Answer extracted from the How I Invest with David Weisburd podcast — listen to the full episode below.
What matters most when choosing a job: work or people?
The two most important criteria are whether you enjoy the work itself and whether you connect with the people you'll work with daily. Money and status mean nothing if you don't like what you do or the people around you—but when both align, work stops feeling like work and becomes genuinely fulfilling.
When evaluating a job opportunity, most people focus on compensation, title, or company prestige. But these external markers don't predict whether you'll actually be happy in the role. Someone can accept a prestigious position with an impressive salary and still wake up miserable every morning because they don't connect with the work or the team.
The inverse is equally true: if you find yourself in a role where both the work energizes you and the people inspire you, the job transforms into something joyful. You're no longer grinding through obligations—you're participating in something meaningful with people you respect. This shift is profound and affects not just your career trajectory but your entire quality of life.
As explored in this episode of How I Invest with David Weisburd, this principle extends beyond individual job selection—it shapes how successful leaders build teams and organizations. Michael reflects on his early career at Goldman Sachs in 1983, where he was part of a 33-person mergers and acquisitions group with people he describes as "terrific," many of whom remain close colleagues over three decades later. That foundation of strong interpersonal connection, built early in his career, influenced how he approached team-building and partnership at American Securities Capital Partners.
"Money is the ultimate commodity, so all private equity firms are in a commodity business, but we're really in the people business."
Michael — Founder and CEO, American Securities Capital Partners. Michael founded American Securities Capital Partners in 1994 with a $71.4 million first-time fund, which has grown to $23 billion in AUM today. His career began at Goldman Sachs in 1983, where he worked as a junior member of the 33-person mergers and acquisitions group and developed partnerships that have lasted over 30 years.
This perspective illuminates why so many high-earning professionals feel unfulfilled: they optimized for the wrong variables. They chased titles and compensation without asking whether the daily work would engage them or whether the team environment would nurture genuine connection. The cost of that miscalculation compounds every single day you show up to a job that drains you.
If you're considering a new opportunity, the due diligence should be personal, not just financial. Michael's full interview discusses how he applied these principles across decades of building American Securities from scratch, and how scrutiny of both the work and the people involved shaped every major decision. The pattern is consistent: **invest in roles where both factors align, and you've found something rare.**
See also
What is the relationship between personal friendship and business partnership success?
A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship because the friendship is battle-tested from the start, forged through the crucible of real decisions and outcomes.
How has the private equity market evolved since the 1980s in terms of deal structure and valuation philosophy?
In the early 1980s when private equity was emerging, public company M&A focused on whether acquisitions were accretive to earnings per share, while early private equity pioneers looked instead at cash flow and long-term operational value.
How can LPs distinguish between a bad outcome and a bad investment decision when a fund underperforms?
LPs that have done deep work understanding the fund manager's process and sector context can separate temporary underperformance driven by environment from structural flaws in the manager's decision-making or strategy.