A Riddle Testing Your Intuition: Would you rather receive $10k right now or a penny that doubles every day for a month? Unless you have run the math, most people pick the $10k. But on day 30, that doubling penny is worth $5.4 million. 

Few people instinctively grasp geometric or exponential growth. Habits—when applied consistently—work the same way: they look insignificant for a long time, until one day the compounding becomes impossible to ignore, for better or worse.  

Compounding Good Habits: 
A small habit like intentionally using people’s first names and genuinely listening during conversations does not feel like much. But one day you realize you have built a deep, high-trust network of management teams, intermediaries, and advisors you can call anytime. 

Or consider the habit of taking a few minutes at the end of each day to bullet out key insights and identify next steps. Early on, it feels like nothing more than added friction. But over time, it becomes a superpower—the ability to distill complex situations to their essence and chart logical, actionable paths forward. 

…and Compounding Bad Habits: 
Failing to check your work before handing it off may seem harmless when the rest of the team catches the errors. But when you move onto a different team, your professionalism and attention to detail can quickly come under scrutiny—and your reputation may suffer lasting damage. 

Or consider the habit of reflexively checking your phone. It may seem trivial because “everyone does it,” until one day it is clear that you consistently appear distracted, disengaged, even dismissive, costing you credibility and potentially business. 

Make Habits Compound Positively for You: 
Aristotle wrote, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Anders Ericsson’s research similarly suggests that reaching expert status in many fields requires upwards of ten thousand hours of deliberate practice. 

Most M&A positions provide no shortage of repetitions on analysis, diligence, assessment, and negotiation. The habits you bring to these activities compound over time. The effects may not be visible for months or years, but eventually they become the difference between average and exceptional performance. 

Be intentional about the habits you adopt. Small actions, repeated daily, will quietly shape your career far more than they seem in the present.