Streetwise — Chapter 18: Is He Completely Housebroken?

1. 1. Hank Paulson, as Treasury secretary during the financial crisis, was always readier than anyone else in government to make and implement unpopular decisions to avoid economic catastrophe.
2. 2. Hank Paulson once upset Goldman staff by saying 20% of people do 80% of the real work, but he openly apologized via voicemail to 20,000 employees.
3. 3. The author's media coach advised speaking in complete sentences and paragraphs on camera, but he found it unnatural and stuck to his stream-of-thought style.
4. 4. The author's management coach revealed he was perceived as intimidating with a closed inner circle, leading him to work on self-deprecating humor and rotating team membership.
5. 5. The author believed COO was the best job at Goldman Sachs because it offered influence without the public spotlight, which suited his anxiety about being in the limelight.
6. 6. The author used daily P&L reports as a management tool, calling employees to question anomalies and demonstrating deep interest in details.
7. 7. The author manipulated P&L reporting to influence risk-taking: lumping P&Ls together encouraged more risk, while splitting them forced accountability.
8. 8. Goldman Sachs resisted spinning off its merchant banking division because its partnership culture allowed long-term perspective and loyalty through cycles.
9. 9. The author envisioned Goldman as a modern merchant bank integrating advising, financing, and investing, like J.P. Morgan the man, not the bank.
10. 10. Hank Paulson communicated with the author almost entirely through asynchronous voicemails, rarely calling during business hours.
11. 11. The author felt anxiety and impostor syndrome upon learning he would become CEO, fearing his non-traditional background and camera shyness.
12. 12. Hank Paulson fought off board members who wanted a separate executive chairman, insisting the author should hold both chairman and CEO titles.