Sublime

Executives who complain about how undervalued their firm’s shares are or who opine about its true worth are probably more concerned with the value of their options than with making solid, long-term business decisions. Self-promotional managers, meanwhile, are not likely to make decisions that are in the best interests of long-term shareholders. If

Morgan made his specialty the refinancing, reorganization, and rationalization of America’s badly overextended and overcapitalized railroads; his “clients” included some of the largest, such as the Erie, the New York Central, and the Pennsylvania.

Renowned business consultant and author Peter Drucker, in the opening quote of this chapter, argues that the goal of a business is to “convert society’s needs into opportunities for a profitable business.” He argues that a company’s purpose is to serve the customer. Instead of framing business needs as at odds with customer needs, Drucker is aligni

Ramsey Beirne pitch to take on a search assignment, say he would consider it, then disappear for a few days before returning with an answer. The CEO’s of these small companies were consulting someone else, and that someone else, upon investigation, turned out to be the venture capitalist who sat on the company’s board of directors.