We owe you nothing – @thisisseth

Seth Godin points to a trend or attitude in business: to take a merely transactional perspective.

“The dedicated fan sat through endless losing games. Even steven. Ticket purchased, game delivered. We owe you nothing.

The problem with ‘even steven’ is that it turns trust and connection and emotions into nothing but a number. Revenue on a P&L. It ignores the long-term in exchange for a relentless focus on today. Only today.”

Always only chasing the next quarter’s numbers, is short-sighted, but I’m not sure I agree with Seth’s positioning of current versus “modern” capitalism. The Victorian capitalists and Quaker businesses built for the long-term, as do many family businesses that have survived over many generations. In fact, last week’s Economist reported on Amazon’s resolutely long-term vision.

Short-termism is a problem, but the answer has been around for a while.

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/@akeenster

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