Reflections on a Goldman Sachs exec's resignation

An upper-up at Goldman Sachs took to the New York Times to (fill in curse word) voice his displeasure with the company and its culture today as he tendered his resignation.

The part that really resonated with me was the concern that the Goldman Sachs refugee expressed regarding the changes he'd witnessed over the past ten years in Goldman's culture. He said that mid- and senior-level executives at Goldman were unethical and heartless when they talked about strategies to maximize profits. And he was very, very worried when he saw junior analysts starting to speak the same talk.

Goldman had become, in this guy's eyes, a place that was rewarding things that did not sit well with him - things that shouldn't really sit well with any of us.

It made me think of the institutions that have employed me in the past (and present). What kind of behavior did they reward? And what kind of values did that imbue as a result?