Doesn’t it drive you crazy when people hold big celebrations for nothing more than starting a big strategic move? Like the champagne that flows when M&A deals are announced, or the party accompanying a project launch, without any evidence that it will actually work? It has always seemed backwards to me to disproportionately focus on one piece of the process, when often the real success is taken for granted and never acknowledged at all.
It was therefore gratifying to read in the January 3 Wall Street Journal (p. C12) that the wheelers and dealers are starting to recognize the fallacy of celebrating beginnings rather than successful outcomes. They note:
“As Kohlberg Kravis Roberts boss Henry Kravis noted last year, “Any fool can buy a company. You should be congratulated when you sell.”“