本日佳句 - The Making of Goldman Sachs, Part VI
Posted in Investment, Quote on Feb 24th, 2010
There are only four ways to gain and keep a significant competitive advantage: more effective recruiting, a stronger culture, a better strategy, and greater intensity of commitment.
The Partnership, The Making of Goldman Sachs, p.554
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, few Wall Street firms interviewed MBAs, so Goldman Sachs had little direct competition. Determined to develop intense commitment within the Goldman Sachs system, Whitehead recruited “intensity” people who gave out clear signs of hungering for achievement. Selection was to be based on three equally weighted criteria: one-third on intelligence as measured by grades and SAT scores, one-third on leadership as shown by roles in extracurricular organizations, and one-third on ambition to achieve.
The Partnership, The Making of Goldman Sachs, p.558
On purpose, the firm’s offer was – in comparison to today’s $150,000-plus offers – stunningly small at $3,600, even if adjusted for inflation. Whitehead was determined never to pay more than other companies and preferred to be known to pay less, because if the firm could get the best for less, that sent a message that there must be something special about Goldman Sachs.
The Partnership, The Making of Goldman Sachs, p.558
Goldman Sachs doesn’t look for top-quartile –- or even top-decile – MBAs. Convinced that over the long term there is inevitably a major difference between the top 5 percent and the second 5 percent, the firm focuses on recruiting the very best young professionals, selecting carefully for such characteristics as leadership, drive, and appetite for hard work. Starting with the 5 percent most qualified and capable, the firm proceeds to sort out the most effective team-playing contributors – initially through fifteen to thirty interviews and then through actual work experience and direct observation to find the very best 1 or 2 percent.
The Partnership, The Making of Goldman Sachs, p.559
Always stressing the long-term opportunity of a career with Goldman Sachs, the firm wanted recruits to weigh other factors, believing that those who accept jobs because of salary were more inclined to leave later for a higher offer from somewhere else. The worst thing the firm could do was hire someone, train him for a few years, and then have him go elsewhere for more money.
The Partnership, The Making of Goldman Sachs, p.561
As J.P. Morgan famously observed, “A man always has two reasons for doing anything thing: a good reason and a real reason.”
The Partnership, The Making of Goldman Sachs, p.577
-- Related posts:
