Latest news with #longtermvision
Forbes
27-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Cathedral Thinking: Why Leaders Must Look Beyond Quarterly Results
Long-term vision and intergenerational commitment are essential for success. By Luis Vives, Professor in the Department of Strategy and General Management at Esade When Antoni Gaudí took on the construction of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia, he knew he was embarking on a project that would outlive him. "My client is not in a hurry," he would say, referring to God. More than 140 years later, the Sagrada Familia remains unfinished, but Gaudí's vision stands as a powerful testament to long-term thinking. This is what we can call Cathedral Thinking: a mindset that can guide executive leadership in an era of unprecedented complexity and accelerating change. This concept, signifying long-term vision and intergenerational commitment, has been popularized by authors like Roman Krznaric and invoked by climate leaders such as Greta Thunberg. This generation-spanning mindset is exactly what modern leaders need to meet today's biggest challenges head-on. From decarbonizing our economies to eradicating extreme poverty, the defining problems of our era demand cathedral thinking from leaders that have been trained in quarterly thinking. The Quarter-Century Crisis: Short-Termism's Steep Price Today's corporate landscape suffers from what researchers call 'temporal myopia'– an obsession with short-term metrics that often undermines long-term value creation. The numbers tell the story: average CEO tenure has shrunk to 7.4 years globally, with S&P 500 leaders clocking in at 8.3 years median, while activist investors demand immediate returns. Yet the companies that consistently outperform the market share one trait: they think and act like cathedral builders. Jeff Bezos operated Amazon on "Day 1" principles for more than two decades, consistently sacrificing short-term profits in favor of long-term market dominance. Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, decided to stop reporting quarterly earnings and turned his focus to creating a long-term, purpose-driven organization. Tesla invested a full decade in battery technology before most legacy automakers took electric vehicles seriously. These weren't lucky bets. They were calculated long-term (cathedral) strategies – investments in foundations that others couldn't see but would eventually transform entire industries. McKinsey's longitudinal Corporate Horizon Index revealed that publicly listed firms managed for the long term (2001-2014) delivered 47% faster revenue growth and 36% higher earnings growth than their short-term-focused peers. Yet despite this overwhelming evidence, the tyranny of quarterly capitalism persists. Five Pillars of Cathedral Leadership Cathedral Thinking is more than patient capital allocation. It is a leadership mindset that recognizes that true success demands a generational perspective. Here are its essential components: The Competitive Advantage of Time Companies embracing Cathedral Thinking consistently outperform their peers, though this long-term vision comes at a price that is measured squarely in short-term metrics. While competitors may chase short-term results, cathedral companies invest in emerging technologies that won't pay off for years. While others may cut training budgets during downturns, they double-down on talent development. While market pressures demand immediate cost reduction, they maintain strategic investments that position them for the next cycle. This approach requires courage. Cathedral-thinking executives must resist the temptations (and pressures) of quick wins and maintain conviction when markets reward short-term thinking. They must communicate long-term vision effectively to shareholders that are used to quarterly updates. Most importantly, they must build organizational cultures that value persistence and purpose over speed and short-term results. Building Your Cathedral Strategy Implementing Cathedral Thinking requires systematic changes to how executives approach strategy, innovation, and leadership. Start by extending planning horizons beyond traditional three-to-four-year cycles. Develop 10-to-20-year vision statements that guide decision-making across multiple CEO tenures. Create metrics that balance short-term performance with long-term impact, including employee retention and satisfaction, customer lifetime value, and the strength of your innovation pipeline and the organization strategic renewal. Invest in institutional systems that can capture and transfer wisdom across leadership transitions. Build scenario planning capabilities that prepare your organization for different futures. And cultivate patience as a strategic capability. The most successful cathedral companies also embed long-term thinking into governance structures. This might include board compositions that balance quarterly oversight with generational strategy, compensation systems that reward long-term value creation, and communication strategies that educate the different stakeholders about the value of patient capital. The Cathedral Legacy The executives who embrace Cathedral Thinking today are setting the foundations to build tomorrow's market leaders. They understand that in a world of increasing complexity and accelerating change – a world wrestling with climate crises, technological disruption, and fractured trust – the ability to think beyond the next quarter or fiscal year has become a core competitive advantage. They are not just managing businesses, they are building institutions that will thrive for decades and serve stakeholders across generations. Many great cathedrals of Europe still inspire wonder hundreds of years after their completion. The companies being built by today's cathedral-thinking executives will similarly stand as monuments to the power of long-term vision, patient capital, and generational stewardship. In an age of quarterly capitalism, they are making decisions for the long run. The question for you is simple: Are you managing for the next quarter, or building a cathedral? The companies that survive and thrive in the decades ahead will be those whose leaders choose to think like architects of the future, even as they navigate the immediate demands of a rapidly changing world.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jeff Bezos' Advice for Millennials Who Want To Get Rich
Many millennials today can't remember a time without Prime two-day delivery. However, as elder millennials have aged along with online shopping and corresponding credit card bills, one titan of industry seems to have profited off of creating convenience more than most. Read Next: Find Out: Jeff Bezos is no stranger to entrepreneurship and wealth building. With a current estimated net worth of $241.9 billion, he puts pretty much all other American's savings accounts to shame. From starting Amazon in a garage to becoming one of the wealthiest individuals in the world, Bezos' journey offers helpful lessons for anyone looking to become wealthy. Millennials, a generation facing unique financial challenges including everything from skyrocketing student loans to housing shortages, can glean much from his insights. Here are eight pieces of Bezos' advice for a younger generation of people who want to get rich. One of the keys to Bezos' success with Amazon is his unwavering long-term vision. Instead of getting bogged down by short-term hiccups or quarterly pressures, Bezos consistently emphasizes thinking several years into the future. For millennials, this means having patience. Wealth rarely comes overnight. Whether you're starting a business, investing, or climbing the corporate ladder, focus on where you want to be in 10, 15 or even 20 years. Then, backtrack to create a roadmap to get there. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Consider This: In a letter to Amazon shareholders, Bezos once wrote, 'If you know in advance that it's going to work, it's not an experiment.' He credits many of Amazon's successes to his willingness to experiment, even if that means failing now and then. He supports everyone operating from a regret minimization framework or mindset. He prefers to simplify complex choices by focusing on the potential for future regret. In other words, he often asks himself, 'In X number of years, will I regret not doing this?' The regret minimization framework operates by going through the following steps: Step 1: Imagine yourself in the future Step 2: Look back at your current decision Step 3: Ask yourself which option would cause you the least regret Millennials should follow this advice by stepping outside their comfort zones. Risk is an inherent part of growth, whether it's trying a new business idea, switching careers or making an unconventional investment on Wall Street. Every failure is a step toward success. The trick to a risk minimization mindset is to not only increase your risk tolerance, but to also only pursue what makes you happy — that is more sustainable. If it is something you want to stick with because you love it, then you've already enhanced your earning potential. Bezos advises young people to choose careers they're passionate about. He believes this is one of the secrets to success. 'Do what you're very passionate about and don't try to chase what is the hot passion of the day,' he said during a news interview. During a speech Bezos gave at The Museum of Flight's Apollo exhibit, he highlighted the importance of working hard and making good life choices. 'We all have adversity in our lives,' said Bezos. 'That's good because it teaches us to get back up. You fall down, and you get back up.' 'You get certain gifts in life, and you want to take advantage of those,' Bezos continued. 'My advice on adversity and success [is] to be proud not of your gifts, but of your hard work and your choices.' According to Bezos, it's important to make the most of your gifts, and he especially advises young people to use their talents to make a difference. This can only happen, he said, through hard work. '[For example], you might be really good at math; it might be easy for you. That's a kind of gift,' said Bezos. 'But practicing that math and taking it to the next step, that could be challenging and hard, and take a lot of sweat. 'You can't really be proud of your gifts because they were given to you. You can be grateful for them and thankful for them, but your choices [matter]. You choose to work hard. You choose to do hard things. Those are choices you can be proud of.' If you run your own business, it may be tempting to lean into the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses tendency of fixating on outdoing competitors. However, Bezos champions a relentless focus on your customer base instead. Amazon's growth can largely be attributed to its ability to anticipate and meet customer needs efficiently. For the millennial aiming to build wealth, replace the word 'customer' with 'value.' Whether in business or personal endeavors, concentrate on providing immense value, be it to employers, clients or the market at large. When you consistently deliver value, financial growth follows. The tech landscape is not only constantly evolving, but business is booming. Bezos' ability to pivot and adapt to market changes has been crucial. From being an online bookstore to becoming a global e-commerce and cloud computing giant, Amazon's journey is a testament to adaptability. This is a tactic anyone who is looking to become rich should consider modeling. The world is changing rapidly for millennials, who are a generation who seem to be always waiting for the other financial shoe to drop. However, you can still prepare for the worst and plan for all the best possibilities. This is where flexibility, continual learning and staying updated are necessities in pursuing wealth. Bezos says it's crucial to invest in yourself. While he was fortunate to have access to resources, he continually invested in his learning, skills, and personal growth. Behind Amazon's success is not just Bezos but a team of dedicated individuals sharing his vision. Recognizing, nurturing, networking with and retaining talent is integral to the company's growth. Surrounding yourself with motivated, skilled, and positive individuals can exponentially increase your chances of success. As the adage goes, 'If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.' The bottom line is that Bezos' journey from a startup in a garage to leading one of the most influential companies in the world is filled with lessons hungry millennials should heed. While his advice can resonate with anyone, this generation is in a unique position to harness these insights after growing up with a mixture of analog and tech. In a world filled with trendy advice from financial influencers, the principles of vision, value, adaptability and humility remain timeless. More From GOBankingRates 10 Genius Things Warren Buffett Says To Do With Your Money This article originally appeared on Jeff Bezos' Advice for Millennials Who Want To Get Rich Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
