A follow up on the Nebraska farmer's great investment and some takeaways: Two attributes that each great business needs, some examples of what matters in the long run, and Saber's simple checklist
Hi John! I think this checklist is great. If there is one item I would add it would be the concept of Win-Win-Win in terms of employees, shareholders, and customers. For example, from everything I've read, I think Valeant Pharmaceuticals would have scored well on this checklist, but at the end of the day the customers weren't winning in this scenario and this really impacted every other aspect of the business.
I think considering the perspective of shareholders and customers is useful in identifying hidden problems within a business that otherwise looks like a great investment from a financial and valuation perspective.
I also think "skin in the game" is really important. I think a high percentage of ownership by employees and management is almost universally a positive. Especially when that ownership is a high percentage of those individuals net worth, etc. It's hard to be motivated to work hard to make money for someone else when you don't benefit from it as well.
We loved this piece. Thanks for putting it out there for us!
Hi John! I think this checklist is great. If there is one item I would add it would be the concept of Win-Win-Win in terms of employees, shareholders, and customers. For example, from everything I've read, I think Valeant Pharmaceuticals would have scored well on this checklist, but at the end of the day the customers weren't winning in this scenario and this really impacted every other aspect of the business.
I think considering the perspective of shareholders and customers is useful in identifying hidden problems within a business that otherwise looks like a great investment from a financial and valuation perspective.
I also think "skin in the game" is really important. I think a high percentage of ownership by employees and management is almost universally a positive. Especially when that ownership is a high percentage of those individuals net worth, etc. It's hard to be motivated to work hard to make money for someone else when you don't benefit from it as well.