Corporate life in Brazil: selling tomorrow's lunch
Marcos R Salvador
CTO | Director of R&D | Director of Innovation | Director of Software Engineering | Board Member
One of the corporate complaints I hear the most and have experienced many times throughout my career in Brazil is that the long-term view is gone. It is all about today, short-term. Companies are selling tomorrow's lunch for today's lunch most of the times.
People can blame the Brazilian economy and labour policies that eat their margins, but there is more to it. First, presidents and CEOs typically stay at companies for a couple of years, so they don't care about building the future, they only care about the numbers they are going to show to their boards and shareholders while they are in power. And more often than not, achieving high margins in the short term conflicts with thinking, investing and acting to build the future.
It is not surprise that people tune their actions to meet their KPIs, so perhaps presidents and CEOs can't be blamed for focusing in maximizing the results while they are in the company. So, is the problem in the KPIs that are all focused in the short term?
The funny thing is that companies love to show everywhere how great their mission and vision statements are.
Meanwhile, Brazil continues to be a country where innovation is low and dependent on the export of commodities and on the import of industrialized stuff and technology.
There is something wrong with the model...
Founder & CEO @ The Smart Guys | Business Development | Digital Transformation | Expert Opinion Letters | Market Analyses | Business Plans | Strategic & Tech Planning | Innovation | R&D | Projects
9 年How about those soulless companies that unashamedly pretend to do research and innovation but neither have vision, mission, nor technology roadmap? How about spreading all over the place myopic C-level guys whose major focus is on minimising the constraints of the problem of maximising their very own profits? How about putting together, running, and maintaining at any cost a "smart system", which actually resembles the one currently in use in the Brazilian public administration, aimed at making the aforementioned guys stay forever where they now are? Strategic planning? HR retention? Margins? No, thanks, they don't care. Their (theatrical) thing is all about doing the least for the most. You're definitely right, Marcos, there MUST be something wrong with the model. Our country has a HUGE innovation potential but as long as this lousy model is in place we won't be seeing any breakthrough in research. Not really.
Corporate Venture Capital & VC | Tech & Innovation
9 年So true...
Scientific Director at Oncidium Foundation | Changing lives, one patient at a time
9 年The Brazilians CEOs are acting like politicians just thinking for the next 4 year.
Helping companies in the journey to Zero Trust Architecture. CISSP, GIAC Certifications
9 年Very well said