Playing to win
I never played to win.
When I ran marathons and 10k's I would finish in the top 9%. It never occurred to me that I would win anything, including my age group.
My college soccer teams were generally mid-pack.
I put all my love into a life partner who frequently ignored me. She never responded to my cries for help, and instead complained about me to whomever would believe her.
I succeed in business, not as one of our 76 billionaires but in a way that produced value and normal income above half a million dollars a year, generally after tax. I work in a niche market very few people understand. I respect and like my employees and my customers, and they like my company. I will not appear on MSNBC or the WSJ.
Now perhaps I'm selling my business in the future. It's valuable, well run, tech savvy, data driven, and we own our entire market. My leadership team is strong, without exception. We offer integrity and good governance.
I can't name a high go-to-market price. I think capitalism is a tragedy. I've awarded nearly 20% of the value of the business to the leadership team, mostly because they deserve it, but also to motivate myself. I care more about the value of their 20% than I do about my 80%. Even that 80% I'm sharing with my business partner. (My ex-wife has largely been cash-out on the marital asset agreement we agreed to. She couldn't be less helpful or relevant, though I'm sad all the time about that massive failure.).
How and when will I learn to "play to win?" I doubt I can change.
When I ran marathons and 10k's I would finish in the top 9%. It never occurred to me that I would win anything, including my age group.
My college soccer teams were generally mid-pack.
I put all my love into a life partner who frequently ignored me. She never responded to my cries for help, and instead complained about me to whomever would believe her.
I succeed in business, not as one of our 76 billionaires but in a way that produced value and normal income above half a million dollars a year, generally after tax. I work in a niche market very few people understand. I respect and like my employees and my customers, and they like my company. I will not appear on MSNBC or the WSJ.
Now perhaps I'm selling my business in the future. It's valuable, well run, tech savvy, data driven, and we own our entire market. My leadership team is strong, without exception. We offer integrity and good governance.
I can't name a high go-to-market price. I think capitalism is a tragedy. I've awarded nearly 20% of the value of the business to the leadership team, mostly because they deserve it, but also to motivate myself. I care more about the value of their 20% than I do about my 80%. Even that 80% I'm sharing with my business partner. (My ex-wife has largely been cash-out on the marital asset agreement we agreed to. She couldn't be less helpful or relevant, though I'm sad all the time about that massive failure.).
How and when will I learn to "play to win?" I doubt I can change.
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