Goldman Sachs 2002 Annual Report Download - page 22

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20 G O L D M A N SA CH S 2002 A N N UA L REPO RT
With few exceptions, the markets were not
kind in 2002. Market participants that could
tap into their institutional memory and hard-
earned experience of living through other
down cycles and that could take advantage of
strong, positive, enduring cultures had a real
edge over those that could not.
Firms remind themselves that nothing lasts
forever. Goldman Sachs leaders reminded
their teams, in the boom years of the 1990s,
that “trees don’t grow to the sky.” They
pointed to past generations of Goldman Sachs
leaders who saw periods of great success but
also had to wrestle with times of crisis.
Our disciplined management approach, our
financial prudence and the strength of our
core franchise have paid off this year, as we
have continued a leadership position in our
most important investment banking businesses.
Over the past 133 years, Goldman Sachs
and its people have been tested by adverse
markets, economic conditions and events. We
have survived and grown stronger and more
successful as a result of that passage, and it has
defined the characteristics of the organization.
Defining Determination
C H AP T E R I I I
“You m ay remem ber… that in the m erchandise panic of the early ’20s, one of our clients
had to step into the mark et and issue short-term notes. I doubt very m uch that anyone who
was not fam iliar with the personalities and the history of the business could have done that
job [as w e did], or w ould have w anted to do it, w ould have put their shoulder to the w heel.
In other w ords, it isn’t alw ays a bed of roses, this business.”
—WAL T E R AC H S PA R T N E R