I'm the 47%

I got student loans when I was in college (still paying!), was in a government sponsored minority business set aside program, had an SBA guaranteed business loan...I bought a house with my own money, I pay almost $700 a month for my own health care, I've started 6 businesses, at last count creating more than 200 jobs and generating revenues in excess of $100MM, was named to the Inc. 500 list as one of the fastest growing companies in America...oh and I pay income taxes...do I sound like a victim? Like I'm dependent? Like I believe government has a responsibility to care for me? Like I need to be convinced to take responsibility and care for my life??... I'm the 47%

Facebook and the Fallacy of Shareholder Primacy

I was just watching CNBC and a protracted discussion about whether Facebook should look to replace Mark Zuckerberg as CEO.  Sometimes it is amazing to me how much the stock market talking heads think they know about business…and how little they actually know. 

The entire conversation about Mr. Zuckerberg’s tenure focused on the fact that the stock has dropped by about 50% since the IPO.  No discussion was made about the fact that the company has almost a billion users; that the employees love the place with a fanaticism that borders on irrational. All of the criticism of Mr. Zuckerberg’s leadership centered around a temporary loss of un-realized gains for shareholders.  Of course this can only be the prime metric for CEO performance if you believe that shareholders are the primary stakeholders for his company. Which, of course, any businessperson worth their salt will tell you is not the case.  I’ve been railing at this ridiculous short-term mindset that is fostered on Wall Street for the last 6 years.  Noting how on so many occasions, including the one that resulted in our recent financial crisis, this short-term mentality can lead to executives making decisions that destroy long-term value. These yahoos on Wall Street have concluded from a single quarter of stock performance that this guy isn’t up to the challenge. 

I don’t know if he is or not, but I do know that Wall Street continues to look at all the wrong metrics.