Key Takeaways
- Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein says that many highly successful people are not prodigies; they simply spotted and seized chances that others overlooked.
- He says that success is less about genius and more about consistently applying yourself with hard work.
- Blankfein’s own story from Brooklyn public housing to Goldman Sachs’ top job illustrates his point.
Former Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein is pushing back on the idea that workers need an impressive IQ to make it. He says that his own rise from the trading floor to the top of one of the world’s most powerful banks proves that success depends far more on hard work than on raw genius.
“I’ve met people who’ve worked hard, who’ve done well, who had lucky opportunities, and — give them credit — they took advantage of those opportunities, but they weren’t geniuses,” Blankfein recently told CNBC International. “They just applied themselves, they had their ears open, they had curiosity about the environment around them, and they saw things, and they went through little doors that other people wouldn’t have seen.”
Reflecting on his early years in finance, Blankfein shared a story that drove this point home. He spent years at J. Aron, a small commodities trading shop inside Goldman Sachs, trying to prove the business could be much bigger. He noticed a sharp culture gap: Many J. Aron employees were scrappy and didn’t have college degrees, while Goldman was packed with Ivy League grads.
That contrast gave him “a chip on his shoulder” about J. Aron employees. They “worked harder, took a little less for granted and were much more curious about learning,” Blankfein said.
The importance of hard work
Hard work can matter more than an impressive diploma or background. Blankfein said that standout careers are there for the taking if people step up, spot openings and put in the effort.
“A lot of these opportunities are more accessible than you think,” Blankfein said. “If you think that someone can only get to this spot because he’s brilliant and genius and had this charmed life at every stage, you kind of give up.”
Blankfein has lived this idea himself. He grew up in public housing in Brooklyn, sharing a bedroom with his grandmother or sister in a tiny New York apartment, and managed to become valedictorian of his high school class. He enrolled at Harvard University at age 16 to study history, then went on to Harvard Law School.
After a short stint in private law, he joined the trading firm J. Aron, which Goldman acquired in 1981, and spent the next few decades climbing the ladder. Blankfein became CEO of Goldman Sachs in 2006 and served in this role for 12 years until his retirement in 2018.
Reflecting on his career, Blankfein called it “not only relatable, but accessible.”
“Statistically, not a lot of people are going to get those same kinds of breaks, but you can go pretty far in this world taking advantage of opportunities and working hard,” he said.
Another CEO agrees
Blankfein isn’t alone in thinking that effort matters more than raw intelligence. Goldman Sachs’ current CEO, David Solomon, told Sequoia Capital’s Long Strange Trip podcast last year that the best job candidates can connect with others, be resilient and be determined. They also have experience working with people.
“You can’t teach experience,” Solomon told the podcast. “Experience matters in these big organizations and when it matters it doesn’t matter when things are going well. It matters when the bumps come. You’ve got to make difficult judgments.”
Key Takeaways
- Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein says that many highly successful people are not prodigies; they simply spotted and seized chances that others overlooked.
- He says that success is less about genius and more about consistently applying yourself with hard work.
- Blankfein’s own story from Brooklyn public housing to Goldman Sachs’ top job illustrates his point.
Former Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein is pushing back on the idea that workers need an impressive IQ to make it. He says that his own rise from the trading floor to the top of one of the world’s most powerful banks proves that success depends far more on hard work than on raw genius.
“I’ve met people who’ve worked hard, who’ve done well, who had lucky opportunities, and — give them credit — they took advantage of those opportunities, but they weren’t geniuses,” Blankfein recently told CNBC International. “They just applied themselves, they had their ears open, they had curiosity about the environment around them, and they saw things, and they went through little doors that other people wouldn’t have seen.”
Reflecting on his early years in finance, Blankfein shared a story that drove this point home. He spent years at J. Aron, a small commodities trading shop inside Goldman Sachs, trying to prove the business could be much bigger. He noticed a sharp culture gap: Many J. Aron employees were scrappy and didn’t have college degrees, while Goldman was packed with Ivy League grads.
