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. On the way out the door, he penned a little self-congratulatory op-ed for the NY Times, titled “Why I am leaving Goldman Sachs” about how Goldman has lost the plot and is no longer a great place to work after twelve years of service with the firm. One would have thought that as a senior executive with the firm, responsible for hiring and mentoring new talent, that he’d be in a position to do something about that. I’m just sayin.
The internet being what it is, there is already a parody of this letter out there on The Daily Mash. “Why I am leaving the Empire” by Darth Vader. It’s spot on, too.
Read the Smith op-ed. It’s got some important points, but I think the most important feature, once one gets over the holier than thou moralizing and the self-reverential bragging is that an insider just confirmed what everybody else has known or suspected for a while now. The Vader op-ed, conversely, reveals a deeply thoughtful individual who has matured greatly from the whiny bratty teenager of episodes II and III.
UPDATE: Andy Borowitz has the reply letter from Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein (also a parody).
Open thread, while we’re at it.
kindness
Republicans don’t remind me of Star Wars so much as Space Balls at this point. The Farce is strong with them.
Face
Can somebody named Obi Wan Kenobi really not have any Asian heritage?
c u n d gulag
HOLY SH*T!
Why, the whole culture must have completely changed there in the last few days!
Why else, if this was happening before that, didn’t his tender conscience make him quit earlier?
Outside of the fact that he probably didn’t have enough money socked-away yet to quit, and never have to work again!
Still, it’s nice that as he’s leaving, and, instead of saying “Thanks for all the fish!”, he’s giving his former employers, the ones who made him wealthy, the middle finger, and a hearty “F*CK YOU!”.
‘It’s a small step for a greedy men, but may be a huge leap for mankind!’
Now, after a day or two, will anyone notice and remember?
Josh G.
Well, the difference is that Darth Vader was (at least in the last film) a sympathetic character.
Rathskeller
I left Goldman Sachs in the 90s (VP, derivatives), so obviously I agree that it wasn’t a place to stay at. But much in this letter is off-putting and self-congratulatory. Without denying the likely truth of every thing he’s saying, I think it’s also true that this is a classic disgruntled employee, who did not play an essential role, and who could not have gone any higher in the organization.
I also think it’s more like he stood in the hallway next to the room while other people made decisions that he eventually disagreed with.
Rosalita
I’d say this guy is more like the evil Emporer.
redshirt
It’s always fun trying to establish an evil Galactic Empire. Not so much fun to manage it.
Mino
And guess who they recently hired for a corner office?? An original wrecker from Bear Stearns.
starscream
This is so poorly written.
maurinsky
I feel kind of sorry for this kid. 12 years is not a long time, he must have been starry eyed when he started and oblivious as he rose through the ranks.
RareSanity
Annnd begin the Wall St. smear machine in 5…4…3…
The yahoos on CNBC are going to have a field day calling this guy everything from Benedict Arnold, to hack, to rat….
MattF
Funny thing just happened. I was trying to google the bit in Michael Lewis’ ‘The Big Short’ where Steve Eisner was negotiating with an unnamed financial institution (almost certainly Goldman). The conversation Lewis reported:
Eisner: I know you’re going to fuck me over, I just want to know how.
Bankster: Oh, no, no, you’re our client, we wouldn’t do that.
Eisner: Then it’s no deal.
Bankster: Well, if you insist…
So I googled “lewis eisner goldman screw” but didn’t get any hits. But then I tried “lewis eisner goldman fuck” and I got lots of good Goldman hits.
Schlemizel
The two links to parody are worth the trip – THANKS!
BGinCHI
Jump. You. Fuckers.
Roger Moore
Plus, you know, the bonuses aren’t what they used to be.
Ben Cisco
The Faux Snooze chryon will ID him with a (D). Bet on it.
JPL
The opinion piece did nothing for me. If one doesn’t understand free enterprise in our country, that’s a plus for these folks. It’s been a long time since you could look at investment banks with high esteem. Call me a cynic if you must.
Culture of Truth
See, the trouble with any info from a former insider at GS is always coming to be that it comes from… a fomer insider at GS.
BigSouthern
I guess I understand why NYT published this – it fits with the investigative depth and seriousness they gave the whole financial crisis – but I’ll really be impressed if they make this a recurring feature. Next week have some pissed off temp pen an angry missive and the week after that a paralegal writes about leaving to go on tour with her band for the summer, that kind of stuff.
PeakVT
Felix Salmon riffs on Smith’s piece.
Howlin Wolfe
As I read Smith’s op-ed, my initial thought was that he was courageous to write it. I but as I read on, especially as he outlined his influence in hiring new analysts, I thought, he’s got as much to do with it as the people he’s excoriating. Poster boy for recruiting, executive director, etc., and acting like he had no influence on the culture. He didn’t mention what steps he took to try to reverse the trajectory of the firm’s culture. And his little brag about how he was a Rhodes finalist, a ping-pong medalist in Israel, makes me want to puke. Lots talk about “doing the right thing”, but I didn’t get much of a sense he tried to do that.
RareSanity
@Howlin Wolfe:
I got the same thing.
It’s pretty amazing how the whole tone of this piece changed from interesting, to nauseating, the instant you clicked to page 2.
cat
What do I have to do to get my resignation letter published in the NYT?
Seriously, WTF do these people think they are that they rate a national audience for their “screw you guys, I’m going home” moments.
Splitting Image
@Howlin Wolfe:
For giggles, compare his resignation letter to Olympia Snowe’s.
Howlin Wolfe
@Splitting Image: I’ll try to google it for giggles! Googling for giggles!
El Cid
@Rathskeller:
The “Executive Director” title at least made it sound that his job had a significant leadership role, though I’m not familiar with the hierarchy of G-S.
Poopyman
@BGinCHI:
One wonders whether this rat knows something that told him to jump from the good ship GS NOW.
Makes me a bit nervous.
RareSanity
@El Cid:
There are times when people are “promoted” to very important sounding positions, to actually remove them from any power and influence. The “mark” doesn’t realize this until after they have been in the new position awhile, and realize people no longer have any interest in anything they have to say.
You could almost say that it may prompt said employee to seek some kind of revenge against the company, that they feel wronged them…just sayin’.
El Cid
@RareSanity: I’m aware of this phenomenon, and have always secretly hoped to be victim of it.
Linnaeus
So this guy’s surprised to find rampant greed at an investment banking firm? Welcome to capitalism, Mr. Smith.
Suffern ACE
@RareSanity: Vice Chairman usually is a title that indicates that the person is powerless.
MariedeGournay
@redshirt: That’s for damn sure.
RareSanity
@El Cid:
You and me both…
It’s on the same level as the dream I have of the nymphomaniac supermodel, that only wants to use me for sex, and give me piles of cash to do so.
..sigh..
RareSanity
@Suffern ACE:
I don’t know, it could be the person in charge of booze, drugs, hookers and gambling…a very important position, if you ask me.
daveNYC
@Linnaeus: Back when GS was a partnership (which hasn’t been the case for quite a while) there was still a fair amount of concern about firm reputation and keeping tight control of risk. Now that it’s publicly traded and there is no longer any reason for someone like the old partners to keep things controlled in order to ensure they can cash out upon retirement, I think the culture there probably has gone seriously downhill.
gopher2b
Bet you a million dollars of his clients’ money he’s starting a hedge fund. He probably watched Jerry Maguire last night and thought this was a good idea.
“Not a breakdown, a break through.”
“Who’s coming with me?”
Linnaeus
@daveNYC:
I think you’re right that there has been some kind of change there. I was being a tad tongue-in-cheek.
TK-421
Regardless of how “good” or “bad” this guy is, he spoke some truth. The letter reminded us of a reality that has been lost in American business in the last, oh, 20+ years: the true purpose of business is to find and keep customers. Peter Drucker said that many years ago, and it’s just as true today as it was then.
No, it’s NOT just to make profits, that’s the wrong mindset. Profits will come from your customers if you take care of them. If you profit without taking care of your customers (i.e. at the expense of your customers), however, then you’re killing your business long-term.
Somewhere in the past few decades the American businessman has utterly forgotten about the customer. And I have my doubts whether the Wall Street man ever actually believed that. I think these two things are not unrelated.
I believe Wall Street, with its short-term Faustian mindset and its zero sum attitude towards customers, has been slowly killing American business for decades. It’s hard to describe how angering it is to see people in Washington fawn over and cater to these assholes, because they’re killing American business and by extension the American economy.
patrick II
Why Goldman Sachs has any customers left, particularly large investors, is beyond my understanding. I would never invest big money with a firm that has purposely created losses for their customers so they could either get rid of their own bad investments or profit on short selling against the interest of their customers, or the other nefarious schemes they created for their gain and their customers loss. It seems there should be a loss of trust at a basic level. But there isn’t, Goldman Sachs rolls on.
Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937
Disgruntled former employee is disgruntled.
RareSanity
@TK-421:
While what your saying is true, the problem is that American companies the size of GS, have gotten so big, and swallowed up so much of their previous competitors, they don’t need to give a shit about customers because, “Where else ya gonna go?”
@patrick II:
The main thing to remember, is that GS clients have not lost large amounts of money, GS makes them money. The real disservice is that, they don’t make their clients nearly the amount of money that they could make them, because their clients making money is a secondary priority.
It’s like the old saying that employers pay their employees just enough so they won’t quit. In this case, GS makes their clients just enough money that they don’t leave.
If GS clients were really losing money, on a consistent basis, they would leave in a heartbeat.
James E. Powell
So, is he going to donate a portion of his income form the last few years to a charity? Will he wear a hair shirt? Does he want the 99% to say that they forgive him?
Why would anyone write something like that?
daveNYC
@patrick II: Forget customers, I’m still not getting how they’re able to even have offices in Europe after what they pulled with the Greek debt swap shenanigans.
Craig
Greg Smith spent a decade selling out his integrity, one bonus check at a time. And now he adds up his portfolio and concludes he finally has enough socked away to support himself modestly but comfortably for the rest of his life.
That is to say, he worked out his price, Goldman met it, and now he feels entitled to the ultimate luxury good: righteous indignation.
He keeps the cash, sets himself up in a pleasant little cottage somewhere, and tells the world how the money doesn’t taint him, because, by God, he quit after only twelve years of professional robbery.
Forgive me if I’m not falling all over myself in my rush to congratulate the man. Let’s wait for the stories about Mr. Smith dedicating his life to feeding the hungry and healing the sick. The saga of the Last Honest Man at Goldman doesn’t impress me in the least.
trollhattan
What the hell is wrong with people? Kids should not have access to guns. Ever. Know what I always want in my glovebox? A tire gauge.
today.seattletimes.com/2012/03/3-year-old-boy-fatally-shoots-self-in-tacoma/
lovable liberal
Juicers nail Smith. Me too.
TK-421
@RareSanity:
You’re suggesting that GS is projecting a monopolist mindset, and you could be right.
But here’s the thing: monopolies always die eventually. It’s always just a matter of time. One way or another, a business that adopts a monopolist mindset by definition loses its ability to find and keep customers. A fundamental inability to find and keep customers will in turn cause that business to die. Always.
So again, this guy (whatever his personal faults) is speaking truth to GS executives, and his warning should be heeded: get back to finding and keeping customers, or prepare to die.
gocart mozart
@Face:
Sounds a bit muslimy perhaps Kenyan.
Barry
@TK-421: “But here’s the thing: monopolies always die eventually. It’s always just a matter of time. ”
That’s the same with non-monopolies – they will die; it’s just a matter of time.
Before then, of course, the profits are immense.
Daaling
“One would have thought that as a senior executive with the firm, responsible for hiring and mentoring new talent, that he’d be in a position to do something about that. I’m just sayin.”
Urrrum…direct quote from CEO Blankfein. ” Smith’s views were in the minority among his 12,000 fellow vice presidents around the world.”
reuters.com/article/2012/03/14/us-goldman-smith-idUSBRE82D0RV20120314
One of 12000 VP’s can make a difference?
I’m just sayin.
Jay in Oregon
This is technically an open thread, so I’m hoping someone can help me figure out if this is satire or not.
objectiveministries.org/creation/projectpterosaur.html
I honestly cannot tell. I mean, we have the Creation Museum. As a real thing.
Jay in Oregon
@Jay in Oregon:
Yeah, it’s satire. I should have read far enough to see the reports of pterosaur attacks in Puerto Rico.
trollhattan
@Jay in Oregon:
Is dead thread but what a fun find!
From a somewhat man-bites-dog find, the august Conservapedia tells us “Dr. Richard Paley” is “not a Doctor.”
conservapedia.com/Talk:Kangaroo