GOLDMAN SACHS FOR LAW FIRMS

Goldman is a hard place to be hired, a hard place to be promoted and a hard place to stay
- Hank Paulson, CEO Goldman Sachs.

Over here at The IBARU-McKENZIE BLAWG, we offer you insight on generating business for your law firm and other things that help to inform the decisions that you make at your firm. Well, here's one:

Force yourself to hold on to higher standards.

In the opening quote from the Goldman Sachs CEO, we are directing your attention to some of the things that happen at the said investment bank that make it THE bank to be in. Like everyone is fleeing to the bank. From young law school grads to MBA's etc, etc.
So for example, to be hired a vice president went through 150 interviews before he got his position at the bank and every once in a while someone who is a star in the bank is asked to leave. This is a very important part of Mr Paulson's role.

Here is what it kind of boils down to: we understand the days of slavery, monarchies and serfdom's are over and your law firm is not the military but all these institutions had something going for them. For those who were able to rise above the hardships, they were tougher and better for it.
These institutions created environments of such hardship and impoverishment that you had to be kind of super human to become good at what you did and do more than just survive. And even if you were not the mere fact that you survived through the system meant you were tough enough to be useful.

Fast forward to today, to our democratic times with our extra hours and enlightened view of management and business, the hardship seems to be discouraged or papered over. What makes it even worse is that you have dumb bosses who try to go back to slavery but it is not working.
What works is a system that forces you to stretch. If it cannot do this for you and keep you fully engaged then you can build your own platform.

We used the idea of force yourself to hold on to higher standards because this is what you need and we do not refer to some sham meeting or board or pointing at what other shops are doing so you can let yourself off the hook. Yes, we know a few of the tricks.
Instead, think along the lines of Winston Churchill having a secret information group during WWII to give him just the facts, absent of the intrigues of court or FDR having his wife give him direct information from the American people about the things his government was up to absent the intrigues of the civil service through her national tours.
Where you will find the courage for this is up to you but if your system has no bite it will feel shallow and your people will respond accordingly.
There is a reason the Olympic Gold Medal class is for the elite, you cannot smell the area unless you hold on to superhuman standards. We're just saying.

Since you are running a law firm and you need human beings to bring magic to the office check out the Economist article on Goldman Sachs and see if it doesn't give you some ideas on the example you have to set.
Yes you, if you were hoping to pass it off to the boys and continue lounging on your Managing Partner Chair or yelling directions from behind? Forget it.