Terriffic Post from GG list Re: Geoff Moore's lecture--"Churchill Meeting, Market Meltdown, Non-Market Gorillaness"
From: "Martin Thomas" <mthomas666@email.msn.com>
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2000 21:45:31 -0700
I can imagine many of us are examining little pools of meltdown dripping from our portfolios; from these events insights can occur. While I was preparing to go to San Jose to meet with other gglist members last Thursday, the NASDAQ was keeling over and the DOW was climbing Mt.Everst. These events set the tone for my listening when Geoff Moore was delivering his presentation to the Churchill Club.
Originally I had been considering Geoff would target his presentation to management more than investment. Of course management's success is crucial to investor profitably, so there is much common ground. I have so many examples of management styles that are either marginal or dysfunctional in the current economy; the share price for these companies can be a real lesson in what does not work. Knowing the underlying approach management is applying to its business is highly correlated to how comfortable I am with an investment.
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MARKET MELTDOWN
The day prior to the meeting I had been observing the staying power of certain companies during times of turbulence. CSCO, QCOM, INTC etc seemed to be doing well, and that week even MSFT was doing well. We now have a drop in share prices, with little news going forward to perk up the scene. Now is a good time for me to examine some gorilla attributes. I saw NTAP, JDSU, CREE, CMTN, CIEN which are all good companies, lose price and today they are still 30 to 50% lower than last week. I did not have any positions in these companies at that time, but I track them closely. OK, the idea here is to see how much CSCO et al have risen and retained after a time like this.
New ideas can be available, and examining these events *as
Current Events* is a whole lot different than studying them 2 years from now, because *right Now* we have all the correct market contexts upon which the events are placed. Two years from now this history will have lost some of the subtle nuances and only by studying the events at the time of occurrence can we fully differentiate the forces at work, or the *known* market subtleties at work. And this is what I was thinking about while attending the Churchill meeting and speaking with the other gglisters. It becomes apparent that the most sturdy stock investments are those stocks with the attributes described in the Gorilla Game by Geoff, and this applies to all companies, whether they be Gorillas or other creatures.
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NON-MARKET GORILLANESS
Now I see an article in the S.F. Chronicle that has nothing to do with the markets, per se. Seems Air France has instructed its pilots to use English in the cockpit, even when landing at Charles deGaulle Airport. Of course there will be some sort of outrage by somebody, this *is* France :^) However, Air France is fearful of potential safety issues, thus issued the edict. The reason given is 'the other pilots in the same air space are more likely to understand English rather than French', thus if conversing in French to the control tower, more pilots might not understand potential problems being discussed on the radio, versus keeping all conversation in
English.
The value chain of English has made the necessity, even in France, to speak English while flying a commercial airliner in order to insure maximum compatibility (interoperability) with others in the air. That is Gorilla Power at work. ("creeping penetration of English into more facets of French life is irritating to some French citizens.....")
*This suggests to me the study of the Gorilla Game attributes may lead to better assessment of processes within//among cultures and other human enterprise, not simply applied to financial investigations.*
This helped illuminate the potential power behind a well-supported value chain. Thus, a well-supported share price ?
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CHURCHILL MEETING
I cannot adequately express how impressed I was with the other gglist members and their grasp on the fundamentals of investing using Gorilla Game views. There were 8 of us, and I think we would need much more than a few hours to deplete each other of useful information. We only had a few hours, and a lot was left undiscussed, so we agreed to try again soon to meet together and pick up where we left off.
I guess I ought to say something more about Geoff's presentation, but it will be difficult to give it fair due. If anyone ever has the opportunity
to attend one of his presentations, I hope what I describe here helps you make the effort to do so. Although the target audience did not appear to be investors, the idea
that management is the agency for shareholders pretty much makes this a moot point, and the target audience and presentation were centrally focused upon
managing for shareholder value...after all, many of those present have stock in their employer's companies, thus they are shareholders too.
Geoff's command and delivery of the material makes for a captivating, energetic, and knowledgeable orator with the ability to impart understanding
in the audience. This latter point is essential. There was not a single head nodding off to sleep (over 500 attendees); they were nodding in agreement and understanding
of the points being so carefully detailed, developing a very real image of what is encountered in the different approaches to management.
A great performance with a great audience, and wonderful table companions was what I experienced at this event. I truly hope anyone having the opportunity to hear Geoff speak will take advantage of it.
If you liked the book, you will want to see the movie many, many times. Any of his books......
We met with Geoff briefly, and he introduced us to Tom Kippola (co-Author) as well. Judging from the questions Tom K. asked us, I would not be surprised to find him lurking on the gglist soon....I am certain he would
discover the magnitude of acceptance for the Gorilla Game concepts by astute investors, and were he to witness the quality of discussions here he could feel obliged to participate.
I enjoyed meeting all the Gorilla Gamers, and hope to have another opportunity to learn from the list members, authors and guests.
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Regards,
Martin Thomas |
