“If we can get two other customers to add 10 million units annually, that will raise our profitability to a level that would make us an attractive acquisition target,” Jeremy explained, as the rest of us listened intently. Jeremy is the CEO of a manufacturing company that has been struggling to reach a sustainable rate of business for several years. He continued.
“Dear Stan,
I’m Chairman of the Board of a large private company. I was recruited for the specific purpose of ensuring that proper governance was applied to the decisions regarding the strategic future of the organization. There are strong-willed shareholders who were having disproportionate influence on the company’s management and there was no independence on the board. I agreed to the role on the stipulation that the company, its board and all shareholders would ‘play it by the book’.
I had thought that the kanji symbol for “crisis” was a combination of two separate symbols, one meaning “danger” and the other “opportunity”. I had intended to use this as an introduction to this piece, as a justification for optimism in the face of great threats. And while I am convinced that hard times bring with them undeniable opportunities, I have discovered that the conventional description of the kanji character for “crisis” is, well, wrong.
“It’s a combination of greed and ignorance of history”, he said, munching his flank steak salad, gazing out at the sparkling San Diego bay. “There’s no other explanation that works.” He had been discussing the destruction of investor value represented by the collapse of several stalwart financial institutions during the Global Financial Crisis.
