Scott Galloway is asking CMOs and CEOs 2-3 times a week, “What are the most likely scenarios that would result in a tripling of value in half a decade, and how might that impact capital allocation?” and then works backward to see how those scenarios would shake out.
He then lists out their answers/approaches by category — including how a Best Buy, Amazon, Nike, Samsung, Uber, etc. may approach.
My favorite quotes:
- “Amazon has turned the media into their bitch”
- “Starbucks is the ultimate arbiter [in viewing staff and footprint as an asset], spending more on employee benefits than it does on coffee beans.”
- “Apple’s genius move wasn’t the iPhone, but investing where brand equity was moving, at purchase, and opening extraordinary temples of brand worship”
- “$1–3B firms are in no man’s land. Not small enough to present the agility and growth rates of long-tail brands, but not big enough to allocate the requisite capital in the arms race that is digital.”
- “Uber, WeWork, and other (massively) overvalued unicorns: Raise as much money as possible and buy old-economy assets (cars, buildings, etc.) to build analog moats around your businesses / valuations.”
GREG SWAN 