Time magazine has a fairly long piece this week on Goldman Sachs. And although the article covers all the usual stuff about Goldman, the US government, bonuses, etc, there's also some interesting insight into the character of firm CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

Among the snippets about Blankfein is the fact that he was turned down for a job at Goldman in 1981 (when he was working at a law firm). Ironically, Goldman's current CEO apparently didn't make it through the firm's 'famously exhaustive recruitment process'. Blankfein subsequently joined commodities trading firm J. Aron, a firm which Goldman had then recently acquired. He rose in the ranks to eventually head up that unit, joining Goldman's elite via that route.

And it's nice to see that Blankfein was once an ordinary mortal too - he was overweight, smoked three packs a day and 'often dressed inappropriately'. He also liked to hit the tables at Vegas.

Things are a bit different now, of course, for the man who has around $540m in Goldman stock, and a $27m 'power address' apartment in Manhattan.

And here's some great words of wisdom from the Goldman One:

'The best traders are not right more than they are wrong. They are quick adjusters. They are better at getting right when they are wrong'.

Finally, The Wall Street Journal's Heard on the Street column reports that traders at Morgan Stanley and Goldman are spending more time on the beach this summer because both firms, now regulated by the Fed, are required to give traders and other 'sensitive' staff at least two continuous weeks holiday each year (mainly as it is more difficult to cover-up fraud or other wrongdoings when you aren't in the office).

The reality, of course, is that both firms (and practically every other firm in the market) have been adopting this policy for years, as it simply makes good business sense.

Sources - Time, The Wall Street Journal

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