Calling in the Cavalry
When I decided to move out here to San Diego about two years ago, I spoke with Kim and we decided to just put a stake in the ground. I said we should move out at the end of 2019, which meant we should extend our lease on our apartment in New York for only eight months instead of twelve months. When I spoke to the rental company I expected some push-back, but they agreed on the proviso that it was a one-time arrangement and any further renewal would have to be for twelve months. That arbitrary stake in the ground proved to be important because it gave us something to set our sights on and we stuck to it. Part of preparing to move out here was thinking about what I would spend my time doing. Technically, I was coming out while remaining CEO of the hydrogen company I had been with for two years, but I knew that would not last too much longer (as it turned out it lasted until this March, which was longer than it probably should have). I had retired from teaching as a Clinical Professor at Cornell in mid-2017 after ten years, but I thought it might be a good idea to take up teaching again in a new setting. So, I inquired and one of the local universities had some interest in my particular experience and skill set. I did some guest lecturing and then they set me up to teach a course last Fall in one of the specific subject areas (project financing) which I had taught at Cornell and which they felt would interest their student body.
The schools out here and the students who are enrolled are both very different and yet very much similar in other ways than those I had taught at Cornell. Logically, Cornell is very oriented towards careers in New York City and the Northeast in general. That means that the student body is very finance and accounting centered (I consider consulting to be only a slight departure from that vortex). Where the students are the same is that they are all very ambitious and want to improve their career prospects. But out here, most of the students are enrolled while they are working and while I do not teach courses in what in the East is called an in-service MBA program, the classes are either in the evening or on weekends to accommodate the students’ schedules. Most of these students, as best I can tell (and I have only seen the finance students since COVID has prevented me from being on campus), are not headed for financial intermediaries, but are headed for general management where finance training is helpful, but less central to their work. That somehow seems more healthy and productive to someone like me that’s seen one too many sell-side proposal or buy-side mandate. While I am sure these students want to be billionaires just like the Cornellians, they don’t seem inclined to think their path is through hedge funds or private equity deals.
But all that does not mean that they don’t need to understand as much about the latest in finance just like the Cornell students. For those brave enough to want to concentrate in finance, one of the courses they are required to take is an Advanced Corporate Finance course. The head of the Finance Department has asked me to teach that very course this Fall, starting in three months. One might think that a forty-five year senior Wall Street banker who was a ten-year Clinical Professor of Finance at Cornell would snap his fingers and say, “no problem”. That is exactly what I did even though I immediately started worrying about what I might have to bone up on or learn quickly to be as current as possible for these students. In the grand scheme of the academic calendar, being assigned a new “required” course with only three month’s notice is actually quite a quick hop. The good news is that I apparently have total latitude in designing the course as I wish (the syllabus from the last two years shows how customized the course is allowed to be in conformity with the professor’s experience and interests. That is a smart choice by the school since teachers of the practicum (like me) do best when they stay aligned with their experience and interests.
Finance is a broad and ever-evolving discipline. The first thing needed is to outline what I think would be a compelling curriculum that would give these students valuable insights that would be useful for them in their careers and perhaps spur them to consider and perhaps pursue some of the ideas passed on. I take that as a solemn obligation and much more than just a course to be gotten through and a list of topics to be ticked off a list. The process of doing this would generally be to think about what I am currently involved with, but I am not currently involved in any financing issues. Therefore, I did the next best thing, I called on ten friends from my finance career and started thinking and talking. My ask of them was to consider being guest lecturers for the course. These were random friends and not people I associated with specific topics on the list. In talking to them each, I suggested topics that fit their expertise and focus and allowed them to respond. What came out of this was an intricate and interesting puzzle that started to take shape. What was most interesting was that my friends fell squarely into two categories, those who are best equipped to discuss traditional finance issues, and those who are involving themselves in very leading edge new world finance topics. The puzzle that began forming before my eyes was one that portrays the quickly advancing process of transition from intermediated and traditional finance to the more avant garde decentralized finance. I believe that combination will be both unique and compelling for these students, and I am confident that I can make it especially so with the help of my friends.
When I started this journey a few days ago, I had no idea where I would go with this course. The syllabi from the past two years were good, but more textbook-like than I could do well. But the quick feedback from my cavalry of friends has entirely solved the biggest issue of a game-plan. There is still plenty of preparation work to be done and lectures, cases and projects to be set. I honestly believe that this is how things work in life. That which is systematically developed from a tried and true list of traditional topics can make for a valuable learning experience for students, especially if done with interesting and demonstrative case studies, but it can also be no better than a tour through Wikipedia and Investopedia internet research. The best approach is always “crowdsourced”, which is what I consider my friends’ input to constitute. Calling in the cavalry is not a fall-back, but usually the best approach that generates the most innovative thinking.
I have said for a long time that the best parts of my career were the array of great people with whom I had the opportunity to work. The one thing I am certain of is that the smartest person in the room is the person who knows that he or she is never the smartest person in the room. I now consider this course to be something exciting that I am interested in developing further. The teacher must always remember to be a student to become the best teacher he or she can become. And furthermore, as one of my dear old friends said, one has to know when it’s time to allow yourself to become irrelevant. I’m keeping that in mind for the future, for when instead of the cavalry coming, I’m just hoping the “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” people are on their way.