My original thoughts on this book go back to the beginning of my professional career, in 1956. But most of the work was in the last decade.
Two very different themes made this a compelling project for me.
First, as a consultant, I worked in North America, Europe, and Asia with all the leading investment banking firms and their senior management, advising them on strategy. As I came to understand each firm’s strategy, it was obvious that Goldman Sachs was different. This has been true for many years. My Dad, a Boston lawyer, was also very positive on Goldman. He always said they were a different kind of firm. I wanted to understand what values within the organization made them different.
The second theme stemmed from an appreciation for the kind of people that work for Goldman Sachs. When I started Greenwich Associates, I decided to put together a group of top people to work with me. I asked myself what it means to be a truly outstanding professional firm. (I realized that I had never been at such a firm, although many people claimed to know such firms.) So, every chance I got, I asked lawyers, management consultants, and investment bankers which firms they considered to be the best, and what were the characteristics of the people that worked there.
I was startled by the fact that, across many different professions, there are some characteristics that all top people share. Consider Olympic athletes. They are all highly motivated, roughly 20 years old, possess extraordinary lung capacity, have a screwball attitude about maintaining their strict training regimen, are willing to commit long hours, and above all are highly competitive. That is what it takes to be an Olympic athlete.
And, if you are at the very top in any one profession, you will be remarkably like the people at the top in other professions. Goldman Sachs is a paradigm of a top firm made up of top people.
Charles D. “Charley” Ellis is a consultant to large institutional investors and governments. For thirty years he was managing partner of Greenwich Associates, an international business strategy consulting firm he founded that serves virtually all the leading financial service organizations around the world. Mr. Ellis earned his BA at Yale and his M.B.A. (with distinction) from Harvard and his Ph.D. from New York University. He has taught investment management courses at Harvard and Yale, is the author of 15 books, mostly on investing, and has written nearly 100 articles for business and professional magazines. He currently serves on the investment committees of Yale University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, chairs the Whitehead Institute and is a director of Vanguard. His latest book, The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs, is available through the link above.