Part I: How did Josie Esquivel become a star analyst? What were the sources of her competitive advantage?
Esquivel’s success as a research analyst was largely in part due to her determination to be one of the Wall Street stars ranked by the Institutional Investor (II) for sell-side analysts. From the moment Esquivel learned about the II Rankings from her brother, she was intrigued by the rankings and knew that was what she wanted to achieve. Even the low probability of only 5% of US research analysts being ranked by the II did not deter her from this goal. At the start of her career, Esquivel was driven by the challenge and determination to attain the top II ranking while after being ranked by the II, she focused on retaining her ranking. This drive gave her actions and goals a meaning which she didn’t lose sight of throughout her career as a research analyst.
Additionally, Esquivel’s drive allowed her to focus on how to achieve her goal. At an early stage in her career, Esquivel decided to ask other analysts for help in becoming ranked by the II. This included approaching Helene Becker, a star analyst covering airlines at E.F. Hutton. She did not let Helene’s reputation as a tough person or the fact that she was older and had more outside experience than Helene perturb her and asked Helene her for help in making the II rankings. Also, Esquivel took notes from her meeting with Helene and continued to reference these notes for years later. Esquivel’s belief that there was nothing wrong with imitation and that imitation was part of the creative and learning process allowed her to grow from other’s strengths.
Esquivel’s success was also attributed to understanding her own strengths and weaknesses and being able to leverage these to achieve her goals. ...