Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon had 2 jobs as a teenager while also juggling 3 sports. Now, he’s telling Gen Z to stop wasting time

Long before he became CEO of Goldman Sachs, David Solomon got a tough lesson from his father after complaining he never had enough money: the problem wasn’t cash. It was time.

Growing up in upstate New York, Solomon kept a packed schedule: three sports, student government, and shifts scooping 31 flavors at Baskin-Robbins. 

But he still didn’t have enough cash to do what he wanted. When he complained to his father, a businessman, Solomon expected sympathy—or maybe a loan. 

Instead, his dad gave him a lesson in time management. 

“He told me to take out a calendar and write down everything I did each day,” Solomon recalled this past weekend to MBA graduates of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. “And I noticed, when I had to account for every minute, that I actually wasted a reasonable amount of time.”

“Three weeks later, with a bit more intentionality in my schedule, I was working a second job flipping burgers at McDonald’s,” Solomon added.

The lesson struck. Decades later, Solomon distilled it into advice for young workers navigating a labor market...