Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon recently revealed that he is not interested in hiring the “smartest person in the world,” but instead looks for candidates who are simply “smart enough” — and possess the life skills required to thrive in high‑pressure environments, Fortune reported. His comments come at a time when several global business leaders are publicly challenging the long‑held belief that elite academic credentials translate into superior workplace performance.
Solomon emphasised that intellectual brilliance alone is not a predictor of long‑term success. “You have to be smart enough, but the smartest person in the world without a whole package of other things [is] not going to navigate Goldman Sachs well, not going to be successful in Goldman Sachs over the long run,” he said on Sequoia Capital’s Long Strange Trip podcast.
He prefers employees who demonstrate resilience, judgment, and the ability to navigate real-world situations. According to him, life experience and adaptability matter far more than pure academic excellence.
“You can’t teach experience,” Solomon added. “Experience matters in these big organisations and when it matters it doesn’t matter when things are going well. It matters when the bumps come. You’ve got to make difficult judgments.”
Life skills over intellectual pedigree
Solomon’s stance mirrors a broader shift in corporate hiring philosophy. Increasingly, CEOs are acknowledging that emotional intelligence, practical decision-making, and the ability to manage unpredictability are essential traits in modern workplaces — particularly in industries that face rapid change and constant pressure.
He is not alone in this view. Warren Buffett, the billionaire head of Berkshire Hathaway, has long dismissed the idea that elite educational backgrounds guarantee superior performance. Buffett has said that he does not care whether his employees attended Stanford, Princeton, or “any college at all.” During Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisition of RV manufacturer Forest River in 2005, Buffett praised CEO Pete Leigl for outperforming competitors despite not coming from a prestigious academic institution.
“I never look at where a candidate has gone to school. Never!” Buffett had said in his 2025 annual letter to shareholders. “Of course, there are great managers who attended the most famous schools. But there are plenty such as Pete [Leigl] who may have benefited by attending a less prestigious institution or even not bothering to finish school.”
Buffett also referenced Microsoft co‑founder Bill Gates — one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs — who famously built a billion‑dollar company without completing college.
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