In this episode, we talk about how decisions meant to maximize shareholder value reshaped companies like Ford Motor Company, General Electric, Silicon Valley Bank, and Lehman Brothers. The story covers the Ford Motor Company court case that set a precedent, the rise of Jack Welch’s aggressive cost-cutting at General Electric, the dramatic surge in executive pay compared to worker wages, the decline in average stock holding periods, and how short-term thinking has triggered massive layoffs, quality declines, and some of the biggest corporate failures in modern history.

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