VALUE INVESTING FOR WORKING

Get the right direction

Investing for the long term is a trend of late. Ever since B. Graham published The Intelligent investor in 1949, his most advanced disciple Warren Edward Buffett (Omaha, Nebraska, August 30, 1930) has demonstrated year after year that the stock market offers us excellent opportunities on a daily basis, if we know how to choose good companies at reasonable prices with good growth potential.

But since tons of articles have been written about this, today I wanted to use the simile to do the same with our professional careers, which is nothing more than choosing excellent companies with growth potential that are impeccably managed.

It is usual to focus on sectors with predictable growth, that do not have too much cyclicality and that offer an attractive compensation package. Following this trend would be like making a "trade" in the investment world; we have not investigated the management/ownership of the company and whether it will provide us with growth opportunities.

Fortunately and contrary to what some pseudo-gurus preach, LinkedIn is not a network of simple show-off

as it offers us an excellent opportunity at this time, a tool that did not exist when I started working in my first company.

Today with LinkedIn we can know first hand if what a company mentions in its values and principles is really applied or if it is just a thin layer of temporary paint. Its best ambassadors, if it is a good fit for us, are in-house and make reasonable salaries.

The more complex part comes when it comes to establishing where the opportunity for real long-term growth lies. This is where we need to recognize whether our skills and attitude can contribute to the long-term growth of the project. For example, wanting to do a Spanish SME project in Sub-Saharan Africa will depend on our skills and attitude, but we must know in advance whether ownership and management are prepared for such a project as it is unlikely that substantial short-term benefits will be realized.

It is advisable to analyze the options very well. In my more than 25 years of experience in sales, I have never met a company that does not want to sell more and grow, but when it comes to establishing a long-term strategy, not many companies make a firm commitment. Having a good team, a good "boss" and an exciting project will be key to achieving the objectives.

Why did we dedicate hours of study in university exams to subjects that we don't even remember, but when it comes to choosing a company and a project, we don't? Surely, similar to the financial markets, price (salary) and packaging (job title) mark more than 95% of the market.

Let's choose projects and teams of people for the long term and a large part of the success will be assured. For the rest, let everyone give their best.

Don't hesitate, focus on the long term.