“There is no safety in numbers….or in anything else” James Thurber
I’ve said before that I try to keep this blog neutral as far as religion, politics, race, gender, etc. So, I only bring this up as a springboard into what I really want to discuss.
Every election year I’m amused, amazed, astounded, stupefied and horrified by how the person trying to become the elected official of “the free world” pulls out all the stops to portray themselves as ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE. It happened again and now we’re going to put out a lot of money in order that campaign promise gets kept.
I could bore you with how I feel we should all pay much more attention to who we elect locally than nationally but you either already get that…or don’t… so why try to put lipstick on the pig.
The United States of America is arguably the most diverse country on the planet. For as silly as we can sometime be, we are more tolerant than most. Few other places would allow some of the goofballs we have to be prominent figures. So how, I mean HOW, can any one person be elected just to help me or the people like me while at the same time equally helping those that are very opposite of me? I mean, really!
I only bring it up at all to make my business point. Name me the company who successfully pulled off being “All things….”?
Some have tried. Chesebrough-Pond’s grew to have sales in excess of $1 billion dollars in the 70’s (that’d be real money today) until it decided that it could be “All things….”. Here’s the story: http://www.answers.com/topic/chesebrough-pond-s-usa-inc?cat=biz-fin. Likewise the 1990 book “Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco” tells a great, and true, tale of a free-for-all leveraged buyout of a conglomerate that peddled cigarettes and food among other things. In the world of technology no one floats to the top faster than Computer Associates. My buddies and I have always fantasized about being allowed into the CA warehouse where they keep all the cast-off products they got from acquisitions that they never looked at again. I envision it being like the warehouse at the end of the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark.
There is no doubt that companies can lock themselves in too finely. Railroads never seemed to get the fact that they’re in the transportation business, not just the rail business, for instance. The old adage “focus or falter” is still worth paying attention to.
One of the dangers today is there are a lot of struggling companies who can be acquired for what will seem to be a pittance. You’ll be able to work the spreadsheets and convince yourself the risk will be minimal. What won’t show up in the spreadsheet will be the hidden costs of distraction, new baby syndrome, and the inevitable “gotcha” issues that never came out in the due diligence. All of a sudden this piece of cake has become a pile of dung.
Ask yourself a critical question: “Does this company/technology strengthen, enhance or move forward our existing strategy, or are we changing our strategy to accommodate it?”
That’s not to say it’s not a buyers market, but as the signs warning of low ceilings say in England “Mind Your Head”.
I’ve said before that I try to keep this blog neutral as far as religion, politics, race, gender, etc. So, I only bring this up as a springboard into what I really want to discuss.
Every election year I’m amused, amazed, astounded, stupefied and horrified by how the person trying to become the elected official of “the free world” pulls out all the stops to portray themselves as ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE. It happened again and now we’re going to put out a lot of money in order that campaign promise gets kept.
I could bore you with how I feel we should all pay much more attention to who we elect locally than nationally but you either already get that…or don’t… so why try to put lipstick on the pig.
The United States of America is arguably the most diverse country on the planet. For as silly as we can sometime be, we are more tolerant than most. Few other places would allow some of the goofballs we have to be prominent figures. So how, I mean HOW, can any one person be elected just to help me or the people like me while at the same time equally helping those that are very opposite of me? I mean, really!
I only bring it up at all to make my business point. Name me the company who successfully pulled off being “All things….”?
Some have tried. Chesebrough-Pond’s grew to have sales in excess of $1 billion dollars in the 70’s (that’d be real money today) until it decided that it could be “All things….”. Here’s the story: http://www.answers.com/topic/chesebrough-pond-s-usa-inc?cat=biz-fin. Likewise the 1990 book “Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco” tells a great, and true, tale of a free-for-all leveraged buyout of a conglomerate that peddled cigarettes and food among other things. In the world of technology no one floats to the top faster than Computer Associates. My buddies and I have always fantasized about being allowed into the CA warehouse where they keep all the cast-off products they got from acquisitions that they never looked at again. I envision it being like the warehouse at the end of the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark.
There is no doubt that companies can lock themselves in too finely. Railroads never seemed to get the fact that they’re in the transportation business, not just the rail business, for instance. The old adage “focus or falter” is still worth paying attention to.
One of the dangers today is there are a lot of struggling companies who can be acquired for what will seem to be a pittance. You’ll be able to work the spreadsheets and convince yourself the risk will be minimal. What won’t show up in the spreadsheet will be the hidden costs of distraction, new baby syndrome, and the inevitable “gotcha” issues that never came out in the due diligence. All of a sudden this piece of cake has become a pile of dung.
Ask yourself a critical question: “Does this company/technology strengthen, enhance or move forward our existing strategy, or are we changing our strategy to accommodate it?”
That’s not to say it’s not a buyers market, but as the signs warning of low ceilings say in England “Mind Your Head”.
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