There's an oft passed around cartoon where a guy in a tattered business suit is in a cave around a fire talking to children, saying, "Yes, the planet got destro

There's an oft passed around cartoon where a guy in a tattered business suit is in a cave around a fire talking to children, saying, "Yes, the planet got destroyed. But for a beautiful moment in time we created a lot of value for shareholders." That cartoon has resonated over the years because it illustrates a point that complexifies the whole shareholder-value concept: you can recognize that a corporation's fiduciary duty is to its shareholders, but you still have a long term / short term thinking problem. If a corporation is just shoveling its profits at shareholders without consideration for the future, or, in the cartoon example, destroying the planet, is it really providing them the best value? There is no universal definition of shareholder value, legally or otherwise. I'm a shareholder in many companies, and to me they should deliver me profits when it makes sense, take care of their employees, not harm the environment, not overspend, not cut corners on health or safety... it's a long list, really.