rant · moment 11 of 21
The Drunk Bank Owner Who Slept at His Desk
from Tough Love · #3
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
4 minTim describes his next job at a tiny bank run by a perpetually drunk CFO-owner who slept at his desk, made a coworker drive him home nightly, and mumbled about the mortgage collapse while half-conscious.
- 19:45Tim explains that self-improvement requires a certain type of person who realizes they're not good at something and seeks help on their own, not from a boss.
- 20:15Working in real estate, he encountered both talented salesmen and lucky mediocre ones who somehow survived in the business.
- 20:43In 2009, there was literally no one to hire for sales jobs; nobody thought real estate was a good career path while it was imploding in the news.
- 21:02Tim contrasts what happened to big bank executives after the collapse: they didn't trickle down to strip malls in Melville; they waited it out, day-traded, and eventually got rehired or consulted for side projects.
- 21:55By 2009, Tim's five-man operation had lost everyone—people quit, got fired, or were disillusioned—and the owner kept forcing them to listen to motivational sales tapes.
- 22:18The manager's tape instructed salesmen: if a borrower won't let you in their home, ask if there's a better time, and if they still say no, tell them you're a desperate guy in a strip mall with nothing to lose.
- 22:55Tim and his coworkers would actually call people using this script from Capstar, working for a collapsing subprime bank.
- 23:06The subprime bank they worked for was falling apart as Jim Cramer warned the public about it on television.
Bear StearnsLehman BrothersJim CramerGoldman SachsAccredited