Naked Greed Destroys Brand Value

"The obsession with shareholder value has perhaps created autistic businesses — of a kind that nobody much wants to work for or buy from. By nakedly pursuing a narrow obsession with profit, companies are damaging brand value — and ultimately shareholder value. Or, to put it another way, the problem with all this naked greed isn’t the greed, it’s the nakedness. At a societal level, it means the benefits of competitive free market economics (choice, low prices, innovation) don’t really translate into happiness, gratitude or affection — as they are tainted by the self-interest with which they have been obtained."

"Adam Smith’s: “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” We should add: “But don’t expect anyone to like the butcher very much.”"

"Jack Welch, widely seen as the father of the shareholder value movement, but now one of its harshest critics. “Shareholder value is an outcome — it’s not a strategy.” Or as Eddie Izzard remarks: “I’m not a capitalist, I am a creativist. I want to make money so that I can create things. Suddenly all these people have come along who want to create things so they can make money.”"