In last week's movie, I was introduced to a story of the American dream. A dream that was almost crushed by the ruthless large corporations that love to take advantage. This week we took a dive into the vise versa and understood the point of view of a shark in the world of business, Lawrence Garfield. He is the owner of an investment company whose primary goal is to liquidate smaller companies that he has invested in and gain that profit. This act of outsmarting the weak is what the main character described as the American dream. While this is not what we typically think of as, he treats it like a game, and whoever dies with the most money at the end wins. The effect is that the small companies die out because it’s just as he said ‘survival of the fittest”.
I believe this quote can be used to describe the market in a very condensed and simple way. Entrepreneurs are going to take risks nevertheless, and this will only lead to the failure of businesses that cannot continue to out beat the competition. With the market always at a constant flux, through knowledge and experience can you continue to improve and improvise. The business that Garfield was trying to liquidate was stuck within a state of comfort. Garfield was aware of this, and he most likely played it to his advantage all along. It is important to always feel a few steps ahead of your competitors. Garfield said something along the lines of how this is all a game and he is just aware of the rules better than others around him. It is not that he’s cheating, but simply a few moves ahead like a chess game.
The corporation that is invested in decides to get a lawyer to deal with the situation. Once she met with Garfield he had a very interesting quote about Lawyers. He said that lawyers are like nukes. He had to get some because other people got some, and they eventually just mess everything up. He also said prior to this he directly quoted that he, “Lives in court”. When you reach a tier of success it is common to have people on deck that are informed in your field for when cases like this happen. The business world can consist of people at each other's necks for simply some more cash. The innocent business owner is not like this once so ever. He sticks to his moral roots like the generations before him and keeps the focus on his workers. Once legal issues began to fire up he proclaimed that he would not bury a body that is not dead (referring to the business). As much as this seems like the right ethical decision, this resistance to change and adapt put his company at a disadvantage. A disadvantage Garfield was crucially relying on all along. Being aware of your products' competitors and opportunity costs can greatly reduce this risk of being outplayed.
Finally, shareholders from all over the country decide to vote on who will make the decision of who calls the shots of the business, and their future investments. The chairman of the business gives an outstanding speech over how the business cares over its workers, and how the stock will soon rise tremendously. Garfield counters after his speech saying that that is simply just a prayer. A prayer on a company that is soon to be a comparatively weaker choice than a new more innovative product. He also exclaims the stock is one fifth of what it used to be ten years ago. The shareholders are eventually convinced that they are all in this business to make a profit and that is what Garfield was offering. A chance to improve their own lives through more value. This is a turning point that makes sense when you understand the true nature of people who hold shares of a company, and that is to grow with the times.
