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- #112 – (Im)Perfection & Client Service
#112 – (Im)Perfection & Client Service
Quote, Podcast, Mental Model, Video, Tweet.
Dimitri Gremos
July 16, 2025
Good morning everyone,
Hope you’re having a great week!
Let’s jump in.
read online on my website
read time 3 minutes
#112 at a Glance:
Quote: Take care of the basics.
Podcast: Joe Rogan x Joe Pistone.
Mental Model: Perfection is impossible.
Video: Secrets to optimal client service.
Tweet: The $500m Art Heist.
Quote I’ve been thinking about:
“Be quiet, work hard, and stay healthy. It’s not ambition or skill that is going to set you apart, but sanity.”
Podcast I listened to:
Modern Wisdom #953 - Jimmy Carr
Joe Pistone is a retired FBI agent who, under the cover identity Donnie Brasco, infiltrated the Bonanno and Colombo crime families, leading to the conviction of over 100 mafia members. Today, he is a law enforcement consultant specialising in organised crime.
What an incredible conversation.
Hearing about Joe’s experience being the first and only FBI agent to go into a mafia crime family in New York City in the 70s, not as an informant, but through an undercover operation, was honestly quite mind blowing.
His courage and tenacity at every turn was truly remarkable.
If you can find the time, I highly recommend you listen to the discussion in one go. Joe is a fantastic storyteller, so much so that you feel as though he is talking to you personally.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.
[Duration: 2 hours 20 minutes]
Mental Model I’ve been thinking about:
Perfection Is Impossible
Another great piece from Chris Williamson in his weekly newsletter about the impossibility of perfection:
“Roger Federer played 1,526 singles matches across his career.
He won nearly 80%.
But he only won 54% of all the points he played.
Which means that even one of the greatest to ever do it lost nearly every other point.
Treat every iteration like it matters, then let it go.
Whether it’s an unforced error or a perfect winner, it’s still just one point.
One failed relationship, one embarrassing interaction, one late wakeup time.
It’s still just one point.
What matters most is how quickly you reset, and where you finish in the end.”
Something for us all to keep in mind…
Video I watched:
Secrets to Optimal Client Service
Jim Donovan is the Vice Chairman of Global Client Coverage at Goldman Sachs.
Really great video on how to deliver optimal client service in any professional setting.
These were my biggest takeaways:
Never use jargon.
Pause when you’re presenting – it creates space for questions, makes you seem more composed, and shifts the power dynamic.
Look for opportunities to give the client advice that is contrary to your own interests.
Ask lots of open-ended questions.
Be positive. People like being around upbeat and energetic people.
Clients hire you because you’re smart and work hard. Period.
Always be responsive and available.
First impressions die hard.
Always take notes during meetings. It gives the client confidence that you are going to follow through on what is discussed. When you are in a meeting and fail to write anything down or recap the key action items, the client feels like a patron at a restaurant sitting in front of a waiter who doesn’t use a notebook.
[Duration: 23 minutes 33 seconds]
Tweet I liked:
The $500 Million Art Heist
This is the largest art heist in history.
They stole $500 million and 13 master pieces.
And not a single painting has ever been recovered.
Here’s the fascinating story of how they did it: 👇
— Vicente Cisneros (@venivivivic)
1:00 PM • Jul 14, 2025
A great recap of one of my favourite Netflix series to date.
These types of stories are such an intriguing concoction of greed, skill, and human psychology.
Thanks for reading! Grateful for your support.
Stay hungry, stay humble, stay curious. ⚡
If you enjoyed this newsletter, it would mean the world if you could forward it to a friend or send them my website.
This goes a long way to helping me reach more people :)
See you in the next one,
Dimi