For the first time since I started taking an interest in such things, an internal motivational memo has been doing the rounds online not because it is deemed bad, but because it is deemed good.
It was written by Joseph Mauro, head of fixed income at Goldman Sachs in London, and sent out to the bank’s demoralised young associates in an attempt to stop them quitting to join internet start-ups. “Every young person in finance should read it,” gushed the headline on Business Insider, which reproduced the email last week.
I turned to the email and found that superficially, at least, it had a couple of things going for it. “Based on the number of you reaching out to get on my calendar or grab a coffee … there is clearly angst across the floor,” it began.