Business is all about relationships. Buyer and seller, partner and consultant—all business interactions are either acting upon, forming, or dissolving relationships. It is the fundamental truth that guides all of the most successful businesses and individual professionals. The best relationships, the ones that lead to the greatest successes, are built on trust and integrity.
Few understand this quality of business better than Annie Wang. As the Managing Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at Nomura Securities International, Annie’s everyday tasks are predicated on building and fostering relationships with corporations, financial sponsors, and entrepreneurial clients. Advising on business strategy, deal structuring, valuation, deal negotiations, and general deal tactics are all tasks that are only successful when there is a good relationship between Annie Wang and the clients involved.
So how does Annie Wang, and other professionals like her, build these long-lasting and productive relationships? The best relationships, be they public or private, casual or professional, are built upon the foundational triad of trust, integrity, and good communication. Through new platforms, tools, and technology, Annie is able to establish and maintain a good reputation, set up clear lines of communication and accountability to build trust with clients, and foster numerous robust, productive, and valuable relationships.
The Power of Technology
New technology has been a boon for business since the dawn of time, but the digital landscape of the modern world lends itself even more so to cutting edge innovations and new trends. For businesses like Nomura Securities International, new technologies allow advisors to connect with clients remotely and conveniently, gather real-time information necessary for informed financial decision making, and track new market trends.
Annie Wang uses these tools and platforms every day. They give her access to the data and news she needs to stay current with new market trends and innovations, connect with clients and colleagues, and get real-time information at her fingertips—all without necessarily having to be at her office desk.
The Foundations of Trust
It’s hard for two people who don’t trust each other to work well together. Whether it’s a personal distrust or a lack of faith in the other’s capabilities, a relationship lacking trust is doomed to failure and dysfunction, which can cost an organization valuable time and money. So how do professionals build trust with their peers and establish themselves as a valuable member of a team or enable a working relationship?
Annie Wang’s approach is straightforward: “Have integrity and be honest.” For her, honesty and integrity are the foundation of building the trust essential for a productive working relationship. This involves maintaining a professional demeanor and showing respect to everyone she interacts with, regardless of their role inside or outside the company. By consistently delivering high-quality work that meets or exceeds expectations, Annie not only demonstrates her commitment to excellence but also builds a positive reputation with her peers and colleagues. Her dedication to both respect and results is key to establishing lasting, trusted relationships.
No matter how skilled or knowledgeable a given professional is, they’re bound to make some kind of mistake at some point. Learning how to respond to that mistake, and more specifically respond to criticism, complaints, and general feedback, is critical for building a trustworthy reputation and robust relationships. For Annie Wang, it’s a simple process: “Really listen to what the feedback is, ask questions to understand the root of the problem, proactively think of ways to rectify the situation, and don’t make the same mistake again.”
There’s another component to honesty and integrity, and that’s communication. It’s one thing to be a professional with integrity who wants to take responsibility and improve. It’s another to be a professional that does so effectively. Clear communication is what makes that difference and is what sets Annie Wang apart from her peers. She makes sure to combine active listening and targeted feedback with empathy and emotional intelligence to make sure both she and her team are integrating feedback and growing without burning out or getting overwhelmed.
Inviting Valuable Relationships
In the business world, long-lasting relationships between companies and individual professionals may become deeper friendships, but they start as relationships of value, trust, or opportunity. A professional reputation can invite or dissuade potentially lucrative and valuable relationships, and it’s something the most successful people prioritize.
As the Managing Director of Mergers & Acquisitions, Annie is responsible for guiding clients through multimillion-dollar deals and decisions that could affect entire industries. That requires a great deal of trust. She knows how important it is to not only act with honesty, integrity, and professionalism every day but also to maintain her reputation for doing so, lest potential clients (or existing ones) waver in their faith and build relationships elsewhere. To this end, Annie takes steps to invite valuable relationships and consistently demonstrates that she is the expert and guiding hand best suited to helping clients.
One of these steps is a dedication to continuous learning and research to ensure that she’s at the bleeding edge of market and industry news, trends, and innovations. Through tracking publications, connecting with clients and peers, attending industry conferences and seminars, and (considering her specialization in the beverage alcohol, beauty, and personal care sectors) even simply tracking what’s on retail shelves, Annie ensures that she has a perfect, bird’s-eye view of her entire field—a perspective she can then pass on to clients in need.
Annie also protects and builds her online reputation by proactively addressing conflicts and dissatisfaction from clients or colleagues as soon as possible in a professional, constructive, and respectful way. Annie Wang’s empathetic bearing and clear communication style let her address problems calmly and professionally, which allows her to solve problems with the same process detailed above. As with all things, Annie’s strategy for conflict resolution is simple: “Consistently display professionalism, a strong work ethic, and empathy.”
