1) Do Good Work a. Your work should be: high quality, creative, and independent b. Say what you think, now what you think want to hear; HAVE AN OPINION c. Cover the basics (Porter's 5 Forces, economic value chain analysis, etc.) and then get creative d. Find interesting sources of information outside of your company contacts f. Talk to the analyst that cover's your industry's buyers and suppliers 2) Communication is Key! a. Your good ideas are useless if you don't communicate them b. You're going to be judged on your ability to tell a story so use every resource and be creative c. If people don't know who you are, they won't go to bat for you at the summer's end! d. Your first introduction should be, "Hi, my name is Alan Hsu (fill in name) and I'm covering the global brewers; what's the best way that I can help you this summer and how often would you like to be updated?  e. Find out early who owns your stocks so you can prioritize your communications. Always have an opinion and insightful comments when you speak with these folks. f. Always carry a basic comp sheet with your coverage list and key valuation and operating metrics; carry your calendar with you, too g. Be VERY concise in ALL commuications (email, voicemail, office conversations, etc.) and always be ready to discuss your top 3 ideas; I had a 1-minute limit for my voicemails h. Don't be afraid to say you don't know; and ask good questions when they're relevant 3) Have a Clear Research Process a. You are evaluated on your process, NOT your recommendations b. Keep it simple: always review the fundamentals c. Dissect how a company makes money and focus on the key drivers 4) Build Independent, Comprehensive, Accurate Models. Numbers Matter! a. Your models are where you document your qualitative thesis so they can be great communication tools; make them easy to read and highlight key ratios and metrics b. Build your own models: don't trust sell side models; consensus is wrong