This is something our industry’s marketing legend, Bob Graham, used to say whenever his people got worried about their company’s stock taking a dive. I was reminded of it when I heard Jack Dempsey, Twitter’s CEO, recommending the management book about Bill Walsh, the great coach of the San Francisco 49ers, titled “The Score Will Take Care of Itself.” Interestingly, the two are more parallel than the single word change would indicate.
Bob’s words of wisdom were always followed with his point that a company’s value is ultimately the result of the value its products bring to market and the trust investors have in it doing this. As long as everyone does their jobs with laser focus on this, the stock’s value will return and reach new highs. Attempts to manipulate the price in any way will only result in diminishing this trust, while diverting the attention needed to constantly bring new products to market.
Walsh’s version deviates from this in the principle that winning on game day is the result of methodical preparation against the opposing team, having a playbook that maximizes the talents of your player, and then practicing it until you don’t have to think about it. For example, if a receiver is supposed to turn eight yards out to catch the ball, going 9, 10, or more is bad. The distance is determined by the statistical ability of the quarterback to accurately throw at that range and the defense’s weakest range.
