We want to think senior management will think through the long haul, but the reality is short-term thinking rules the day, and that’s not always a sin. An expensive switch is hard to justify, especially with stockholders breathing down your neck. Any CIO discussing costs of the switch is at least arguing a point worth considering. It’s when an organization brings up Microsoft talking points, such as security, that I feel they haven’t honestly considered a Mac approach.The Small Wave

I think this is dead wrong. short-term thinking is always a sin. if you're not strong enough to see ahead and stand up to your myopic, rabid shareholders you don't have what it takes to do more than just stumble into the future. you can only achieve and maintain Greatness by following the long view.

reactionary business strategies and higher-ups concerned only with tomorrow's stock price are why I can't take Libertarianism seriously. the market isn't self-correcting because people are a part of it. (related: why I don't take Communism seriously)

I see an IPO as a business equivalent to being bought by another company. the founders cash in their chips and the company is left to flounder along under a new ownership, flayed by shareholders worried about the opening price. it's possible to be Great as a publicly-traded company, but it's not at all common and usually involves silly tricks with different classes of shares.