Editor’s note: This article was first published in April 2015. Gary Cohn’s age (54) and his post as president and COO of Goldman Sachs are from 2015; he left Goldman in January 2017 to direct the US National Economic Council. “Recently, at a charity dinner” refers to April 2015.
Gary Cohn, 54, president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs, admits he was a terrible student in Cleveland who was diagnosed with dyslexia (a reading disorder).
One teacher told his parents that if they spent a lot of time with him and worked hard on his education, then with a bit of luck all was not lost, and maybe he could work as a truck driver.
Recently, at a charity dinner, he told his story, criticising and joking about his experience with the education system, and talking about the importance and influence teachers have on students’ futures.
(Read: A former Goldman Sachs banker explains what being rich really means)
“I know from my own life experience that educators have an enormous impact and influence. Fortunately and unfortunately, I have had a lot of experiences with different educators,” Cohn said.
In fact, he joked that he already knew how to drive trucks by the age of 16. And he was an excellent truck driver, although it wasn’t really his thing.
Cohn uses this early chapter of his life as a source of motivation.
It was a teacher who truly supported him in his studies and made him believe he could go much further, to the point of getting him to graduate from university, something unthinkable for that other teacher who, instead of supporting him, held him back.
“Going to school isn’t really what education is,” he said. “It’s more about classrooms encouraging the desire to learn and inspiring children to be curious about any subject in the world.
“Education is important, because it is the only way to tackle income inequality. Education really is the key to success.”
Clearly, though, for education to be a weapon against poverty, we also need educators who are up to the task in less fortunate postcodes, who motivate pupils and don’t limit their options.
It is certainly a fine example of a teacher’s failed prediction, and of what you can achieve when you set aside your limitations and focus on your strengths. There is some irony in it, too: one teacher said that the man who today sits at the top of the most important bank in the world would never amount to anything.
(See: Robert Shiller: young people with a moral purpose should work for Goldman Sachs, not Google)
This story is based on an article originally published in Business Insider, adapted and substantially modified.
Further reading
Featured image: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
