It’s not easy to keep the luster on a big Wall Street financial services brand these days. And Goldman Sachs has been it the thick of the financial crisis these days. I caught an interesting article by Ben Stein (everyone’s favorite economist/actor) about his dinner with Buffett. Besides being worth reading for his views on business, the economy and the recent financial crisis, it has a great tidbit on professional services strategy and branding. He gives a great perspective on why Goldman Sachs can command such high fees and his view of what they do to manage their risks. I found it thought provoking. Enjoy!

Author: Lee Frederiksen, Ph.D. Who wears the boots in our office? That would be Lee, our managing partner, who suits up in a pair of cowboy boots every day and drives strategy and research for our clients. With a Ph.D. in behavioral psychology, Lee is a former researcher and tenured professor at Virginia Tech, where he became a national authority on organizational behavior management and marketing. He left academia to start up and run three high-growth companies, including an $80 million runaway success story.