Great managers have an absolutely clear vision of what they want their company to be, expressed in plain enough terms that the lowliest night watchman can understand what the company s goals are. This is not a trite subject. We like to follow a simple principle. If after reading a company s mission statement, we come away with absolutely no idea of what the company does or what it purports to be, stay away. Great companies have sustainable long-term franchises that have been tested against their competition and come out successful.
Track record speaks volumes relative to promises.
Great companies dominate their chosen market and have clear plans in place to continue to dominate them. The combination of tangibles and intangibles suggests a pair of gaps managers must face as they evaluate IT investments. Computer stocks, such as those of companies offering customer relationship management software, have proven to be defensive during the technology downturn, explained the analyst. Long-term contracts that lead to more predictable revenue give computer services companies more visibility than other tech names, explained Mr. Fan. In order for research to be objective and trustworthy, the activity going on elsewhere in the firm must be completely separate.