Gary Cohn: Window Salesman to Goldman Sachs President
Showing up to a trading floor on your day off...
Good morning, everyone.
This week’s newsletter includes: the true story of a dyslexic window salesman who became one of the most prominent leaders in Goldman’s history.
The ‘Small Win’ Framework: From Window Salesman to Goldman Sachs President
Gary Cohn - a dyslexic window salesman, was told he should be happy “if he becomes a garbage man”. Here’s the story of how one taxi journey propelled him to President of Goldman Sachs...
Growing up in Cleveland, Gary was told by a teacher he’d be lucky to “become a garbage man” due to his severe dyslexia.
After college, he became a salesman selling window frames.
One Friday, Gary took the afternoon off to observe a trading floor in the World Trade Center, hoping to break into the industry.
After watching for hours, a chance elevator encounter changed his life:
Trader: (talking to a colleague)“I gotta run, I’m going to the airport.”
Gary: “I just overhead that you are going to the airport, is it LaGuardia? Can I share a taxi with you?”
Trader: “Sure, by all means.”
Gary recalled: “I didn’t know him. He didn’t know me. But here’s my shot - I’ve got 45 minutes in traffic to convince this guy that I’m hirable and need a job.”
By the end of the ride, the trader asked Gary to come back Monday for an interview on their options desk.
The problem?
Gary knew nothing about options.
That evening, Gary bought ‘Options as a Strategic Investment’ - a 1,000 page bible of options trading.
Despite his dyslexia, he read it four times over that weekend.
The following week, Gary interviewed and got the job.
After a few years trading commodities, Gary joined Goldman Sachs in 1990, becoming President in 2006. He’s now Vice Chairman at technology powerhouse IBM.
Gary summed up his journey nicely:
“The one trait a lot of dyslexic people have is our ability to deal with failure is very highly developed. And so we look at most situations and see much more of the upside than the downside.”
Recommendation’s
Gary doesn’t do many long-form interviews, but here’s a good, recent-ish interview where he discusses his career and overcoming bumps in the road.
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Joseph Cass