Goldman Sachs 2000 Annual Report Download - page 86

OUR BUSINESS PRINCIPLES
8We stress teamwork in everything we do. While
individual creativity is always encouraged, we have found
that team effort often produces the best results. We have
no room for those who put their personal interests ahead
of the interests of the firm and its clients.
9The dedication of our people to the firm and the intense
effort they give their jobs are greater than one finds in
most other organizations. We think that this is an impor-
tant part of our success.
10We consider our size an asset that we try hard to
preserve. We want to be big enough to undertake the
largest project that any of our clients could contemplate,
yet small enough to maintain the loyalty, the intimacy and
the esprit de corps that we all treasure and that contribute
greatly to our success.
11We constantly strive to anticipate the rapidly changing
needs of our clients and to develop new services to meet
those needs. We know that the world of finance will not
stand still and that complacency can lead to extinction.
12We regularly receive confidential information as part
of our normal client relationships. To breach a confidence
or to use confidential information improperly or carelessly
would be unthinkable.
13Our business is highly competitive, and we aggres-
sively seek to expand our client relationships. However,
we must always be fair competitors and must never
denigrate other firms.
14Integrity and honesty are at the heart of our business.
We expect our people to maintain high ethical standards in
everything they do, both in their work for the firm and in
their personal lives.
1Our clients’ interests always come first. Our experience
shows that if we serve our clients well, our own success
will follow.
2Our assets are our people, capital and reputation.
If any of these is ever diminished, the last is the most dif-
ficult to restore. We are dedicated to complying fully with
the letter and spirit of the laws, rules and ethical principles
that govern us. Our continued success depends upon
unswerving adherence to this standard.
3Our goal is to provide superior returns to our share-
holders. Profitability is critical to achieving superior
returns, building our capital, and attracting and keeping our
best people. Significant employee stock ownership aligns
the interests of our employees and our shareholders.
4We take great pride in the professional quality of our
work. We have an uncompromising determination to
achieve excellence in everything we undertake. Though we
may be involved in a wide variety and heavy volume of
activity, we would, if it came to a choice, rather be best
than biggest.
5We stress creativity and imagination in everything we
do. While recognizing that the old way may still be the best
way, we constantly strive to find a better solution to a
client’s problems. We pride ourselves on having
pioneered many of the practices and techniques that have
become standard in the industry.
6We make an unusual effort to identify and recruit the
very best person for every job. Although our activities are
measured in billions of dollars, we select our people one
by one. In a service business, we know that without the
best people, we cannot be the best firm.
7We offer our people the opportunity to move ahead
more rapidly than is possible at most other places. We
have yet to find the limits to the responsibility that our
best people are able to assume. Advancement depends
solely on ability, performance and contribution to the
firm’s success, without regard to race, color, religion,
sex, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or
any other impermissible criterion or circumstance.
84 Goldman Sachs Annual Report 2000