Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon knows about winning.
He’s well proven it in his own career, in the businesses he’s run, and now in the way he runs the firm.
He, deeply, gets what it takes to win, and shared some advice with summer interns.
Of course he’s being subtle, so let’s translate it…
1. Be yourself
We believe who you are makes you better at what you do. Share your interests and viewpoints with your teams – we value our people’s unique experiences and perspectives
Translation: Don’t be yourself, be your self the firm needs you to be. Be the version of you that leads people to like you—e.g. never say “I’m only here to make money”—gets people wanting to work with you and conveys you are the right “fit” for the team. Agree profusely with other people’s viewpoints and only supply your own when they’re acceptable to others and CLEARLY add MASSIVE value.
Example: “That’s a great idea. I really like the way you’re thinking about it. When I was in football camp I heard the coach say something as brilliant as that. I’ll crush this, then let’s figure out what more value I can add to the team.”