In New York, it's all about the money. Having walked past the headquarters of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) several times this week, I could feel the buzz and energy among the people walking in and out of the building. And with yesterday's announcement that its quarterly profits were up 93%, bonuses of $25 million for bankers and $50 million for traders are going to flow into New York retailers of art, high end real estate, jewelry, and fast cars.

One of my business school classmates is reaping those rewards. Before school he had been CFO of a utility and joined Goldman as a trader. He was a good person with exceptional skill in finance. After toiling for years, he made partner and profited handsomely from Goldman's initial public offering and continues to reap the rewards.

Goldman's secret, as I noted in Value Leadership, is its ability to hire and manage brilliant team players. Goldman asks Harvard Business School professors to recommend the brightest students who work well with other people. Goldman scrutinizes each person with reviews from everyone the person worked with. Playing favorites to please a powerful partner can delay advancement or lead to dismissal. And all this emphasis on teamwork leads to better answers for clients; higher fees and market share; and less turnover of top talent.

Yesterday, I walked past ground zero on the way to a meeting on Wall Street. It's a testament to the power of its long term greedy credo that just a few blocks from the attack site, Goldman Sachs is making more money than ever. It's hard to imagine it could top 2006's performance next year. But over the long-run it doesn't make sense to bet against Goldman.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm, and a Professor of Management at Babson College. He has no financial interest in Goldman Sachs.