Streetwise

Getting to and Through Goldman Sachs

By: Lloyd Blankfein

Narrated by: Lloyd Blankfein

The New York Times bestseller

From the long-tenured head of Goldman Sachs, an institution legendary for its culture of success, comes a candid memoir of global leadership in an age of extreme turbulence.

"Funny, mainly blunt, unexpectedly vulnerable and rarely apologetic.” —Bloomberg

“No one has gotten inside the secret walls of Goldman Sachs and told the story of everything about it, warts and all. Now the man who ran it tells all—and it’s incredible.” —Jim Cramer

When Lloyd Blankfein was attacked as a Wall Street fat cat, he had to smile, thinking of his precarious childhood in the notorious public housing projects of East New York, Brooklyn, and attending a high school so chaotic he didn’t feel safe leaving class to go to the bathroom in his time there. Harvard University was a total moonshot, and his outsider status never wore off, there or at Harvard Law. When he struck people as street-y, it wasn’t Wall Street they were thinking of. But if the chip never quite left Blankfein's shoulder, neither did a wry, resilient spirit and a lucid, democratic intelligence that saw through airs and found talent and ideas in unlikely places.

Streetwise is a delightfully honest, sharp and often very funny reckoning with the author’s education—in finance, human nature, and the workings of the world. It abounds with lessons about leading teams of brilliant, aggressive, competitive people and harmonizing them around shared goals; changing when times are hard and when they’re good; managing risk; and knowing a crisis is at hand before it swamps you so you can guide your team to the further shore. Blankfein is famed for his calm hand on Goldman Sachs’s tiller during the global financial crisis, and that story is told in full here, among many other decisive episodes.

Suffusing Streetwise is the author’s deep and abiding respect for the partnership culture of Goldman Sachs. We follow the never-ending work to protect and preserve that culture through all sorts of tumult—the challenge behind every other challenge. He is open about when he and the firm got it wrong, which was often enough, but the creative, risk-taking spirit was never snuffed—even as the fail-safes put in place to protect the firm and its clients held when they were needed the most. A powerful blueprint for the wise stewardship of a cause that is larger than yourself, Streetwise will inspire and inform readers throughout the global business community and beyond.

Please write that second volume

I appreciated Lloyd’s honesty and not being a cookie cutter billionaire. He’s a lifelong Democrat and a social liberal believing in marriage equality but supports revitalizing manufacturing jobs returning to the US and the benefits of some tariffs. He believes in government protecting the needy, disabled and elderly, but eschews excessive intervention in free markets. If Lloyd were a character in a novel, he’d be the most round character possible. I loved this memoir and am sad it’s over. Please, Lloyd, write a sequel!

Blankfein’s evenhanded approach

Lloyd doesn’t take himself too seriously. He is certainly confident yet humble. He knows the anecdotes that readers will find most interesting.

Humble walk through life of Lloyd

It was surprising how relatable Lloyd is. I don’t find myself in situations that would allow me to speak with a Goldman Sachs CEO but I think Lloyd would be a fun guy to hang out with. I saw an interview with the author on Mad Money and liked the way he looked at things so I decided to give a listen. I’m glad I did. He provides an interesting ride through his journey and some great perspectives on life. I had a prejudice that anyone at the level of LLoyd would have no idea what life for real people was like. Thanks for helping to open my eyes.