Care about your company, your colleagues, and your reputation, Lloyd Blankfein says.
In his recent memoir, “Streetwise,” the former Goldman Sachs CEO recalled three pieces of advice he gave to the firm’s partners, which could be helpful to anyone building their career:
1. Take responsibility
Blankfein’s first tip centered on the need for collective accountability.
“Our job is the source of our wealth and a big part of our identity,” he recalled telling Goldman’s partners at forums around the world. “So we need to be conscious of what’s happening at the whole firm, not just in our small corner of it.”
Blankfein underscored that Goldman had businesses across the world but “only one reputation,” so a “screwup in trading in New York” would hurt its investment bankers in Japan, and vice versa.
“If you saw anything that threatened your family, you would act on it immediately and ruthlessly — please bring that mentality to the job,” Blankfein would tell the partners.
“If you hired a nanny who left one of your kids alone in a bathtub to take a phone call, you would fire her immediately, no questions asked,” he continued. “There shouldn’t be any tolerance for bad behavior you observe at your company either, whether in your line of report or not.”
Blankfein’s words are reminiscent of Warren Buffett’s famous warning to Salomon Brothers employees, which he shared in testimony before Congress in 1991: “Lose money for the firm, and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless.”
2. Respect your peers
Blankfein’s second piece of advice was to value one’s colleagues, both older and younger.
He would tell partners that their reports were undoubtedly talking about them at home with their loved ones, because their bosses were important people in their lives, and their jobs were important to them.
“When you think about it in that light, what do you want them to be saying? More than being liked, you should want to be appreciated. You can like a clown, but you appreciate the person who invests in you and improves you, even if he’s not much fun,” Blankfein would say.
He also reminded partners that their younger coworkers might well be smarter than they are, and could have bigger careers than they do.
“Younger people aren’t less worthy, they’re just younger,” Blankfein wrote.
3. First impressions count
Blankfein’s third tip was aimed at Goldman’s new recruits. He would tell them they might be embarking on long careers and could go on to do great things, but how they came across to their cohort mattered.
“Even after 30 years, the impressions they had of one another, formed as analysts at Goldman, would stick,” Blankfein recalled explaining to them. “So keep that in mind and act accordingly, even with your peers!”
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