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Meet Gaurav

My Five Core Tenets

Gaurav Mathur

About Me

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Below are five core tenets I believe in when it comes to teamwork and leadership, plus one piece of advice.

I am a managing director in the Investment Banking Division (IBD) at Goldman Sachs, responsible for advising companies on raising capital across debt IPOs and follow-ons, preferred equity, and M&A financing. I serve on the Council for Advancement of Racial Equity and Sustainable Solutions Council within IBD. In addition, I enjoy learning about, investing in, and advising technology startups.

I graduated from the University of Virginia at the McIntire School of Commerce.

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My five core tenets plus one piece of advice

1. Disagreement is OK!

Teams are created to foster idea generation and enable a flow of thoughts, so be vocal with those ideas regardless of “title” - I tell our summer interns this each year and mean it. We are all beneficiaries from divergent and diverse perspectives. I cannot emphasize this point enough.

2. Perfection is overrated

If there is one constant, it is change. Amidst change, it is critical to be continually thinking of ways to improve a product or a process, even for those that seem to be doing well. Then bring those ideas to the forefront early and don’t wait for perfection.

3. Have the ability to say no

We live in an era of constant tug of war for our time and we have countless distractions. Saying “no” can be just as important to our productivity (and therapeutic) as saying yes. There are numerous books and courses written on time management, but in my mind developing the ability to say no is an underappreciated art that can be used in order to properly prioritize. It is hard to say no, we all want to say yes.

4. Think two steps ahead

Each decision and judgement has a ripple effect. This means it is important to pause before coming to a possible conclusion, then take the time to re-think the potential impact that decision could have on all stakeholders. You may not change your conclusion, but you might change a small part that could have a profound impact.

5. (Over) communication is the key

Most mistakes and unnecessary work are often a result of poor communication at some point along the way. A team needs to be aligned on the deliverables, so reinforcing the common goals and asking for clarification if there is any doubt is a key to moving the ball forward.

6. Replace networking with connecting

I have heard over and over again how much people fear “networking”. It really depends on how someone defines networking. Think about connecting and befriending people because of a shared interest, an innovative idea, or a common mission which may in turn create partnership opportunities down the road.