What makes a company truly great

Tony Schwartz, in the Times:

So how about this for a new value proposition?

A company’s greatness is grounded in doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people, and the least harm. It is neither first nor foremost about maximizing short-term return for shareholders. Rather, it is about investing in and valuing all stakeholders – employees, customers, suppliers, the community and the planet – in order to generate the greatest value over the longest term for all parties, including the shareholders.

By that definition, a tobacco company like Altria can never be considered great, no matter how much return it generates for shareholders. The damage the company causes to the world vastly outweighs the value it generates for a few. To be great, a company must add some sort of positive benefit in the world with its products. Similarly, a company that fails to pay its employees a living wage, or to treat them with care and respect, can never be considered great.

Greatness also requires a company to treat its customers with the same care and respect, in part through an unwavering commitment to excellence in the products it produces, and fairness in the prices it charges for them. A great company must also take seriously its continuing responsibility to the communities in which it operates, and to the planet, on whose resources it depends. Above all else, great companies must add more value to the world than they extract.

nyti.ms/11mcaAm

 

Bullshit. The company's sole purpose is to make money for its owners and shareholders. And if they can treat their employees like shit while doing it, all the better.

 

And thus, my entire reason for posting this thread is realized.

 

I don't necessarily equate "great" with "money-making."

 

In all fairness, the quant signal has also now been beamed.

 

You need to get out more. You live in Chicago. There's nothing to do in Chicago on a Saturday afternoon?

 

He could shoot someone.

 

Cubs suck. Blackhawks don't start till 7 p.m.

 

Why? We can all agree that Ty Cobb was a "great" baseball player, right? It doesn't matter if he was a reprehensible person, because that's not part of the criteria for evaluating his baseball playing abilities.

A company's ambition is to make money. If a company makes a lot of money, why shouldn't they be judged on that?

 

I spent the last week moving. (You'll notice I didn't post much, as I didn't even have internet between Saturday and Thursday.)

Between packing, moving, unpacking, and getting my actual work done, I'm exhausted. I just woke up from a nap, and I never take naps. I should be organizing my new workshop, but I need a mental energy break. And, your arguments don't require any. (Zing!)

 

I have absolutely no idea how your post relates to mine so I am unable to respond.

 

Actually, I hadn't noticed you were gone, or cared.

(Double-Zing!)