Mike Mayo – Exile on Wall Street

When I saw this book I felt that the last thing the world needed was another book about the crises. I don’t know if it is because it is the first global financial crises that I have lived through in my adult life (hopefully the last), or because I have been in business school right after its peak (and you can imagine it comes often as a topic in several classes) or because I have read too much about it – it just seemed that there was nothing else new to be said about it.

Nevertheless I bought the book and decided to give it a try; I like polemic and skilled people that are able to piss off people (who are wrong) with sound analysis and facts. Maybe is the hero version of analysts of consulting firms and investment banks around the place.

So, what did I think of Mayo’s book?

It is definitely not a deep analysis of the most recent financial crises; if you are looking for that I recommend wither (i) “The Big Short”, from Michael Lewis - if what you are looking for is a peep on the back stage of all the meetings that went through, who are the villains and who are the winners; besides that Lewis writes in an amazingly engaging way (check “Moneyball” and “Liar’s Poker” also), (ii) “Fault Lines”, from Raghuram Rajan – for a deep analysis on what are the factors and institutions that lead to the current system (the fault lines) that resulted in the latest financial natural disaster – it is impressively comprehensive and innovative in the analysis of a crises that has been clearly over covered by press and literature.

It is also definitely not a declared biography; Mike Mayo is not a notorious or historically important figure to deserve one. Sure he is a very good research analyst, and respected within the financial literature (check any banking sector article in “The Economist” and there is a high likelihood that you will find Mayo’s name in there), but I am pretty sure my mother has never heard of him. Or several of my business schools classmates, for that matter!

Exile on Wall Street is more like a diary, that tells the story of an underdog hero in his battle against more powerful villains, armed with facts, analysis and the courage to tell the truth and challenge the status quo. It is an appealing plot to someone like me, that has briefly worked in the financial sector and has always been interested in the it but I warn you – you may get bored quite fast if your relationship with the banking sector is through an ATM.

If you like the topic, go for it! It is an entertaining, not intellectually demanding fairytale for market junkies.

Studies of Tom Ze: Understanding thinks so I can confuse you

The first time I saw Tom Ze live was in a concert in my university, during my college days. The event included offensive exchanges with the public, object thrown at the stage and an early end of the concert – it left on me an image of a bitter artist, struggling to cope with fact that he was left out of the popularity that the “Tropicalista” movement has achieved and the ostracism (as per his words) he had experienced in his home country, yet didn’t undermine my admiration for his genial work.

I continued to listen and appreciate him during the years, ever discovering new albums (new to me, to make it clear) that blew my mind. So when I came across this new box that was released in the US in 2010 I purchased in a heart beat (Tom Ze: Understanding thinks so I can confuse you).

As the box arrived I was marveled with the quality of the records and the beauty of the box, that included the three studies that Tom Ze had done (Samba, Pagode and Bossa Nova), a single with a couple of songs and also a CD with a conversation of Tom Ze, David Byrne (the American producer that brought Tom Ze for the US in the 80s) and some others.

The records were not new to me, but if they are to you definitely listen to them. Tom Ze provides a beautiful tour of the music style I each of the records, showcasing the musicality and techniques present in them and the lyrics are a marvelous (and often ironic) critique of the inception and evolution of the genres. They are also permeated by the experimentations that Tom Ze lived for.

But the box also brought something new to me; listening to the hour-long conversation I discovered another side of Tom Ze. As it happens when we are confronted with evidence that discredit our beliefs, I started to dig deeper to try to understand better him.

After watching countless videos of interviews and performances that were available in the internet my impression on Tom Ze changed substantially. He was not a brilliant but bitter musician that seized every opportunity he had to get back to a public that has so long overlooked him.

He is a very intelligent person (not just a brilliant musician) that struggles to cope with both the fact that he has made more success abroad than at Brazil. The difference is that he verbalize this constant struggle, as oppose to most of us, who internalize our struggles and externalize our rationalization of them.

He is not afraid to be seen as incoherent and confuse; he rather provide you an insight to his thought process and let you make your judgment. The result is a narrative that in the same paragraph is utterly arrogant, but finishes with a sentence that is a textbook example of humbleness.

If you want to get a glimpse of this, watch his interview at Roda Vida (you can easily find in youtube). One of my favorite part of it is this piece, especially starting at 3:41, when he recounts the time he was arrested - Tom Ze's interview at Roda Viva. His description of the struggle with the left in Brazil at that time is also amazing, starting at 5:38.

Testing a new idea

I have always liked photography (or more like I have always been obsessed with it) and this includes using them to decorate my place. However the problem with framing a picture is that you have little incentive to change them and revamp the look around once in a while (especially for a master of the procrastinating art as myself).

Therefore I have decided to do something different to see if it works: I have decided to do a sort of “clothesline” and hang pictures on it, with a sign that says “If you like any of the pictures, take it. It is yours”. The idea is to both provide a natural incentive to change pictures hanging on the wall (as they go) and also a more interactive way of sharing pictures, a sort of a vintage offline blog.

Let’s see if it works…