Rita McGrath: “You have power when you have control over a scarce and valuable resource. That could be formal power, as in control over raises, promotions or budget approvals. That could be informal power as in access to a respected inner circle of decision-makers or the possession of a great brand or stellar reputation. Power can also come from expertise and skill. The more invaluable you are to the organization, the more likely people are to tread carefully around you.”
FT on ARK’s Cathie Wood: ““Boom. That’s when it hit me. Why don’t you apply the technologies that have been disrupting other industries to your own? Think about it: your industry finances all of these disruptions that have changed other industries, and it hasn’t embraced them itself.” Within five minutes, the key foundations of what would become Ark’s approach came to her: adopting open source research, embracing online media, investing in innovation…An important element of Wood’s vision — and one of the drivers of her seemingly boundless optimism — is that the deflationary trend of recent decades and generally low interest rates will continue: technological innovation suppresses costs, while companies whose products are being rendered obsolete will have to cut prices.”
Atanu Dey: “In reality what we call the government is just a bunch of people, and people have various goals and motivations. The people who constitute the government can be broadly classified as politicians (who are periodically elected) and bureaucrats (who are unelected and enjoy lengthy tenures.) The politicians…do what they have to do to get re-elected. They may care about the general welfare of the country but that concern comes a distant second to their self-interest. Expecting them to be self-sacrificing for some greater good of the nation is delusional idiocy. The same goes for the bureaucrats; their first concern is how to expand their budgets and their power over the fiefdoms they ruthlessly rule. Practically nothing they do is ever beneficial and most of the time they inflict immense harm…The government is ultimately a reflection of the soul of the people. If the people are morally and ethically weak, they will suffer morally and ethically bad governments.”
