Summer Is Over….Time To Pack Up Our New Jefferies Duffel Bags And Get Back To Work!

Today marks the end of our various summer vacations, the start of our final quarter of the year and the perfect opportunity to reflect on what we all need to pack to complete a very solid year for our clients, our firm and ourselves.

It hasn’t been an easy, predictable, or non-competitive first three quarters of 2017, but we have worked hard together to stitch together a very respectable showing and one that we can be proud to have accomplished. While there is still much room for improvement in every area of our firm, the good news is that we know where we need to focus and are beginning to realize what we are capable of when we eventually start firing on all cylinders. As a thank you for your hard work for the first three quarters, everyone at Jefferies is receiving today a Duffel Bag branded with our Jefferies flag. Today’s note is just a reminder of what we all need to pack in our bags to achieve our fourth quarter (and annual) goal(s) and position ourselves for the exceptional future we can realize together.  

Please pack your Jefferies Duffel Bag with:

1. The belief that we are all one team, operating together to achieve our individual AND collective goals.
    
2. The deep understanding that, at the end of the day, it is all about our clients and doing everything humanly possible to help them achieve their objectives.
    
3. Integrity, integrity, integrity. We can never have enough of this in our bags.
    
4. The feeling of personal ownership of our firm, our brand, our results and our culture. We are a firm of passionate and committed individuals who don’t just work at Jefferies, we are Jefferies. We embody it, enhance it, nurture it, protect it from and are proud of it. Jefferies is our home away from home and we respect how important it is to each of us and all the other people who depend on us.
    
5. Lots of energy bars or whatever else you need to redouble your efforts to make sure we maximize our opportunity for these next 62 business days. This is crunch time and we are in a perfect position to take advantage of the opportunity. Our balance sheet is clean and risk is where we need it to be. Our backlogs are solid and can readily expand. The markets (while always subject to change without notice) appear cooperative and navigable. Our brand and competitive position have never been stronger. The fourth quarter will require intense focus, commitment, passion, and energy. We need every single one of us to start the sprint with us today and not finish until we cross the finish line and get to enjoy our end of year break (hopefully on a high point).

It should go without saying, but in this crazy world we live in, we just thought we would mention one thing we know none of us would EVER allow in our Duffel Bags:

*There is not even a square inch of room if you combined all of our collective Duffle Bags, for even the trickle of a thought that any of us at Jefferies would tolerate one iota of prejudice, discrimination, hate, fear mongering, or similar despicable behaviors. We support freedom, fairness, equal opportunity and unqualified openness to all races, cultures, religions and sexual preferences. Our only requirement is that we all be “good people” who stand up for what is right, defend those in need or distress, and have no doubt in our minds and hearts where goodness resides and evil lurks. 

Welcome back and let’s get to work!

Rich and Brian 

P.S.  Congrats to all of you for setting the bar so high for Hurricane Harvey Relief!  Jefferies final tally is $5.32mm all going to help those in need!!