/terminal corp evolution 2020 Q3

2020 Q3


Some mental models reviewed this quarter.


Visionaries = Fraudsters + Enough Time

  • great podcast with Bethany McLean, a long-form only journalist https://fs.blog/knowledge-project/bethany-mclean/
  • min 19: about the moral obligations / responsibilities that companies have:
    ...That belief that a company has a broader purpose can become a cover, an excuse, for a lot of bad behavior too.
    Fake altruism is almost worse than single minded profiteering.
    ...When you look at the history of corporate America up until the dawn of the LBO era in the 80s, that was the purpose of a company, it was supposed to be broader.
    General Motors was mom America and apple pie and we'll take care of everybody forever and that doesn't really work either.
    ...When people think about the purpose of a company being more than a bottom line, most people think this is something new.
    It’s not new, it’s old.
    It didn’t work perfectly the last time around either.
    · it reminded me of a something I read on the The Economist Style Guide:
    "Some people believe the possibility of giving offense, causing embarrassment, lowering self-esteem, reinforcing stereotypes, perpetuating prejudice, victimizing, marginalizing, or discriminating to be more important that stating the truth. They are wrong. Your first duty is the truth.”