NEW YORK, March 14 (DPI) — A former Goldman Sachs employee dropped a PR bomb on the firm today, writing a Jerry Maguire-like “conscience memo” that The New York Times published with gusto. The op-ed, by a 33-year-old South African and Stanford MBA who recently headed a US derivatives desk in London, was filled with proclamations that Goldman doesn’t care about clients and – stop the presses – a culture of greed persists there. The author, Greg Smith, said he was quitting that day.
Bloggers, many of whom survive on peanut butter sandwiches, jumped on the former employee’s confessional as further evidence of the moral decay of finance, and of the need for everything from higher taxes to government takeovers of the financial system.
Some bloggers and readers compared Smith’s not-very-specific indictment of the culture of Goldman to a “Jerry Maguire moment” – a sudden epiphany changing the course of one’s career, and certainly one’s employ. Still others compared it with the you-can’t-dump-me- I’m-dumping-you stunt by Don Draper in the AMC series “Mad Men” when his firm lost the Lucky Strike account. In fact Smith’s timely piece – “Why I am Leaving Goldman Sachs” – was a bit of both.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/opinion/why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html?hp
In any case, independent readers were in their comments often as intelligent, realistic — and more amusing — than those of bloggers.
“Gosh, I’ll bet Greg had an exciting last day a work! Do you think they threw him a party? If so, do you think he was invited? Have a nice life, Greg. Greed marches on.” (Richard Roher, Chappaqua, NY)
“It’s much easier to feel courageous and choose the high road when you are sitting on top of a mountain of cash.” (T.H., Chicago)
“I am an old-fashion WASP and while we can be blamed for some of the world’s ills, we did have a standard of behavior that is now ignored, ridiculed or looked upon as quaint. Humility, team play, honesty in business, and setting an example of how things are done were part of my upbringing. I was drilled on the importance of taking care of those who depended on my good judgment, whether they were business clients, family, or my community. My advantages were never to become a disadvantage for someone else. These ideals are not quaint; they are essential for the advancement of mankind. The culture at Goldman reflects the destruction of these values. Too bad for all of us.” (Charlie, New York)
“Mr. Smith’s Op-Ed piece would have had more credibility if it were written with somewhat less self-righteousness and a bit of revelation about how he might have advocated Goldman’s less appealing practices over the past 10 years before getting religion. It is relevant – in round numbers – what he made during that period, not because he should give it back but because it adds perspective to how seriously we should take his conversion. To some extent this piece does sound like a set-up for a book and Morning Joe appearance. An ongoing problem in our society and our politics is the hypocrisy we ALL practice, and our general lack of introspection about how this so badly affects real discussion about any significant topic. ” (Comment from Falco, Camden, ME)
The Times shut down its comment board for a few hours this morning; by the afternoon 344 had been posted. NYTimes.com too feasted on the op-ed with multiple articles:
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2012/03/15/business/15street-inline.html
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/goldman-executive-resigns-via-public-letter/
Even a sports columnist for the rival Wall Street Journal by the afternoon was joking about the Times op-ed. Some of the better feedback appeared on Smith’s Facebook page, captured on this Twitter feed:
http://twitter.com/#!/davidenrich/status/179957025088864257/photo/1/large