Bankruptcy
The Democratic Presidential race has brought two major issues
to the voters. Medicare for ALL and
higher taxes on the wealthy. While they “trend”
on social media ultimately it is our vote that counts. In addition to the election we read many
announcements about bankruptcies this week.
We will look at the failures and see if there are similarities that can
benefit our business. Our capitalist system works and
making knee jerk conclusions can be dangerous.
Let’s look.
Old Gen
The capitalist business model doesn’t play favorites. This week several old school firms
filed for bankruptcy protection. We will examine two that failed
for different reason. The Boy Scouts
filed because of the harassment charges against them were adding up. The scouts oath to do the right thing
seems to mean different things to different people. The other firm that filed was Pier One. Low prices drive traffic but don’t equate to
profits. We can learn from both!
Next Gen
The VC funding craze that was looking for Unicorns seems to
have hit the profitability wall as WeWork and Brandless either retrenched (“pivoted”)
or closed. We Work proved that firms
need more than a charismatic leader.
Professor Collins identified this reality in his book Good to Great. Level 5 leaders aren’t much fun
but they are GREAT leaders.
Wealth Management
Our independent wealth advisory segment is the “Hot Dot” for
Private Equity and this week Morgan Stanley joined the independence dance. We need to take a deep breath and learn from
our Old and Next Gen business brothers' mistakes. I often reference the research and opinions of
Bob Veres. He is an unemotional glass of
cold water that always teaches me something new. His most recent research regarding how we
value our businesses is a must read.
When we pull the voting booth curtain don’t listen to The Russians,
we are the only opinion that matters.
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