When I worked at Goldman Sachs my mentors would always tell me to "be long-term greedy.” I didn’t fully appreciate it at the time but it makes perfect sense to me now, especially when it comes to investing.
Turnarounds Don't Work in Tech
Yahoo, Dell, RIM, HP and Computer Associates are all technology companies that are in secular or terminal decline as they continue to lose market share to companies like Apple, Google and Salesforce. When a technology company is in secular decline, then the road ahead is filled with potholes, false hope and empty promises.
Success = Apple's Simplicity + Intel's Paranoia
Some of the best investments in history have had a combination of Apple’s simplicity and Intel’s paranoia. In fact, both Apple and Intel had a healthy dose of paranoia and simplicity under CEOs Steve Jobs and Andy Grove respectively, which is a winning combination. Other companies that have showed similar characteristics include Microsoft, Nintendo and Netflix.