He didn't want to become a banker at first. But then Ramon «Marty» Chavez accepted a position at Goldman Sachs when contacted by a headhunter. The headhunter had been tasked to target entrepreneurs from the Silicon Valley with a PhD in IT and hire them, Chavez told the «Financial News» (behind paywall).

It can't have been an easy environment to get into, when Chavez joined Goldman in 1993. At the time, the corridors of banking were tough places full of machismo and boyish banter.

Becoming Indispensable

Chavez stuck to his coping-strategy, which he had been using all his life: cooperation. He decided to help the macho bankers – and Goldman had plenty of those around – with their calculations.

Chavez: «We were useful to one another, because I did their math» he sayd of the macho traders. «Well, doing math for the popular kids was my survival strategy since I was 10-years-old, so I got to Wall Street and I thought ‘I know exactly what to do here. I’m going to do their math for them, and they’re gonna love me. And I’m going to become indispensable to them’.»

Not Only for the Moment

One of the most important pieces of advice however, one that Chavez still keeps to after his retirement in 2019, he received from Armen Avanessians, his first employer and then chief investment officers in quantitative investment strategies. According to «Business Insider», Chavez used to worry about many things in his life.

Avanessians told him: «Marty, you are too caught up in spot volatility, in what's happening in this exact second. Just keep your eye out on what you see might happen in the future. That forward point hardly moves. And if you do that, you will calm down and be much more peaceful.'"

And that's what he advises others to do too: «If you chill out, you'll be much happier and much more effective in your career.»