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Belda would be fired if he did not maximize shareholder/bondholder wealth. The real
world is a messy place. Economic theories are called theories because they are merely ideas
which give students a place to start. Memorizing theories is asinine. Thinking for oneself is
extremely difficult. Using Einstein's Theory of Relativity, we may discover that everything in this
universe is governed by universal laws.
However, laws are relative as well. In order to understand laws, an individual must first
understand that all ideas are figments of a single persons imagination and should be used merely
as a starting place.
Using Einstein again, we may discover that perhaps his greatest quote was also his most
simple idea, "When I think back on my work, I find that my gift of imagination is perhaps more
important than my ability to grasp absolute knowledge."
Sarbanes-Oxley is also a law. Actually, it is more of a compliance. Currently a
corporation must comply to rules.
However, it is difficult for a corporation to comply. If corporations complied, they would
not be able to increase the corporations profits; thus, they would not be able to take care of the
individual corporation.
Currently, the problem facing corporations is how the corporation can best beat this governing
law in order to capitalize on profits. The answer to this dilemma is a difficult one which
corporations are working fix right now.
Revolutionary ideas are few and far between. Newton is labeled by smart people as the
"smartest" person to ever walk this earth. However, if we went back to Newton's ideas, we find
that his laws were not originally accepted
The DaVinci Code is a book which no one wants decoded. If we start looking intelligently at
what one of the greatest mind in the world was thinking, we may begin to realize that he was not
thinking too much.
He was the illegitimate child of a noble man. Therefore, he could not take the last name of his
father. Instead he took the last name of his home, Vinci. Leonardo was known simply as
Leonardo of Vinci.
Thus Leonardo was able to do what he did best: explore Vinci and thinking with his mind. The
natural world captivated young Leonardo's imagination as he explored the fascinating creations
of the world. He had his head in the clouds 100% of the time.
When the people in charge at the time came around to the idea that this young man could help
them win wars, then these same people fully accepted and welcomed his intelligence.
Leonardo was a Renaissance man simply because he decided to stand up for himself. He never
wanted to be thought of as a genius. Rather, he would have wanted to world to remember him as
an explorer. An Explorer of the greatest degree. An Entrepreneur without concern for money.
However, back in the Renaissance, the people who held the keys to Leonardo's eventual success
did not want his ideas to spread to the populous except as far as his theories could help the
powerful attain more power.
During the same Renaissance, the most important and brilliant ideas were held out of sight from
the general public. This was done in large part to keep the populous from believing that power is
fickle and serendipitous. Power has the power to corrupt. However, thinking for oneself is
extremely difficult.
In order to keep the revolutionary ideas from spreading like a virus, the most powerful leaders in
the period of the Renaissance made concerted efforts to stave off the dispersal of creative ideas.
One way was to accomplish this goal was to become a patron of the most brilliant people. By
feeding the brilliant people with an everlasting supply of money, the powerful people were able
to use the geniuses creative ideas to exalt the most powerful peoples egos.
However, if we study Freud, we might come to understand that ego is nothing more then an
infantile desire to run away from a person's father and marry a person's mother. Called the
Oedipus Complex for its complexities, the problem of the ego reached new levels of acceptance
and fame under Freud.
If we decide to read the play by Sophocles, titled Oedipus Rex, we would find the most
important answer to the most crucial question is, simply man. The question handed down by the
Sphinx to Oedipus was complex in its simplicity, "Which animal has one voice but two, three,
or four feet being slowest on three?" When Oedipus correctly identified the right answer to this
simple question, the Sphinx stopped terrorizing Thebes. Consequently, Thebes was saved from
the tyranny which the Sphinx had unleashed on the precious city. Oedipus married his mother,
killed his father and ended up ripping out his eyes. Oedipus became the most powerful man in
all of the greater Mycenaen Peninsula only to fall from grace in a blaze of glory. Greece at that
time was extremely wealthy. If only Oedipus had stopped to ask a couple pertinent questions, he
might have discovered the truth. Oedipus could have ruled the entire world. Sadly, he ended up
blind and alone, a tragedy not only for himself but for all eternity. Sophocles capitalized on
Oedipus's tragedy which today is a tragedy in itself due in large part to the fact an educated
individuals attempt to subvert the true message of this magnificent play was accomplish. The play has become an enigma which has made the play extremely difficult to understand. In its
simplest form we may be able to discover the truth of the play. However, it is all to easy to
disguise truth in disgusting ways. War is one of those ways.
During the Renaissance, the Medici Family of Florence and other important religious leaders
began persecuting any person who spoke up against the Family or the established religion. The
Renaissance was a magnificent time; however it was also a brutal time for the common man.
Life was cheap and so were ideas. It is interesting to note that this world may never have had
any of the magnificent creations sparked by a collection of smart individuals without money.
When the Medici Family revolutionized the economy and brought the world out of the Dark
Ages they did it by gathering and guarding information. Why did the Medici Family have so
much money? Simple. They understood that money was an important vehicle towards power. So
they created a banking system that is still in practice today. Monetarily, the Medici Family were
perhaps the most brilliant Family to ever walk this earth. The entire Family bought into the
simple idea that money would be the secret formula to success. Ultimately, money failed the
Family.
Machiavelli was expelled from Florence by the Medici Family simply because he began to
seek power as well. However, there is an intrinsic and problematic problem when a person not
in control of power seeks out power. That individual man will easily silenced into submission
through the will of the most powerful people. The most powerful people may simply silence the
individual with an easy demonstration of force. Force can come through a various array of
vehicles. A hummer demonstrates force. So does a Ferrari. And a private jet, forget about it.
But Machiavelli had to get back to his roots in order to write the most revolutionary treatise
on political power in the history of the earth. As soon Machiavelli lost his ability to influence
the Medici Family in Florence, he went back to his roots. He left Florence and returned to his
Family's small cottage outside of Florence. There, Machiavelli spent hours on end reading the
great works of Euclid, Homer and soaked up the knowledge of Socrates. He also took many
walks in the forests surrounding his home. Shut off from all that was important to him,
Machiavelli finally was able to get back to what was important to him. The Prince is a short
book, written in short time by a genius. However, this genius had to lose everything to write his
revolutionary novel.
It is funny to think of such a brilliant book as a novel. Put simply, The Prince is a novel. It
should not be used as a means to an end. The utility of The Prince is not derived from the fact
that The Prince should ever be taken seriously. Machiavelli understood how power could be
attained and he wrote a revolutionary novel about how power might be wrestled from the most powerful. But Machiavelli also died by himself, a poor and decrepit old man.
Organized religion is just that. It is a bureaucracy made up of extremely intelligent people
who organized in order to affect change on earth. However, when Copernicus spoke his mind,
he was silenced as well. The church would not and could not believe that they were not the
center of the universe. The people in the Church at the time had huge egos. If a single man loses
his ego, it might mean losing his pride as well. And pride is a fantastic quality for man to have.
Pride will win out over truth always. Or at least 9 times out of 10.
Funnily enough, the earth does rotate around the sun, not the other way around Copernicus
was ridiculed and made into a public embarrassment for his revolutionary theory. Despite this,
we all now understand intuitively that the earth rotates on its axis at a perfect angle so as to
create a sense of balance and unity. Spring and Winter are mere reflections of each other, just on
opposite sides of the polar spectrum. Sadly, if we begin to look at our own reflections too hard,
we may fall into the everlasting pond and drown ourselves.
Alexander the Great demonstrated to an untamable horse a simple fact. Alexander showed
Bucephalus a simple fact of nature. Simply put, Alexander showed Becephalus his own shadow.
No longer was Bucephalus scared. The horse was tamed by the mighty Alexander. Alexander
went on to conquer the known world. However, he also was assisted by many brave men who
died in vain adoring his name.
This Great man was also educated. His father Philip saw to it that his only son had the most
phenomenal education in the history of man. Alexander studied for three years under the
tutelage of the most renowned philosopher of his day. Aristotle was considered on of the
greatest minds in the history of man. Consequently, Aristotle trained the most brilliant general in
the history of the world. Alexander went on to be a conqueror of many lands and a energetic
leader as well. Unfortunately, many men believed in Alexander that they died for his cause. No
one could stop Alexander until Alexander stopped himself. He went over the edge and died at a
young age.
Alexander was brilliant, charismatic and good looking. From an early age he was bred to
believe he had unique gifts. His imagination was fostered by the money of his mother and the
manipulation of his mother, who was an interesting character in her own right. His mother told
young Alexander that he was not the son of Phillip but rather of the mighty Zeus. Alexander was
everything a legend should be. Sadly, he was not able to conquer Asia by himself. Instead, he
brought along with him many, many people. But Alexander is a hero to be idolized and adored.
Alexander was Great. Incredibly great.
Martin Luther started the Protestant movement because he protested against what he thought
was the numerous injustices being instigated by the Catholic Church. When he nailed his
Ninety-Five Theses to the door of a Wittenberg Church, he could have no idea that his theories
would form a reformation which rages on to this day. Luther had no clue that his simple ideas
would create a clash of cultures that would ultimately become an everlasting battle between
those in charge.
It is interesting to note that in war, then and now, those who actually fight for their country are
young men. Young men have testosterone which can be utilized and harnessed in order to create
a war. Interestingly enough, if these young men were exposed to same pertinent information as
their leaders, they might not go to battle. In fact, they might not even want to be in a foreign
country. They might decide not to fight.
For some unknown reason, those who do the leading are the same people who do the reading.
These people usually cloister themselves in libraries in order to attain as much knowledge and
information as a single person can attain. However, these are not the same people who actually
fight in the important wars. Interestingly, most of these leaders never really experience war.
These leaders, however, are smart. They can talk in a way which convinces the masses to
believe in a war which may not be a good war.
Ultimately, battles are fought by young men who are led into powerful men's conflict. Powerful
men cling to their power like a red badge of courage. Perhaps if these men had true courage,
they would go into battle themselves and see that war is not really good. It actually is painful.
People get killed. And every person who gets killed has many other family members and friends
who care about the fact that they become dead. Once a person is dead, he can no longer
communicate with his friends and Family. This is an unfortunate consequence of war.
Unfortunately a young man's fortune can be decided by simply convincing sheep to follow the
their Sheppard. Sometimes, sadly, a Sheppard is a wolf. A crafty wolf in a sheep's clothing.
Crafty wolves can lead an entire flock astray. This is sad.
Mozart might well be considered the most brilliant composer in the history of the world.
However, he was manipulated by his Family from an early age. Mozart had a mind unlike any other person. He entertained kings and queens at the age of 7. However, Mozart died at a young
age. When he finally gave into the establishment, his body also gave into the establishment. He
was dead before he was able to fully realize his own genius. Unfortunately, we will never know
what heights Mozart might have achieved simply because he was manipulated by those who
were supposed to love him. Mozart died a pitiful death by himself, without assistance from his
father, mother or sister.
Today, there are more questions about Shakespeare then ever before. Any human being could
easily recite from memory what Shakespeare's most important works are. "Hamlet" is a work of
such great brilliance that is shakes our souls and ignites our imaginations. Perhaps we should all
re-read "Hamlet" and start to question why this short work of art has had such a dramatic impact
on the lives of every single human being in the world. It would not be a hard task to ask of any
single individual. Hamlet can be read in one hour. However, a single individual might spend a
lifetime analyzing and attempting to understand why Shakespeare was so brilliant. It might well
be understood that his genius was due to the fact that he ignored the bounty which his success
had created for all the people around him. Instead, Shakespeare experienced life and wrote
simple love sonnets in iambic pentameter. The beat and rhythm of his remarkable penmanship
will last on throughout eternity and might even help us all understand what should be important
in this world.
Education is fun. But education can be no fun. Library's can be a place of great success and
imagination. However, it is not until we all give up going to the social library and decide to
make a concerted effort to get lost in the stacks of the 13th floor. Then we may all discover what
is truly important. Reading the books others have written is a fun process. Getting stuck up in
computers and other peoples reality is no fun. We need to give simplicity a chance. We need to
rid ourselves of useless distractions. We need to get back to being human. Get back to life.
Ultimately, we have to re-discover what is important to ourselves. And per-use ourselves with a
fervent desire and a burning passion.
Mystery is ambiguous. Ambiguity is interesting. That is what keeps human beings guessing
about the world. Buying into other peoples lies is not a good road to take. What is interesting is
taking the road less traveled by. If a single human being has the foresight to stand up and
becomes an individual, other people gravitate towards him. That gravitational pull sometimes
can bring about calamity and catostrophe if this individual is allowed to be manipulated. Those who care about that the individual person and those who want to use the individual person can
be interchangeable. It is up to the individual person to decide which is what and who is which.
In the American culture today, many benefits are derived from money and power.
Firstly, a person must get money so that they may achieve power so that they may change the
world. The problem with this theory is that once an individual fully buys into the theory that
money brings power, this individual is entrapped by the myth of money. This may cause the
individual to lose sight of what is truly important. What is important is happiness. Money will
not buy you happiness. Neither will it buy you love. Deal with it. Get over it. And move on.
In a world inundated by information, we all seem to get caught up in the rat race. We begin to
truly believe and buy into the idea that we are not powerful. Political violence infects our souls
and the constant media barrage creates a situation where escape is nearly futile. Social Security
is gone. Hopefully faith will replace the security of our society. But we cannot speculate on this
fact. We may just have to believe.
But belief is hard. Being an individual is also hard. Hiding from oneself is probably the easiest
solution to the problems which plague our world.
Reality can not be found in T.V. We can never escape the pain of being human by drowning our
sorrows in a cup of liquid pain. There is a dearth of true knowledge in our world simply because
everyone forgot what is important. What is important to you is not important to us. What works
for you does not work for us. We need to all fall down to stand up. We are what we are and we
are not afraid.
So to get back to the question at hand.
Firstly, Belda would be fired if he didn't make money for his shareholders/bondholders. If he
didn't increase their wealth, then obviously he is not increasing their ability to be free and
ultimately he is not increasing their happiness. So he must be fired.
Secondly, it does not really matter how Alcoa's current management has performed under Belda.
It does not really matter if the management was retained, either in the case of a Leveraged Buy Out or a Management Buy Out. Either way, the culture at Alcoa will be affected.
Consequently, the people at the company might begin to question their leaders. When the people
question their leaders, they do not perform as well. When performance suffers so will Alcoa. As
a result, Alcoa's bottom line will be severely affected. When money does not rain down from the
sky like Manna, Alcoa will get hurt. And that is Sad.
So either way, it doesn't really matter. Belda or no Belda, Alcoa will be alright. Money is and
will continue to be important. Almighty one might say.
