Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs+Einstein's Formula for Success

Wanna share 2 most interesting articles...

"Leaders touch lives and inspire people to change. Is the heart that matters not the outward form " ~ Dr Low

"Poor is a good motivator to break into the rich." ~ Jabez

Learnt Somthg from Kevin's comments. "Truth over fascination. Price action is truth. What we think is going to happen is fascination." Thx for sharing

"Out of your league?

At some point, we’ve either been there or seen it – a beautifully stunning girl is after a guy, and you know they are out of their league. Although it’s tempting to pucker up and go for it, research suggests that reaching for the higher-end beauty queen will only lead to unrequited love. Researchers found that we are attracted to people who share a similar level of beauty to ourselves. If you luckily “catch” one of these stunners, research suggests that once they deal with their self esteem issues you will eventually be ditched. Harsh words from the psychologists. So although we all fantasise about the hot catwalk models, the glamour girls and the Miss Worlds, it would seem that these thoughts should stay just that; a fantasy."

"Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs
By GREG SMITH
Published: March 14, 2012

TODAY is my last day at Goldman Sachs. After almost 12 years at the firm —
first as a summer intern while at Stanford, then in New York for 10 years,
and now in London — I believe I have worked here long enough to understand
the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity. And I can
honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have
ever seen it.

To put the problem in the simplest terms, the interests of the client
continue to be sidelined in the way the firm operates and thinks about
making money. Goldman Sachs is one of the world’s largest and most
important investment banks and it is too integral to global finance to
continue to act this way. The firm has veered so far from the place I
joined right out of college that I can no longer in good conscience say
that I identify with what it stands for.

It might sound surprising to a skeptical public, but culture was always a
vital part of Goldman Sachs’s success. It revolved around teamwork,
integrity, a spirit of humility, and always doing right by our clients. The
culture was the secret sauce that made this place great and allowed us to
earn our clients’ trust for 143 years. It wasn’t just about making money;
this alone will not sustain a firm for so long. It had something to do with
pride and belief in the organization. I am sad to say that I look around
today and see virtually no trace of the culture that made me love working
for this firm for many years. I no longer have the pride, or the belief.

But this was not always the case. For more than a decade I recruited and
mentored candidates through our grueling interview process. I was selected
as one of 10 people (out of a firm of more than 30,000) to appear on our
recruiting video, which is played on every college campus we visit around
the world. In 2006 I managed the summer intern program in sales and trading
in New York for the 80 college students who made the cut, out of the
thousands who applied.

I knew it was time to leave when I realized I could no longer look students
in the eye and tell them what a great place this was to work.

When the history books are written about Goldman Sachs, they may reflect
that the current chief executive officer, Lloyd C. Blankfein, and the
president, Gary D. Cohn, lost hold of the firm’s culture on their watch. I
truly believe that this decline in the firm’s moral fiber represents the
single most serious threat to its long-run survival.

Over the course of my career I have had the privilege of advising two of
the largest hedge funds on the planet, five of the largest asset managers
in the United States, and three of the most prominent sovereign wealth
funds in the Middle East and Asia. My clients have a total asset base of
more than a trillion dollars. I have always taken a lot of pride in
advising my clients to do what I believe is right for them, even if it
means less money for the firm. This view is becoming increasingly unpopular
at Goldman Sachs. Another sign that it was time to leave.

How did we get here? The firm changed the way it thought about leadership.
Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right
thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently
an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence.

What are three quick ways to become a leader? a) Execute on the firm’s
“axes,” which is Goldman-speak for persuading your clients to invest in the
stocks or other products that we are trying to get rid of because they are
not seen as having a lot of potential profit. b) “Hunt Elephants.” In
English: get your clients — some of whom are sophisticated, and some of
whom aren’t — to trade whatever will bring the biggest profit to Goldman.
Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t like selling my clients a product that
is wrong for them. c) Find yourself sitting in a seat where your job is to
trade any illiquid, opaque product with a three-letter acronym.

Greg Smith is resigning today as a Goldman Sachs executive director and
head of the firm’s United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the
Middle East and Africa."

At the other end of the spectrum...do take a look at this article (http://www.success.com/articles/130-einstein-s-formula-for-success)

"Einstein's Formula for Success
excerpted from How to Develop the Mind of Einstein


Albert Einstein had a formula for success. Can you believe that? One of the greatest minds of all time developed a math formula for success! I suggest you read this carefully—this may be the most important math equation you will ever see.

Einstein said, "If A equals success, then the formula is: A=X+Y+Z.
X is work.
Y is play.
Z is keep your mouth shut."

Einstein no doubt had an excellent sense of humor. Let's look at the 3 variables in this equation. They are:
1. Work
2. Play
3. Keeping your mouth shut!

1. Work: Albert Einstein had a tremendous work ethic and because of that gave more to society and modern science than any person in recent times.

2. Play: Einstein, however, did not work 24 hours a day and made time for fun and relaxation. His idea of fun may have been different than yours, but that doesn't mean it still wasn't play.

3. Keeping your mouth shut: Finally, my favorite part of his success formula is to keep your mouth shut. I genuinely believe that the person who talks the least says the most. A friend of mine complains that the woman he is dating talks too much. I don't know how to break the news to him; however, the problem is not that she talks too much. It simply is the fact that he is irritated that he isn't able to talk. Now, let me just say this is not a generic man and woman statement. I am speaking about a specific person I know. His desire is to constantly talk and because he likes to talk so much, he will talk in circles. If you let him talk long enough he will repeat the same thing three times and then contradict himself. His desire is not to hear but to be heard.

Albert Einstein, on the other hand, had nothing to prove. He felt no need to be the "Chatty Cathy" he could have been with his knowledge. It wasn't important to him to talk to everyone he met and talk over their heads to demonstrate his IQ. Instead, he learned the value of quietness and solitude.

Shift your mind-set from being a talker to a listener. It has been said that you can make more friends in five minutes by becoming interested in others than you can make in five years of trying to get others interested in you! How do you become interested in others? You ask questions and then keep your mouth shut!"