Two Lessons as Goldman Goes Heavy Into Tech
Two Lessons as Goldman Goes Heavy Into Tech
Goldman Sachs (GS) was reported by Bloomberg this week to be ‘doubling down on technology’. This is not a surprise as COVID-19 has accelerated humanities move into technology as we were forced to do many things digitally. The co-head Dan Dees said that GS is looking to be ‘doubling down on everything in technology right now’. GS is looking at areas of augmented reality, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and synthetic biology as areas for investment. He also looked at places of overlap between tech and traditional industries such as finance, real estate and health care.
Lesson 1
The digital revolution is upon us. We are living in and through it. Just like there was an agrarian revolution and an industrial revolution this is the technological revolution. It will be taught in schools in future years for sure. So, have your thinking focused on that. This does not mean that every finch startup is going to succeed. However, it does mean that the nature of companies, working, and interactions are all going to have a paradigm shift.
A problem
One problem that GS face is that these tech startups can get very big, very quick. So it means that they need to invest early and heavily into these early relationships. This takes people.
Lesson 2
So people are still very much needed in the technological revolution. Perhaps more so than ever. The sort of roles that will involve relationships can’t be done by machines. This is the age of technology, but it will also be the age of being able to engage with people. Those who can bridge these gaps will thrive. So, certain roles like advising and navigating through data-rich environments are going to be crucial in the years to come. You can give someone all the data you want, but interpreting that data is still a very personal skill.
20211015
