Last week we received an insightful e-mail from the famous CEO
of a Fortune 100 company. He asked a quick technical question about e-mail and the
use of our term ‘corpcraft’. As a postscript to our answer we asked him how he did
it—how he had managed to consistently add or protect so much equity holder value,
even in this grim market. His answer was illustrative given his fame as a fierce
competitor, in both his business and personal life.
"Tal, to put it in terms you would appreciate: I learned
a long time ago to act like a shuai-jan, you know, the snake. That and not being
worried about personal embarrassment which opens up a lot of possibilities my counterparts
avoid."
For the non-herpetologists out there: a shuai-jan is a snake
mentioned in ancient Chinese texts on battle tactics: "When you attack the shuai-jan's head, it attacks you with its tail.
When you strike its tail it attacks with his head. Strike at its middle and both
ends will attack you."
Both traits help explain his happy equity holders.
Think about it...
