GOAL TENDING

Phylis M. Esposito is chief strategy officer of Ameritrade Holding Corporation. The company is a leading online broker, providing financial services for self-directed individual investors, financial institutions and corporations. Esposito oversees mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, marketing, business development and corporate communications.

Esposito has more than 25 years of financial markets experience. She joined Ameritrade in July 2001 from Mathias & Company, Management Consultants, where she served as senior partner and project manager since 1998. In that role, she provided strategic advice and business plan implementation to global financial institutions, professional service firms and multi-national corporations. Prior to that she was a senior managing director for Bear Stearns & Company. She was also a founding partner and chief financial officer for Artemis Capital Group, and a vice president for Goldman Sachs. Esposito received an M.B.A. from Columbia University and holds a B.A. from Fordham University.

Phylis Esposito was the first woman to head a trading desk at Goldman Sachs. In her current position as Chief Strategy Officer at Ameritrade, she put together the more than $1 billion merger with Datek, which was recently finalized. Here are her philosophies on decision making in life as well as business:

1. In order to make a good, sound decision, it’s best to list all the options/scenarios and their possible consequences.
   “A decision can look good on paper. Implementation is another matter. It’s best to anticipate everything that could happen before you act.”
   
   
2. Visibility is actually better when times are tough.
   “When the chips are down you can see what people and situations are really about. When everything is going along smoothly, it’s hard to tell the winners from the losers.”
   
   
3. When in doubt, do nothing. Don’t feel you have to make a decision.
   “Sometimes the best decision is the one that isn’t made. There’s no disgrace in doing nothing when no action looks promising. People often feel uncomfortable not doing anything. However, it can be the best and most courageous thing to do”
   
   
4. Perception is everything. Integrity is hard won and costly to lose. Winning the confidence of others is essential to attracting and keeping new opportunities.
   “People can’t get away with dishonest behavior for long. Likewise, someone who is true to their word is inevitably seen as such.”
   
   
5. Know yourself. A person’s actions, like a company’s, should be consistent with what they already are.
   “Often, when people make decisions, they feel they have to come up with something new. Chances are, the seeds of their decision lie in the types of actions they have taken in the past. People and companies should remain true to their character.”
   
   
6. Always think holistically.
   “Everything is relative. No decision is made in isolation. Personal and business decisions should always take the context into consideration. The biggest lesson I learned was at Goldman Sachs where I was taught that revenue, expense and profit are not as important as the things that contribute to the 360-degree relative value to the bottom line.”
   
   
7. Beware of being all things to all people. A person, like a corporate brand, loses its impact if it stands for too many things.
   “It’s always a good idea to keep things simple. People often feel they have to complicate decisions when they don’t know what to do. It’s similar to a company that becomes too diversified.”
   
   
8. Navigators wanted. It’s not just knowing where you want to go, it’s how to get there.
   “People often know what they want. They just don’t know how to get there. Likewise, most major companies want strategy from a consultant.”
   
   
9. Everything is an opportunity
   “Personally, I look to find the positive in every situation. Even tragic situations can have an upside.”
   
   
10. You’re not alone. You can look around you to get answers. “Experience is my guide. I also like to learn from others.”

Ameritrade Holding Corporation (www.amtd.com) is a pioneer in the online brokerage industry with a 26-year history of providing clients a self-directed approach to investment services. The award-winning Company, through its Private Client and Institutional Client divisions, provides tiered levels of brokerage products and services tailored to meet the varying investing, trading and execution needs of individual investors, financial institutions and corporations.

Your Account
You’ll be able to take advantage of Streamer Real-Time Quotes, Charts and Indices:
The popular Datek service continues and will now be available to Ameritrade clients at no charge. You’ll enjoy easy access to real-time streaming data, now with up to 20 quote lists--customized to your needs.

The Ameritrade command center offers a single, integrated screen for quick and easy access to the data you want when you place equity online orders. You can see your personal account information, trading tools, market information, Rapid Order Entry and more, all in one place.

Check out their other services, too, that include Express Trading, Snap Ticket, Report and Alert Service, Electronic Statements and Confirms and more.

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