The Career Advice of Goldman Sachs’ Gary Cohn

In banking terms, Lloyd Blankfein is laid back and thoughtful. He likes to lie on the couch at weekends. Under his tenure, Goldman Sachs is a flexible, non-goal orientated place to work. He likes to tell jokes. He advises students to set about becoming interesting and ‘complete’ people whilst letting providence take care of the rest.

Gary Cohn is very different. While Lloyd is out there preaching self discovery, Cohn is all about work ethic. In a new podcast posted on Goldman Sachs‘ website, Cohn says hard work is the differentiating factor. “The one thing you realize if you’re going to be successful—no matter where you grew up, no matter what your educational level is, A.) You can succeed, but B.) The only way you’re going to succeed is by outworking everyone else,” says Cohn.

This is the advice he reportedly imparts to his three daughters. Blankfein, by contrast, has said that he encourages his two sons and one daughter to become complete people and take one step at a time. If Cohn replaces Blankfein as CEO of Goldman Sachs, the culture at the firm could change a lot.

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