(From conversation with Jeff Wood)
On company vision. Example: ICI. 1980s under John harveyjones, grew ICI to become 'world class' and absorbed other companies and the share price zoomed up.
Then suddenly broke up. Reason: threat of hostile takeover from Hanson. They felt that the share price did not reflect the real value of the pharms division, so they split it off, Zeneca. And share price of the rest dropped.
(Part of the problem: over-fear of share price.)
Then Charles Miller Smith (2nd after John Harvey Jones, from unilever): changed the vision to "no heavy chemicals; do speciality chems." bought some bits from unilever. e.g. national starch, bz flavourings and smells, Quest. But it was a disaster - probably what unilever wanted to get rid of. And ICI disappeared.
My comment: Amazing! While I was in ICI and JHJ was in charge, the vision of the top directors was absolute authority, and determined and dominated the decisions and lives of 120,000 employees and many more people. Almost like a law of God. But how transient such apparently strong human structures are! Suddenly, on the rumour of a hostile takeover, they suddenly reverse the vision!
Moreover, such visions are the edict, the arbitrary desideratum, of an individual who is in a position of 'power' (where people agree unquestioningly). And when the individual changes, the vision changes.
Ineos by contrast was successful. Bought up lots heavies that nobody wanted and turned them round by being more ruthless and tighter control over costs. shut down billingham. now owns grangemouth. Ineos is privately owned, not on subject to stockmarket pressure.
Apparently it recognises the market for plastics and oil will shrink. Is trying to get into green hydrogen (from electrolysis rather than north sea gas, because it has expertise in electrolysis).
Not to be kow-towed to.