Perspectives / The Job
Bankers Are Butlers: The Art of Service in Investment Banking
Understanding bankers service role in deals.
The Butler Analogy
A butler was travelling with his employer to India when a tiger appeared beneath the dinner table. The butler whispers to the employer, asking to borrow his shotgun. Three shots go off. He returns: "There will be no discernible traces left of the recent occurrence at dinner time."
Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day examines the philosophy of service through an English butler's lens. The parallel to banking is immediate: bankers are butlers.
Servitude is not demeaning—it is the business model. Partners at M&A advisory firms serve clients paying for one of the most expensive services in the economy. Standards are extreme. Butlers have refined this craft for centuries.
Detail Obsession
Investment banking demands excruciating attention to detail. A page printed with a slight issue gets reprinted entirely. A cell uses the wrong shade of blue—fix it. A bullet point doesn't sound right—workshop it again. Easy mistakes will not go unnoticed.
In Ishiguro's book, a statesman remarks on the cleanliness of silverware, setting the tone for a meeting that eased pre-war international tensions. The slides and spreadsheets you produce are silverware. Most clients won't open them outside of live deals. But if they do, every detail must be perfect or the entire firm appears out of order.
For more on detail obsession, watch The Bear.
Butler Traits
A great butler is dignified—never abandoning professional persona, never turning against the team, never showing weakness to clients.
This is performance. You inhabit the role fully, wearing professionalism like a suit (literally, during recruitment). Personal affairs do not interfere with duties. Banks may promise work-life balance. When the call comes, you answer it, ready to drop everything.
Core behaviors:
- Handle emergencies calmly and impersonally (the tiger story)
- Achieve subtle, undramatic greatness—tasks complete without spectacle
- Suppress personal emotions about colleagues to promote team harmony
- When a VP says something that irritates you, respond: "Right away, sir"
Remain social. Coffee, banter, and cordiality are part of the job. But never fully remove the professional suit. Limit personal disclosure.
The great junior banker displays a butler's blend of stoic service and subtle humanity while maintaining dignity.
Applying the Metaphor
Do not position yourself as a unique individual. Position yourself as someone diligently focused on exceptional service. Fall in line. Pay attention to what's needed. Ensure it gets done without drama.
Walk into a high-end hotel. Observe how the front desk greets you. Emulate that: the right amount of charm, combined with clear readiness to serve important guests.
For tactical execution of this mindset, see the Behavioral Interview Guide.