I was recently invited by a well-known business school professor in London to address his students. 'Just cheer them up,' he said when I inquired about his preferred subject matter. 'Why me?' I asked. 'Because you never ask for a fee,' he replied. So now I know.

Because some quick research showed that more than 90% of the class wanted to become investment bankers, the subject matter essentially chose itself. They all looked terribly young and they didn't seem very happy. Perhaps someone had told them that being an investment banker was similar to being sentenced to life at the oars of a Roman galley. Worse still, a fair number of these young hopefuls, with all to live for, wouldn't make it through the increasingly rigorous interviewing process.