Former Goldman Sachs CEO: Ivy League geniuses aren’t always the most successful—This overlooked skill is key

Joining the chorus of other CEOs, former Goldman Sachs leader Lloyd Blankfein is dispelling the myth that an Ivy League degree or supreme intellect is a prerequisite for success. It’s a pattern he’s witnessed through his decades-long career in banking, rising to the top of the C-suite at one of the biggest banks in the world. 

“I’ve met people who’ve worked hard, who’ve done well, who had lucky opportunities—and give them credit, they took advantage of those opportunities—but they weren’t geniuses,” Blankfein recently told CNBC International. “They just applied themselves, they had their ears open, they had curiosity about the environment around them, and they saw things, and they went through little doors that other people wouldn’t have seen.”

Looking back on his career in finance, Blankfein pointed to a specific instance that exemplified that lesson. He spent years working at Goldman Sachs’ J. Aron—a relatively small commodity trading firm—where he strived to prove that the operation had the potential to be even bigger. And Blankfein picked up on cultural differences between the two finance firms: J. Aron employees were “streety” and not all had gone to college, while Goldman was chock-full of Ivy League graduates. Blankfein said he had a “chip on his shoulder” to show that they were great workers; they “worked harder, took a little less for granted, [and] were much more curious about learning.” 

The value of hard work

Putting in the elbow grease can be more powerful than a flashy college degree or........

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