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> Randolph writes that he'd been closely watching Antioco during this conversation. Throughout, the Blockbuster CEO appeared as a polished professional, leaning

by noego 7y ago

> Randolph writes that he'd been closely watching Antioco during this conversation. Throughout, the Blockbuster CEO appeared as a polished professional, leaning in and nodding and giving every indication of someone who was listening attentively. Now Randolph observed as an odd expression crossed Antioco's face, turning up the corner of his mouth. It lasted only a moment, he writes. "But as soon as I saw it, I knew what was happening: John Antioco was struggling not to laugh." Great article but it seems unnecessary to accuse Antioco of being arrogant just because he turned up the corner of his mouth for a moment. There are tons of investors who pass up on great investment opportunities every year. Most of them aren't arrogant, they are simply normal people who don't have the benefit of perfect hindsight.

FussyZeus 7y ago
And more to the point, success in business is determined just as much by blind luck as anything else. If Antioco had sprung on Netflix, who knows how many other things he might've sprung on too? And even assuming Netflix worked out, who's to say the other investments wouldn't have killed Blockbuster in the process anyway? This whole genre of articles confuses me. Is the message be open to new things? Is it about other investors feeling regret for things they've passed on, or worry about the things they didn't? I don't understand this at all.
- mikeash 7y ago
  Yep, we’d probably be reading about how stupid Blockbuster was for buying Netflix when it was Moovster that kicked everyone’s ass.
- RobertKerans 7y ago
  > This whole genre of articles confuses me. Is the message be open to new things? Is it about other investors feeling regret for things they've passed on, or worry about the things they didn't? I don't understand this at all. Myth-making, mythologising. The genre is "business, but written as adventure/thriller" I guess? Comes across as attempts to imply that it's all epistemological. It's just turning things into a good story though, you're maybe reading too much into it? (Although every one of these I've read seems to go something like: "I should have been terrified. But I was calm, I knew what I had to do. My whole life had been building up to this meeting with Corpocorp. The team was gearing up for the battle that lay behind those huge frosted glass doors. I looked at them, and tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. 'Goddamn' I thought, 'this is the best bunch of guys ever put together for business purposes', and my heart swelled with manly pride. Joe Spiff had been my first hire. He was the best money talker I'd ever met. I looked at him now, laser focussed on the dollar bill held between his fingers. This was his routine, I'd seen him do it a hundred times. He'd sit and stare at that bill for ten minutes, unblinking, not moving a muscle. Then he'd just...crush it between his fingertips, quick as a flash. Lawyerman Pete was [contd.]")

by noego 7y ago

FussyZeus 7y ago

And more to the point, success in business is determined just as much by blind luck as anything else. If Antioco had sprung on Netflix, who knows how many other things he might've sprung on too? And even assuming Netflix worked out, who's to say the other investments wouldn't have killed Blockbuster in the process anyway? This whole genre of articles confuses me. Is the message be open to new things? Is it about other investors feeling regret for things they've passed on, or worry about the things they didn't? I don't understand this at all.

mikeash 7y ago
Yep, we’d probably be reading about how stupid Blockbuster was for buying Netflix when it was Moovster that kicked everyone’s ass.
RobertKerans 7y ago
> This whole genre of articles confuses me. Is the message be open to new things? Is it about other investors feeling regret for things they've passed on, or worry about the things they didn't? I don't understand this at all. Myth-making, mythologising. The genre is "business, but written as adventure/thriller" I guess? Comes across as attempts to imply that it's all epistemological. It's just turning things into a good story though, you're maybe reading too much into it? (Although every one of these I've read seems to go something like: "I should have been terrified. But I was calm, I knew what I had to do. My whole life had been building up to this meeting with Corpocorp. The team was gearing up for the battle that lay behind those huge frosted glass doors. I looked at them, and tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. 'Goddamn' I thought, 'this is the best bunch of guys ever put together for business purposes', and my heart swelled with manly pride. Joe Spiff had been my first hire. He was the best money talker I'd ever met. I looked at him now, laser focussed on the dollar bill held between his fingers. This was his routine, I'd seen him do it a hundred times. He'd sit and stare at that bill for ten minutes, unblinking, not moving a muscle. Then he'd just...crush it between his fingertips, quick as a flash. Lawyerman Pete was [contd.]")