The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs

The Partnership - Charles D. Ellis There are few really classic books in finance - Le Fevre's "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator", Peter Bernstein's "Capital Ideas" and perhaps half a dozen others at most. Outside of these the books tend to fall into one of two camps - "how to for dummies" books written by the several hundred people who have failed to internalise the irrefutable truth that there is no free lunch into their thinking and behaviour let alone their writing. The rest are works by various do gooding preachers who suffer not only from this condition but, arguably worse, try to occupy some unjustifiable moral high ground without mandate while seeking to exploit the market in books in the very ways they rile against. Charles D. Ellis' "The Partnership: the Making of Goldman Sachs" is a genuinely remarkable finance book and joins the ranks of the top tier mentioned above. The quality of this work is unsurprising if we consider the breakthrough which Ellis most famous work - "Investment Policy: How to Win the Losers' Game" - the first seriously useful book on sound institutional investing - represented. There his uncanny knack of combining thorough conceptual understandings with street toughened practical experience was poured into well written, compelling prose in a manner yet to be surpassed. So it is with The Partnership. For a start, the scope of the work is immense covering the more than a century's development of today's preeminent investment banking and financial services firm. To the reader at least, the detail of characters, accounts of events and interpretation of the strategic and commercial motivation of the myriad unfoldings is no less intense, painstaking or informative when dealing with the late eighteenth century than with the FDC a matter of months ago. The breadth is equally staggering covering, necessarily, the development, conceptual underpinnings and means by which Goldman Sach's profited from as well as managed risk within every major financial innovation, product and transaction type over the last 120 years or more. What is invaluable here is that while numerous of the events are well known (the 1907 crash, that of 1987, the inside trading cases of the mid 1980s, the dotcom bubble and bust etc), Ellis provides the view, the exposure and the response of one firm to these events personalised through discussion of the responses of the key actors at Goldman Sachs. For students of management and organisational theory the book is pure gold as well. Problems of creating, maintaining and growing a global behemoth, recruiting the best people on a sustained basis, managing ego and arrogance while retaining innovation are all dealt with. Analysis of the leadership styles, successes and failures, succession winners and losers are given a warts and all treatment throughout. Are there genuine surprises? Yes. To me at least. One is the conclusion that in a competitive market where sooner or later all participants are using the

This is a well written book. The content is straight forward and easy to understand. While the subject matter is extremely important and the strageties complicated the author gets to the point of each chapter in quick fashion. If you are interested in business this book is a must read.

Every great company invariably encounters crises that can cripple its growth or propel it to greatness. Goldman Sachs, the biggest name in investment banking, has survived, though other titans, such as Bear Stearns, have fallen. However, Goldman Sachs became a traditional bank holding company amid 2008's tumult on Wall Street and is no longer an investment bank. Charles D. Ellis, a strategic consultant to Goldman Sachs and other financial firms for more than 30 years, has written an exhaustive company history. He analyzes the firm's numerous triumphs and notable missteps. He shines a spotlight on the powerful personalities who shaped the firm's development over 140 years, including several men who went on to play major roles in the U.S. government.. This detailed portrayal of pivotal individuals includes revealing anecdotes, and provides insight into the formation of Goldman Sachs's unique culture and philosophy. At more than 700 pages, including extensive notes, the book requires a serious commitment, but getAbstract believes this absorbing history will reward you amply for your time.

Why does Goldman Sachs still have a $40 billion market capitalization while Lehman and Bear Stearns have become extinct? Charles Ellis answers that question and more in his latest book, The Partnership, as well as giving the reader an insider's view of what gave Goldman Sachs such an advantage. Like McKinsey & Company in consulting, Goldman Sachs walks the talk in hiring the right people and creating a culture that rewards long-term success. This book takes an honest look at some of Goldman Sachs' missteps along the way, such as Long Term Capital Management, but also the considerable focus and discipline demonstrated in avoiding the easy short-term buck that seems to consistently blow up in our faces. Need I say more than AAA rated insured sub-prime derivative instruments? It remains to be seen what the impact of the current financial crisis will be on Goldman Sachs. Regardless, this book shows why the death of investment banking may be a bit premature. Charlie Ellis writes in his usual substantive yet engaging style. If you're looking for a great read with some very useful takeaways, I highly recommend reading this book.

In his massive history of Goldman Sachs (over 700+ pages), Mr. Ellis gives a glowing and comprehensive history of the the investment bank. He writes as the insider he is (a former consultant to the firm) and is not as critical of Goldman Sachs as he could be. Founded nearly 150 years ago, he traces the firm's roots and growth, its downturns (the Depressions and the 1970's) and it re-intervention of itself repeatedly. The financial carnage of the past month is not covered obviously, but Goldman Sachs new survival has its origin in its 2007 decision to get out of the mortage business before the current crisis.