Streetwise — Preface

1. 1. The author retired from Goldman Sachs in 2018 after forty years, having never taken a break longer than two weeks.
2. 2. He rose from public housing in Brooklyn to the top position at Goldman Sachs, a journey he finds improbable.
3. 3. His career at Goldman spanned a decades-long bull market, globalization, new financial technologies, and the rise of alternative asset managers and complex instruments like credit default swaps.
4. 4. He initially wrote a memoir but stopped, questioning its relevance, and resumed four years later.
5. 5. He argues the global financial crisis and bank bailouts contributed to societal polarization and the rise of Donald Trump.
6. 6. He wants to share lessons from managing a firm with top talent and egos, handling risk, and maintaining morale during crises.
7. 7. He compiled a catalog of 'Lloydisms'—memorable sayings from his tenure that were blunt and honest.
8. 8. He believes his story's wider implications are about striving, humility, resilience, resolve, and the universality of human nature.