did some things together in the City - like that Concert in the Park series - and generally became good friends. Steve had the uncanny ability to quote virtually anything that Robert De Niro ever said in a movie - and I have always treasured my memories of him excitedly introducing me to the 1986 movie, "The Mission." I still love that movie.Now, some 20 years later, I am happy to get an e-mail, or to chat online with Steve. He was kind enough to have me into his home to eat with his family. He keeps a kosher home, so I nearly ruined his dishes one time when I tried to help by clearing the table. He and his wife and kids have always been of interest to me.
What is really curious, is that I don't look at my friendship with Steve as something that will ever result in additional business or somehow make me rich. He and I probably will not have the opportunity to work together again - or, if we do, it won't be for anything that will pay off in money. He went on into the doctoral program at NYU in finance. He has modest needs and he isn't going to go out and take over the world. But, Steve is a good guy; my life has been better because I made friends with him. Friendships are, after all is said and done, one of the few things that you really treasure.
So, one of the best things you can do, not for personal gain in a monetary sense, but for real personal gain in a people-to-people sense, is to get to know some your co-workers. Stay in touch with them, make friends. Become rich in friends - that is what is really valuable.
Those that you work with, especially in a competitive market like the New York financial markets, are often among the highest quality people you will ever meet. They make great friends.
