Goldman Sachs 2003 Annual Report Download - page 113

GOLDMAN SACHS 2003 ANNUAL REPORT 111
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 difficult to
restore. We are dedicated to complying fully with the letter
and spirit of the laws, rules and ethical principles that gov-
ern us. Our continued success depends upon unswerving
adherence to this standard.
3. Our goal is to provide superior returns to our shareholders.
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 meas-
ured 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. Advancement
depends on merit and we have yet to find the limits to the
responsibility our best people are able to assume. For us to
be successful, our men and women must reflect the diversity
of the communities and cultures in which we operate. That
means we must attract, retain and motivate people from many
backgrounds and perspectives. Being diverse is not optional;
it is what we must be.
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 important 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 aggressively
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.
Our Business Principles