Reading a book by a high-quality male author

📖 "This World Is Both Cruel and Gentle"
@justinsuntron
Excerpt from the book:
“The top companies in the world, as shown by the US S&P 500 index, need to be replaced 90% every 50 years. I am confident in challenging myself to become better continuously within 50 years, but I don’t believe a company can resist risks better than I can over 50 years.”
This gave me a bit of fragmented reflection👇
It reminded me of the bankruptcy of Ningbo’s Shanshan Group. Shanshan was once a shining symbol of Ningbo, but now, due to the sudden death of its founder, the young wife 30 years his junior seized power from the heir, the eldest son, and in just 100 days, the company accumulated 40 billion yuan in debt and declared bankruptcy.
People are here, everything is here; when people are gone, everything built around them collapses instantly. Handing a sword to someone else who can’t wield it is pointless. That’s why people themselves are the most important.
By “people,” I don’t mean others, but each and every one of us—ourselves.
I am slow-witted; I only recently studied the business cycle, but I am also fortunate to have seen it. Many entrepreneurs don’t understand that at the end of a business cycle, they still choose to borrow heavily and expand recklessly, only to find themselves unable to refinance or facing a liquidity crisis when the cycle ends, leading to a bubble burst.
There is no eternal expansion, nor eternal contraction. Business is also about opening and closing, cycle after cycle.
Glory is temporary, but freedom is eternal.
Returning to the quote from the book: “The top companies in the world, as shown by the US S&P 500 index, need to be replaced 90% every 50 years. I am confident in challenging myself to become better continuously within 50 years, but I don’t believe a company can resist risks better than I can over 50 years.”
It’s truly remarkable for a person to operate steadily for 50 years.