The Outsiders | William Thorndike | Talks at Google

What makes a successful CEO? Most people call to mind a familiar definition: “a seasoned manager with deep industry expertise.” Others might point to the qualities of today’s so-called celebrity CEOs-charisma, virtuoso communication skills, and a confident management style. But what really matters when you run an organization? What is the hallmark of exceptional CEO performance? Quite simply, it is the returns for the shareholders of that company over the long term.
In this refreshing, counterintuitive book, author Will Thorndike brings to bear the analytical wisdom of a successful career in investing, closely evaluating the performance of companies and their leaders. You will meet eight individualistic CEOs whose firms’ average returns outperformed the S&P 500 by a factor of twenty-in other words, an investment of $10,000 with each of these CEOs, on average, would have been worth over $1.5 million twenty-five years later. You may not know all their names, but you will recognize their companies: General Cinema, Ralston Purina, The Washington Post Company, Berkshire Hathaway, General Dynamics, Capital Cities Broadcasting, TCI, and Teledyne. In The Outsiders, you’ll learn the traits and methods-striking for their consistency and relentless rationality-that helped these unique leaders achieve such exceptional performance.
Humble, unassuming, and often frugal, these “outsiders” shunned Wall Street and the press, and shied away from the hottest new management trends. Instead, they shared specific traits that put them and the companies they led on winning trajectories: a laser-sharp focus on per share value as opposed to earnings or sales growth; an exceptional talent for allocating capital and human resources; and the belief that cash flow, not reported earnings, determines a company’s long-term value.
Drawing on years of research and experience, Thorndike tells eye-opening stories, extracting lessons and revealing a compelling alternative model for anyone interested in leading a company or investing in one-and reaping extraordinary returns.
About the Author
William N. Thorndike, Jr. of Westwood/Boston. Founded Housatonic Partners, a private equity firm with offices in Boston and San Francisco, in 1994. Mr. Thorndike is a graduate of Harvard College and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is a Director of Alta Colleges; Carillon Assisted Living, LLC; CONSOL Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNX); Lincoln Peak Holdings, LLC; The London Company, LLC; OASIS Group Ltd.; QMC International, LLC; White Flower Farm, Inc., and a Trustee of The Stanford Business School Trust; WGBH; the College of the Atlantic (Chair); and a founding partner at FARM, a social impact investing collaborative. He is the author of The Outsiders.

[@wisteriawishy]

Love talks like this. Thank you Google for sharing this to a wider community.

[@inigom100]

Some of the Outsiders he talks around min 30:
Nick Howley (TransDigm) , Mark Leonard (Constellation Software), Mike Pearson (Valeant), Arch Re, Markel Insurance, Fairfax, White Mountains, Allegheny, home Builder MVR.
Others they talk about:
Jack Welch, Rales Brothers ( Danaher, Colfax), Bill Anders(General Dynamics) , Tom Murphy (a Radio Company), Jeff Bezos?? (Amazon), Buffet (Berkshire Hathaway), Crown Castle International Corp, John Malone (Liberty Media), John Teledyne, Capital Cities, Henry Singleton, 3G?? , Oracle

[@zillalarsson8554]

Think that's NVR Inc, not MVR

[@TheMrvibhorjain]

Also, Bob Iger

[@rutvij1982]

Excellent talk. One of the best google talks i have listened to so far

[@ashokkt01]

I'm more fascinated by quality of questions... Reflection of general iq available in this room and in Google in general. Also great talk with caveat of survivorship bias

[@lincolnliu1029]

Very fascinating talk. Also a good supplement for the book.

[@sonnybrahmi3136]

Thanks for all the talks

[@sterlingseah]

Very informative. Thanks for sharing!

[@easterntechartists]

fabulous interview!

[@mdmpstr]

this was fascinating stuff!

[@marthaaranda2126]

Спасибо! Во благо всем живым существам!
Самым наилучшим образом!

[@fung9815]

Can anyone list down the new outsiders mentioned by William around 30 mins?

[@maddysydney]

Thanks a ton to Google and this investor group for sharing this with the world... just camera work needs to improve. Can you keep it one both and fixed given they are sitting down and not moving around? Thanks

[@zinDzung]

Ông muốn mua lại viên stone đo

[@StephenDoty84]

When I called the front desk at a Days Inn, years ago, this interviewer answered the phone - I can tell by his voice. I never knew he was this smart.

[@tomasnorman7229]

Me encantaría poder encontrar este vídeo con subtítulos en español

[@Lifeissorich.]

3:06

[@robertlopez9347]

Jeff Bezos is the best CEO. He has taken Amazon from $500k in sales in 1995 to $280 billion dollars in sales at year ended in 2019. Jeff Bezos will go down in history as the best CEO to ever exist!!! Amazon will hit $1 trillion in sales in the future!!!!

[@popcbs]

too bad Valeant is in deep trouble now

[@unrealspetznaz]

so, due to the high correlation, your "statistician" friend says there is no doubt and no control group nor examination of survivorship bias is necessary. how can statisticians of all people still think that correlation is equal to causality... beyond me. or worse, liar. it simply would gp against your book. better read daniel kahneman

[@bvxter]

the host is too vapid and clinical sheesh

[@lelouch3]

LOL that indian accent LOL

[@matimandambha9468]

2:46