Make strategic decisions that maximize expected future value—even at the expense of lower near-term earnings.
Many firms sacrifice sustained growth for short-term financial gain. For example, a whopping 80% of executives would intentionally limit critical R&D spending just to meet quarterly earnings benchmarks. Result? They miss opportunities to create enduring value for their companies and their shareholders.
How to cultivate the future growth your firm needs to succeed? Rappaport identifies 10 powerful practices. First among them: Don’t get sucked into the short-term earnings-expectation game—it only tempts you to forgo value-creating investments to report rosy earnings now. Another practice: Ensure that executives bear the same risks of ownership that shareholders do—by requiring them to own stock in the firm. At eBay, for example, executives have to own company shares equivalent to three times their annual base salary. eBay’s rationale? When executives have significant skin in the game, they tend to make decisions with long-term value in mind.
See full Article.
Posts
