I had a very strange dream last night. I dreamed that I left my current job and went to work for Google. When I got there, I found myself in a big loft, surrounded by 20-something year old geniuses. I asked them where my desk and computer was. They looked at me with puzzlement. I asked then where all of the computer monitors were, and they didn't know what a computer monitor was. I started describing how, on the trading floor where I worked, the traders has 6 or 8 monitors stacked on their desks. Then everyone started to laugh at me.
In seemed that everyone at Google worked on laptops. They had no conception of what a desktop system was, and the fact that a trader had multiple monitors seemed absurd. The Google-ites didn't even have desks. They just sat on the floor wherever they wanted with their laptops.
I think that the dream was inspired by an article that a friend just sent me.
And, it got me wondering if we at the large investment banks could be doing things in a better way .....
©2009 Marc Adler - All Rights Reserved.
All opinions here are personal, and have no relation to my employer.
1 comment:
Ha ha, now I have this picture of traders lounging on pillows in a Moroccan inspired living room, with their laptops and cordless phones. There's some soft sitar music playing in the background, and everyone is politely talking in hushed tones. The guy on the squawk box has a smooth and deep voice and starts every update with "good day folks" like an old time radio host.
Actually, lots of quant funds have a relatively relaxed atmosphere. It's the lack of a traditional trading staff.
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