To truly resonate with an economic buyer, align your solution to the specific KPIs they are personally accountable for. These metrics often differ from those of your champion or general corporate objectives like revenue and cost savings, requiring tailored messaging.

Prioritize sustainable, long-term growth and value creation over immediate, expedient gains that could damage the business's future. This philosophy guides decisions from product development to strategic planning, ensuring the company builds a lasting competitive advantage instead of chasing fleeting wins.

Public company boards often hire CEOs using fuzzy adjectives like 'leader.' A better method is to first define 3-5 key strategic goals, creating a 'scorecard of success,' and then find a candidate whose track record specifically matches those objectives.

The 20th-century view of shareholder primacy is flawed. By focusing first on creating wins for all stakeholders—customers, employees, suppliers, and society—companies build a sustainable, beloved enterprise that paradoxically delivers superior returns to shareholders in the long run.

Patagonia deliberately restrains revenue growth, viewing it not as the primary goal but as a means to an end. The company's true objective is growth in environmental and social impact, for which financial growth is simply a funding mechanism. This redefines success away from purely financial metrics.

For years, Japan was a value trap: cheap companies with poor governance hoarded cash. The game changed when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe introduced stewardship and governance codes, creating a top-down, government-backed catalyst for companies to finally improve capital allocation and unlock shareholder value.

Public companies, beholden to quarterly earnings, often behave like "psychopaths," optimizing for short-term metrics at the expense of customer relationships. In contrast, founder-led or family-owned firms can invest in long-term customer value, leading to more sustainable success.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange has issued an ultimatum to companies: get your price above book value or be delisted. This is forcing an end to centuries-old practices of corporate cross-ownership and compelling companies to engage in buybacks and other shareholder-friendly actions, providing a powerful catalyst for the market.

Contrary to a shareholder-first dogma, these leaders operate on an employee-first principle. They believe that well-treated, empowered employees provide superior customer service. This creates loyal customers, which drives sustainable profits and ultimately delivers superior long-term returns for shareholders.