Rich Lesser (newsletter): “In a world of limitless distractions, CEOs need to simplify. Deborah Ellinger, a seasoned CEO, uses a “Now, Next, Never” framework to set priorities. Saying yes to too much dilutes impact. Creating focus means having the discipline to say no to initiatives that may seem attractive but don’t align with core objectives. It’s about ensuring the entire organization is channeling its energy toward high-impact areas rather than getting bogged down by less strategic pursuits.” [More.]
WSJ: “The internet ushered in a new era of shopping nirvana, in which we could order whatever we wanted from the comfort of our couch. It also has siphoned money and merchandise away from bricks-and-mortar stores, turning buzzy emporiums into dilapidated mausoleums. Retailers have vastly expanded the breadth of products they sell online to better compete with Amazon.com, making the offerings in their physical stores feel paltry by comparison. Retail CEOs like to say they want customers to shop however they want—either online, in stores or a combination of the two. The reality is that they make more money when customers buy from physical stores because packing and shipping expenses eat into online profits…But when it comes to the stockroom, even the best stores can’t keep up with the internet.”
FT: “Estonia is teaming up with OpenAI and Anthropic to launch a nationwide drive to teach artificial intelligence skills to high school students, aiming to help prepare them for jobs of the future. The initiative, known as AI Leap, draws on the Baltic country’s public digital infrastructure built over the past 30 years and its strong educational culture. Estonia is ranked top among European countries in the international Pisa education tests. Estonia’s President Alar Karis said the initiative was not intended to replace teachers in the classroom but to develop critical thinking among students and awareness of AI. “We have to learn how to use it,” he told the Financial Times. “AI is everywhere.””
Niall Ferguson: “What I call Ferguson’s Law states that any great power that spends more on debt service than on defense risks ceasing to be a great power. The insight is not mine but originates with the Scottish political theorist Adam Ferguson, whose “Essay on the History of Civil Society” (1767) brilliantly identified the perils of excessive public debt. Ferguson understood what modern economists call the “tax-smoothing” properties of public debt: By borrowing to pay for a war or some other emergency, a government can spread the cost over multiple generations of taxpayers. But he also saw the catch. “The growing burden,” he observed, is “gradually laid,” and though a nation may “sink in some future age, every minister hopes it may still keep afloat in his own.” For this reason, public debt is “extremely dangerous…in the hands of a precipitant and ambitious administration.” His conclusion was prophetic: “An expense, whether sustained at home or abroad, whether a waste of the present, or an anticipation of future, revenue, if it bring no proper return, is to be reckoned among the causes of national ruin.””
SaaStr on the US IPO bar: “At least $400M in ARR – that’s right, nearly half a billion in recurring revenue. Growth of 30% or higher year-over-year (though 50-60% is even better). A valuation between $3-5B. Net revenue retention of 110-120% (and trending up). Strong SaaS gross margins. A clear path to profitability (though you don’t need to be FCF positive yet).”
