article thumbnail

What GE’s Board Could Have Done Differently

Harvard Business

Since Immelt’s departure, GE’s stock is down another 30%, as its new CEO, John Flannery, has struggled to cope with the cash flow drain from years of problematic acquisitions, divestitures, and buybacks. Because of these dubious decisions, GE’s ratio of debt to earnings has soared from 1.5 in 2013 to 3.7

article thumbnail

We Can’t Study Short-Termism Without the Right Metrics

Harvard Business

Similarly, considering greater accruals (which represent the difference between reported income and operating cash flows) to measure short-term orientation has its difficulties. It assumes that a smaller proportion of cash flows in earnings indicates a myopic firm.

Metrics 31
article thumbnail

My Struggles with Suicide

CaseInterview.com

My strongest and earliest memory of depression and suicidal thoughts occurred in the two years leading up to 2008. In early 2008, it became beyond obvious that the math on the mortgage no longer worked. In 2008, I had failed on every front, and my inner world came crashing down on itself. It was not going well… again. .

Cash Flow 128