Feldman's Faves: March 18, 2024

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE

For those of you who had kids on March Break last week I want to take this opportunity to congratulate you on getting through it and for those of you with kids still on March Break I continue to keep you in my thoughts and prayers….

Later this week I will be in NYC speaking at the Deal Flow Conference and as part of that was invited to join the Mission Matters Business Podcast with Adam Torres: State of Shareholder Activism in Canada that you can listen to or ignore at your leisure - https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=1498253396&i=1000648651790

From my perspective, it’s the most wonderful time of the year with March Madness just about to be thrust into full swing. This year my bracket favours teams with LESS BLUISH HUES in their uniforms. I hope this new strategy finally wins me the big money (sorry Duke, NC, Kentucky, Kansas, Creighton, etc…. and sorry Warren  Buffett – I’m coming for you)

I love how Disney’s stock price rose on Friday in the wake of the release of the Eras Tour concert on Disney Plus – she almost broke the internet that night, from what I hear.

Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank Shea and Emily for the great work they did during their rotation in our section, which is ending on Friday. It has been an extraordinarily busy time to be here and you both stepped up on numerous occasions. So thank you!!

No theme this week – just topics of interest.

LIFE AFTER POWER – SEVEN PRESIDENTS AND THEIR SEARCH FOR PURPOSE BEYOND THE WHITE HOUSE By: Jared Cohen –Did you know that even though Thomas Jefferson was a Founding Father, a former President of the United States and the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, he believed that his greatest accomplishment (and the one that gave him the greatest satisfaction) was his founding of the University of Virginia. I didn’t know that.  In Life After Power, Jared Cohen takes a really interesting and unique approach to US Presidential history by looking at how different former presidents lived their lives after leaving office and giving up power. On one hand, you have Grover Cleveland who was the 22nd President, lost his re-election, but then ran for another term and won and became Number 24 as well  (I wonder who is looking at this precedent). On the other hand there is George W. Bush who immediately walked away from politics and has become a very well respected painter.  There are also stories of John Quincy Adams (the only President to then serve in Congress, where he found his true voice), William Howard Taft (who became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the job he always wanted, after leaving the presidency) Herbert Hoover (who after a being a complete disaster as president spent years attempting to find ways to add value as a public servant) and Jimmy Carter (who has had the longest post-presidency period and did so many things, including winning the Nobel Prize, writing numerous books and supporting Habitat for Humanity – and most importantly, establishing the Carter Center, which set the standard for using the title and influence of being a Former President). The lessons learned from these presidents are useful for all of us in answering a fundamental question about reinventing oneself and finding ways to write “new chapters” in life. I think Cher put it best when she asked “Do you believe in life after love” or something like that...As one reviewer notes, “A survey of the rewarding post-term afterlives of seven U.S. presidents. Between their last day in office and their last day on earth, former presidents have a finite amount of time to make their marks upon the world,” writes Cohen, an executive at Goldman Sachs. This follow-up to Accidental Presidents focuses on seven former presidents who made the most of their remaining time. In some cases, their post-term accomplishments far exceeded those made in office, greatly enhancing their legacies. Thomas Jefferson’s years of political service, including two presidential terms, were less satisfying to him than his dream of designing and establishing the University of Virginia. John Quincy Adams’ second act as a House Representative provided him with a platform to lead the abolitionist movement. Grover Cleveland became the only president who, after leaving office, would later serve another term. Lackluster one-term presidents William Howard Taft and Herbert Hoover had more success later, as well: Taft served as chief justice of the Supreme Court for a decade, and Hoover’s post–World War II humanitarian efforts eclipsed his notoriously unpopular presidential term during the early years of the Great Depression. Cohen’s recent examples are Jimmy Carter, who “transformed being a former into a platform” in what is the lengthiest post-term period to date, tirelessly attending to altruistic causes throughout the world, and George W. Bush, who chose to remove himself from politics altogether, which increased his approval rating and allowed him to dedicate time to personal pursuits such as painting. The author packs this expansive sweep of presidential history with enough storytelling verve and grounded research to legitimize these presidents’ underrepresented post-term stories. Cohen effectively proves that, for these seven men, “life doesn’t end with the job that will be the first line of their obituaries. An engaging dip into the history of the presidency.” I am inspired and plan to make the NBA as the starting point guard for the Raptors as my next chapter. Do I have your support? Here’s a good review from The Wall Street Journal - https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/life-after-power-review-postpresidential-pursuits-599ce59b

Masters of Scale - What’s wrong with the remote vs. in-office debate? w/Atlassian co-CEO Scott Farquhar –  One of the ongoing debates the continues to evolve is over the future of work. Will we revert to pre-pandemic practices of in-office work, will some companies remain fully remote or is some middle ground (what most businesses that can, are doing today) be the path for the near and distant future? It is very hard to say how this will all shake out – even now – and the decision about how we work is a function, to a large degree of supply and demand and relative leverage (of course) but also the core values and cultures of each business.  What I am seeing on the latter point is there is a very wide range of views as to what is best.  Frankly, I think the way we are doing it is really smart and productive – the world could learn from Goodmans…. In this PODCAST we hear on very extreme example of a company that believes remote work is the way to go but mixed in with some deliberate in person meetings every once in a while ensure the bonds that need to be formed and strengthened are formed and strengthened. In my mind it seems to be working for them (for now) but it is still early days and not clear to me how their story will end. Here’s an excerpt from the PODCAST itself, “The backlash against remote work is in full swing, with 90% of CEOs reportedly rewarding in-office workers with more promotions and raises. But to Scott Farquhar, co-CEO of Atlassian, that’s a big mistake — and in a just-released study, he’s got hard numbers to back him up. Scott talks with Rapid Response host Bob Safian about how the 10,000-person collaboration-software company — Australia’s premier tech start-up — is defying the trend with a bold gambit called Team Anywhere. Adhering to an Atlassian core value (“no bullshit”), Scott shares insights about work flexibility, productivity, and the unexpected power of sporadic, but intentional gatherings. To prepare for the future of work, he says, business leaders need to take risks. If you're interested in learning more from Atlassian and Scott be sure to check out "Lessons Learned," a report about how Atlassian has navigated distributed work at scale, including experiments they've run, data they've collected, and stories Atlassian employees have shared”: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/masters-of-scale/id1227971746?i=1000642076901

Thank you for your ongoing engagement and participation.And remember to stay safe, stay healthy and to docket daily.

Jon