A Cup of Coffee | A Glass of Wine Issue 03 - October 2025
☕ A Cup of Coffee
Adopting a Results-Driven Mindset
In investment banking, investing, and corporate leadership, effort alone doesn’t move the needle. Everyone works hard. The differentiator is whether your energy compounds into results that build your franchise.
This month, I’ve been working with MDs/Partners and Directors wrestling with the same tension: Am I just executing deals, or am I building a pipeline that defines my leadership?
Results-driven leadership shifts focus from activity to impact. It isn’t about doing more; it’s about doing the right things consistently—originating conversations, shaping the market’s view, and creating opportunities that wouldn’t exist without you.
The shift looks like this:
From chasing every task → to prioritizing what creates deal flow.
From being known as reliable → to being remembered as indispensable.
From executing mandates → to generating them.
In other words, a results-driven mindset is about owning the scoreboard, not just playing the game.
🍷 A Glass of Wine
Looking back, the bankers who stood out weren’t always the hardest workers. They were the ones who owned outcomes.
I remember a banker who seemed to be everywhere—every model, every deck, every late-night call. But ask what commercial results they had driven? Silence. Contrast that with another banker, just as busy, whose name showed up each quarter on new mandates, repeat clients, and strategic dialogues. Same hours. Different mindset.
The difference wasn’t talent. It was focus. One was busy executing. The other was busy building.
In coaching today, that distinction remains the fault line between those who level up and those who stall. Future advisors and originators adopt a results-driven lens early. They measure themselves not by effort or intent—but by commercial outcomes, visibility, and influence.
💡 Coaching Insight of the Month
Results-driven leaders consistently:
Operate with commercial focus — spend disproportionate time on activities that drive revenue and visibility.
Differentiate their franchise — build a unique presence in their subsector so clients call them first.
Think like owners — measure progress in mandates originated, relationships deepened, and markets shaped—not just hours logged.
🎯 Mini Challenge: The 30-Day Momentum Campaign
For the next 30 days, track all your origination efforts, follow-ups, and strategic conversations. At month’s end, map outcomes to:
Visibility gained
Relationships advanced
Deal flow created
Then ask: Am I measuring activity, or am I measuring impact?
📍 Next Step: Strategic Revenue Plan
Define your commercial target for the next 24 months:
Break it into deal sizes ($2M, $5M, $10M+).
Identify client sub-verticals and product mix.
Highlight the gaps—and the actions to close them.
Run your draft plan with your group or with me. The clarity isn’t just in the number—it’s in how you align your daily activity to outcomes.
🎥 Record yourself walking through your plan in Deep Lake Signal
🔍 Case Study: From Executor to Originator
Context: A banker at a large-cap coverage group was hitting every target as an executor but struggling to generate new mandates. The firm saw them as reliable—but not yet commercial.
The Challenge: The calendar was packed, but little of it compounded into franchise impact. Execution was strong. Origination was absent.
The Coaching Shift:
Reframe the Scoreboard: Success defined not by hours, but by mandates originated.
Map a Franchise Plan: Identify the subsector they wanted to be known for in 3 years.
Activate Visibility: Commit to speaking at one industry roundtable.
Pipeline Discipline: Weekly tracking of conversations tied directly to commercial outcomes.
Let Go of Low-Impact Work: Delegate tasks that didn’t drive visibility or revenue.
Outcome: Within one quarter, two new conversations converted into live mandates. Colleagues began associating them not just with execution, but with growth.
Note to senior group heads: there is $5–15mm of revenue potential in each of your team members—if you’re willing to release control and invest in their commercial growth. If that’s not obvious, let’s talk.
🌊 What’s Happening @ Deep Lake
🌀 Coaching 11 professionals (and growing) across investment banking, private equity, and the C-suite.
🏛️ Banks are exploring Q1 ’26 workshops for newly promoted VPs, Directors, and MDs (advisory leadership, commercial mindset, and high-stakes communication).
🧭 Advisory Leadership Compass™: Take the self-assessment → Start Here
🫱 Invitation: Curious about the platform—and want to discuss your toughest challenge and boldest ambitions? Grab time here.
📚 Three Small Sips to End the Month
📘 Book: The Personal MBA — Josh Kaufman
→ Think like an owner. Align effort to value creation and financial results, not just activity.
📺 Concept: The Hedgehog Concept — Jim Collins
→ Long-term success is disciplined focus—work where passion, distinctive strength, and economics overlap.
🕉 Gita Sloka (2.50):
“yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam” — Skill in action is Yoga.
→ Results follow when you pursue excellence in the right actions—high-leverage work, done well, consistently.
📬 If you’re ready to shift from being a reliable executor to a results-driven advisory leader—origination-focused, commercially sharp, and franchise-building—email me at rahul.bala@deeplakecoaching.com or book a time here.
