Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon: What Startup Founders Get Wrong About the CEO Job
Long Strange Trip: CEO to CEO with Brian HalliganShow Notes
David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, says that no easy decisions reach the CEO’s desk - only “51/49” decisions. When I was leading HubSpot, I described the job as “choosing between two shitty options.”
David discusses some of the tough calls he’s had to make in the CEO seat, including the difficult decision to wind down Goldman's consumer banking ambitions. His perspective coming from a 156-year old banking giant is a little different than the common Silicon Valley wisdom. Hear why he thinks experience is vastly underrated in Silicon Valley, why "smart enough" matters more than being the smartest person in the room, and why serendipity and timing play bigger roles in being a great CEO than people realize.
David reflects on mentorship from Lloyd Blankfein and Hank Paulson and how he thinks apprenticeship culture will evolve with AI. There are some great, unexpected lessons here for founders who are scaling, confronting the messy reality of building enduring companies.
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