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I think it's implicit in the article that "winning" the game of Business means making as much money as possible. The author briefly contemplates whether having

I think it's implicit in the article that "winning" the game of Business means making as much money as possible. The author briefly contemplates whether having empathy for your customers would make them a scrub, but then veers off into a tangent about maestros. GP is saying that there's not really a game of Business with a singular agreed-upon win condition. John Malone's strategy was maximizing his company's dominance, but it doesn't mean that anyone who doesn't is a scrub. They're just playing a different game. According to the article, Martine Rothblatt built a highly successful business in United Therapeutics and saved her daughter's life. Consider alternate realities in which only one of those events happened. Which do you think she would choose?

Fnoord 5y ago
A game or competition like judo has a clear set of rules and outcome. With regards to business there is so much more than short term benefit. For example, these cable companies monopolies had low customer satisfaction, and I believe firmly it damages their reputation on the long term. But short term thinking doesn't care for that. So it becomes a kind of game like who's the best functioning psychopath. Good luck playing that game if you're not a psychopath (there's a reason these are highly represented in e.g. Wall Street). In my opinion the CEO of Qwest won. He stood for a principle, he decided with his heart. That's a winning move in a tough, heartless world. A noble sacrifice, like Obi Wan.