Highlights from Dreihundert Männer by Konstantin Richter
Highlights from this book
-
The author lines out the history and selected key protagonists of German industry between 1971 and 2000. It is divided in three sections: pre-WW1; WW1 and WW2; post-WW2. The red line through the book is the development of the Deutschland AG, a network of industry and banking leaders that shaped German economic activity and policy in a more cooperative and long-term oriented way compared to the UK or the US. For example, the Deutsche Bank was a big shareholder and part of the board of many of the important companies. Through prevention of takeovers from foreign investors, this network, the Deutschland AG was nicknamed 'Fortress Germany' by foreign investors.
-
I took away that the currently dominant form of capitalism which focuses on shareholder value is not without alternatives. If you have a privately owned company, even if its an empire like Krupp or Siemens, you can operate without the corsett of quarterly reports and anxiety about stock prices.