In a recent class discussion, we shared which companies we would like to work at upon graduation, and the reasons for choosing these companies. Common answers for respectable companies were Google, Apple, Spotify, and Deloitte. My favorite is probably Google, because of they way it treats its employees and the unstructured work environment which allows for creativity. What are your favorite companies? Why? They don't have to be large corporations, but I would love to hear about what makes a company great.
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Career Resources
To answer your first question, I really respect Mars, or, more specifically, their corporate HQ. It's a small, 80-person office at the end of a residential street in the suburbs of Washington, DC. It's notoriously private (the owners refuse to have their photos taken) and for years, it's been run by the Mars family. But God, is the firm doing well -- $30B+ in revenue alone, global brand, bought Buffett out for control of Wrigley, and the family supports a lot of causes that are overlooked by more high-profile donors (e.g., the opera). The people I've interacted with there have been very impressive and interesting individuals as well.
As to my favorite company, I'm afraid I'm limited to places I worked at in my response. In that respect, I really enjoyed my time at a BB that gets a bum rap on here. Everyone there was very professional, from the secretaries to the MDs, and was able to keep calm in some very chaotic times. It was one of my earlier exposures to the professional world and set a standard for me on what a good workplace should look like.
Philip Morris Monsanto
GM crops are poison!!!!!!
Goldman fucking Sachs. No reasons necessary, prestige speaks for itself.
I agree wit GS to a certain extent, but company prestige is earned and I was looking for reasons how comapanies achieve this status.
Goldman Sachs has the same initials as George Soros. Immediate ding!
Koch Industries. I highly recommend the book Good Profit to learn more about this remarkable company and its principles. Bring the monkey shit.
F*ck Koch Industries
Oh really? Why?
I am throwing Cargill in with this. I respect companies that resist going public.
From the people I met there, seems like Cargill has a great culture.
Completely agree with this. Forgot to add it to my list for Mars, but definitely a factor.
For the flip-side of OP's question, beyond going public for the sake of going public, I can't a respect a company that's a cultural Silicon-Valley-circa-2003 wannabe (i.e., the ping-pong table crowd who paint their offices such bright colors that the offices look like kindergartens designed by mental patients).
I always want to ask, "where were you for the last ~15 years?" These guys will always be playing catch-up.
I have respect for any company that doesn't have their logo on the building or on the sign when you walk in. Ultimate power move.
All good until you're that nervous kid on the superday who's irrationally afraid that he'll fear end up in a different building.
I actually didn't recognize the building at first when I went there.
Always make sure to give yourself a 15-30 minute window before the 15 minutes before you're supposed to be there. That way you give yourself time to still show up early even if you get lost.
patagonia, you get to take surf breaks during the day. don't agree with all their political stances and shiite environmentalism, but it's a pretty sweet company
Have you seen 180 degrees south? It's about this guy basically follows a journey taken by two men: the founder of Patagonia and the founder of North Face. Pretty good and I am a sucker for adventurer docs like this.
have not, will def watch it though
big fan of former ceo michael crooke
Airbnb, they've managed to make an extremely personal and sensitive business idea relatively hassle and scandal free.
This seems like the perfect thread for the thirty-something grandpas of WSO to play bingo on.
Sample squares: -Blackstone -Goldman -Harvard -Ferragamo -Hermes -Rolex -Armani -Swarovski -Ferrari -Bugatti -McKinsey -Lazard -1OAK -HBS -Stanford
Ok in all seriousness, kudos to everyone discussing the non-cliche stuff like Patagonia, Mars, etc.
Personally my favorite company is Berkshire Hathaway-- the thrifty Midwestern miracle that Buffet built with his bare hands.
Back to my rusty Honda. Gotta collect my bingo winnings and get home before Lawrence Welk comes on.
No KKR?!?!?!!
Why the 1OAK obsession for most? I thought Marquee was the better club?
>Makes jokes about replying with cliche answers. >Answers with Berkshire Hathaway.
I could choose some companies that I think are very well-run, but I'd rather articulate a couple of principles that these companies stick to:
I'm a big fan of the successful large-scale cooperatives that are member-owned by a rather homogeneous set of individuals (the producer-members). They perform a balancing act between the corporate infrastructure/culture needed for a multinational company and the often tricky (and sometimes counterproductive) business of making their producers happy. There are tons of them in agriculture: Ocean Spray, Land O'Lakes, CHS, Agri-Mark (Cabot Cheese), etc.
Canadian Club http://www.shopwinedirect.com/canadian-club-100-rye-canadian-whisky-750…
Zappos. They recognized the biggest problem with online shoe sales (what if they don't fit) and solved it (free returns). This has become so commonplace with online retailers that i think a lot of people forget they were the first major company to do this.
I also respect Four Seasons / Ritz because their culture of customer service is incredible in its consistency across properties
Brazzers Inc.
I'm more of an evil angel guy myself
Fake Taxi is one of my fantasies. I really feel I should do a NYC version of it, considering I have the looks for an Italian taxi driver. Next thing you know, Business Insider's going to publish an article on how The Frank is going to make a porno.
EJ Entertainment
Leaving the circle-jerking-monkey-shit-magnet "these are my favorite Banks / PE Funds" post aside.
GE - Strategy, visionary leaders, leader in recent wave of supply chain changes, nimble despite scope, successful use of M&A.
BHI - Innovation, effectively compete on their expertise over their scale
Shell - One of the oldest companies in the world, I think they are the only super-major making the right move into LNG.
I knew GE would come up somewhere in here. GE's past is certainly to be admired, efficient operations, largely successful M&A, cost management, etc...
I guess you could admire their current moves for being bold, but moving to Boston and chasing data/IoT seems like a stretch to me. It very well might pay off and there is an argument to be made that it's necessary for them, but this all-in feels a little bit desperate to me.
Netflix: I use their service a lot and, to be honest, they have forever altered how we consume television and the trend will not be reversed. Additionally, their pivot from a mail rental service to the streaming giant it is today was extremely well executed.
Wow, I, I agree with you...
..................
Lehman Bros
Chik Fil A
Amaranth Advisors Knight Capital Group Barings Bank MF Global Midwest Federal Savings & Loan Drexel Burnham
Prestige Worldwide
Underrated comment. Boats & Hoes was a ground-breaking contribution to society.
I'll throw out Burger King (now RBI I guess).
I remember reading an article a while back (that I can't find now) about the 3G Capital buyout and how the new management team that was put in place was all PE experience I think, CEO actually worked at 3G. Really interesting piece about how they revamped the corporate culture and structure etc.
Probably a cool place to work at actually that most people wouldn't necessarily think of.
Met a lot of that ownership team personally. Can confirm they are good people. Treated me like I mattered when, as a guy in his first job out of college, I very much didn't.
Toyota; incredible that it still flies below the radar here. Kaizen, The Toyota Way, Toyota Production System, etc., with due credit to W. Edwards Deming. The product has become synonymous with quality, longevity, and great value.
Also, In-N-Out. Great quality, incredible value, ridiculous consistency across all of the storefronts, still private/family owned, consistent values, well-paid staff, efficient supply chain. Yeah, and clean bathrooms. In-N-Out, eff yeah.
would second the In-N-Out comment, never had a bad experience there.
Lehman
Great topic. So, Luxottica, GE, BCG, Lamborghini, Goldman Sachs, Evercore and many more.. Yeah
The prize is a bottle of Yellowtail Pinot Grigio ($5.50 at ShopRite with coupon).
In no particular order:
1.) Toyota - There approach to manufacturing is still practiced and taught in every supply chain class throughout the world. They found a way to be efficient and produce cheap cars that last a long time despite the US government doing everything it could to protect the Big 3 automakers from the foreign invasion.
2.) Schlumberger - Outside of O&G very few people know about this behemoth OFS company but there approach to OFS goes beyond hiring a bunch of West Texas rednecks. They have an army of software developers, data scientists, and leading researchers and scientists who have revolutionized the O&G industry...essentially the "GS of OFS."
3.) Uber, AirBnB - Two companies that created a simple concept and managed to make it work in the shared economy. If your name as a company becomes a generic trademark for a concept you've clearly made an impact (more so in Uber's case).
Schlumberger... IDK... I feel like revolutionized is a bit of a stretch. They are certainly the biggest, but at the end of the day they are still French. And besides, does all that extra cost that they have in their business really provide much more value? My answer to myself would be, only if you are a super major who is planning to us SLB for a majority of your projects... Which granted is a huge amount of the market but the revolution in oil markets is moving the other direction, smaller regional players at harder to get at reserves.
Although SLB has used M&A pretty effectively.
realjackryan by revolution I am referring to techniques and technologies they have created and processes they've established to increase production on wells as an example.
To your other point they may have been a French company but are truly global and maintain 3 HQs around the world and do not view themselves as a French company.
Lastly there "Rig of the Future" is supposed to simplify the project management aspect of E&P. You have a company that will not only perform geophysical analysis but can also drill a well (onshore with Rig of the Future), handle all the subsurface work required, and basically complete the E&P aspect of the process short of delivery via pipelines and refining.
+1 on Toyota. If you are ever in San Antonio I would highly recommend checking out their Tundra plant. They give free tours. It's pretty amazing seeing the assembly line and robotics in action. Just imagining the logistics and capital required to pull that off is mind blowing.
1.) Google/Microsoft - Actually innovating across various tech spaces using a massive warchest. Also, because while they pursue profit, they see to it that the entire tech ecosystem can benefit from their innovation. And remember Microsoft's investment in Apple when those hipster turds were nearly bankrupt? What did Gates say then?
2.) Tesla/ Solarcity/ SpaceX - Musk fan here, and you've got to give credit to the guy who's trying to save the planet.
3.) Amazon - They've been taking convenience to a whole new level from the humble bookstore they were.
4.) Lehman - Intense entrepreneurial culture, and that underdog mentality never discouraged them from punching higher. Kudos to DickFuld for at least retaining that culture after the spinoff.
5.) Blackstone - Great guys in the firm, great culture, and I am yet to hear any news of them doing any messed up shit like some of the other PE firms.
6.) Four Seasons - Great service in all of their hotels around the world.
7.) Sinaloa Cartel - Innovative firm, great culture, amazing CEO. Sometimes I think he's my long lost brother. It will be interesting to see their work in the years ahead.
Companies I give a ding: Facebook, HP, the current Apple, Twitter, the FBI (especially under Comey - read my biography for more)
@Frank Quattrone" speaking of the Sinaloa Cartel have you had a chance to read Narconomics by Tom Wainwright? If not or you haven't heard of him I recommended reading or listening to the following:
www.npr.org/2016/02/15/466491812/narconomics-how-the-drug-cartels-opera…
In all seriousness drug cartels like the Sinaloa and even Pablo Escobar operated a sophisticated empire and managed to do so without needing a bunch of Harvard MBAs running around.
Thanks! Cool read!
Blizzard (Now Activision Blizzard) - The gamer in me loves how they have managed to develop their core product line and keep a very old line-up fresh. They essentially transformed the gaming world with the MMORPG format, executed perfectly. People I have met there all love the culture.
Seconded! Those guys excel at serializing some really great franchises. Not to mention the WoW impact on gaming.
least respected:
ashley madison AXA Northwestern Mutual crossfit hot topic donda herbalife cnbc
My least favorite: Facebook (dislike Suckerberg, also programmer's sweatshop), HP (only because of Meg Whitman), EA (shit remakes), AMEX (for aggressive marketing after so many requests not to do so)
Also, drawing from our previous conversation, I'll include Spanx and Tory Burch too for favorites.
What do you have against Zuckerberg? Also, I've never heard that FB is a sweatshop, do you have a source?
What's your beef with crossfit? Too litigious? Libertarian? Evangelical?
I like crossfit because it reintroduced compound barbell movements to the masses, like the squat, bench, dead, and OLY movements as well, but I think it's become a victim of its own success. the lack of emphasis on form and the cultlike devotion to all things crossfit without tolerance for deviation is just asinine.
on the form thing, I'm sure there are boxes out there that teach form like a legit strength coach would: you start with the bar or a broomstick and you don't move up until your form is perfect. I can vividly remember my high school strength coach having the entire team do sets of 10 cleans with a broomstick in front of our teammates, and getting yelled at if there was the slightest imperfection.
yes, I know there is crossfit foundations, and that you see bad form at your local gym, but here's the difference: my local gym is not a group setting, it's DIY. you do bad form, that's on you. sure, you may catch some weird glances if your back turns into an upside down U for your bench, but that's on you. you hire a trainer, they'll correct you. crossfit is a group setting, and in group settings the participants rely on the coaches. it's my opinion coaches should not tolerate bad form whatsoever, and stop someone right in the middle of a fran or a murph if they're at risk of injury.
I also think that things like OLY movements are not meant to be done for time & the subsequent volume that comes with that. if you look at any OLY training regimen, it's lots of sets with not a lot of reps, rather than throw 135 on the bar and power clean for 90 seconds AMRAP. if you can do that with perfect form, I'd argue you're better off just running wind sprints because all you're doing is getting your heart rate up. if you're stimulating your muscles for that long with a complex lift, I'd argue your form suffers after about 30 seconds, if not sooner, and you're at risk for injury.
all of that being said, as a capitalist and an investor, they're a great brand, and I'm sure if the stock WOD ever came out, I'd definitely look through their s-1
ENRON
WisdomTree was one of the first enhanced indexers and on their first-ever earnings call the CEO compared market-cap indexing to black-and-white televisions and said that the future was enhanced indexing and ETFs. His vision was right although the execution may have been a bit off. I respect it because the Asset Management industry is one where going with the herd prevails and it takes courage and conviction to do something different.
Entertainment 720
in & out. i have wet dreams LBOing them
.
Hear there's a lot of M&E activity in there. But I don't think their exit opps are any good.
JPMorgan
NASA (if that counts) or Lockheed Martin.
Curious why Lockheed.
Softbank - You have to be a badass company to raise a $100B fund. I'd shit myself in excitement if I had $100B to play with. Also, it's one of the very few Japanese tech companies not in the toilet.
PayPal - PayPal has given rise to the most successful group of entrepreneurs in history (3 billionaires, LinkedIn, YouTube,
AirAsia - Have to give credit to Tony Fernandes for building an amazing low-cost airline that also offers excellent service. The US airline industry should take note.
DJI - For spearheading the drone revolution.
There are many others. These are just a few that come to mind.
Tony Fernandes comes across as a pretty chilled dude as well
Landry's- I would love to work for Tilman Fertitta, sole shareholder of a billion dollar hospitality company.
Making it in one of toughest and lowest margin businesses.
Favorite/Dream Firm (Originally Posted: 10/14/2017)
Most of these have been pretty old. I was just curious to see what was everyone's "dream" firm and why.
Pierce & Pierce
The World's Most Respected Companies: 2012 Edition (Originally Posted: 06/26/2012)
When analyzing a potential investment, many of us follow similar guidelines: Pursue stocks with sound management and a clear business strategy, and avoid stocks with ethical red flags and legal entanglements. In other words, find a company you respect.
Barron’s recently released its annual survey asking institutional investors to rate their level of “respect” for each of the world’s 100 largest companies by market cap, and the results are in: Apple retains the top spot for the second straight year.
Which company do you admire the most? Here are the 5 most important attributes of a “respected” company, followed by this year’s Top 10: What exactly inspires respect? These are the most common responses:
And this year’s Top 10…
It's not surprising that the less respected companies are ones that have left a very negative and very public stamp on recent history—the bottom of the list includes AIG, Bank of America and BP. Yet even some well-performing stocks, like AT&T, Wal-Mart and Google saw their reputations slide compared to last year:
Do you give any weight to this survey? Apple is sleek, cool and innovative, but declaring their company more admired than the likes of Coca-Cola and IBM is a big statement.
How much consideration would you give to “respect” before investing in a particular business?
favorite fictional companies
brewster keegan initech dunder mifflin Duff vandelay industries
https://www.linkedin.com/company/brewster-keegan-llc
Not fictional anymore.
I'll add Abstergo, Pierce & Pierce and the Umbrella Corporation to that list.
I respect Microsoft more than any of those companies.
It's not about respect when owning a stock. Just because it's a good company, doesn't mean it's a good stock to own.
Why is McD rated so high?
I would agree that I respect Microsoft - and its leadership - more than others. I think IBM and UPS are also very respectable companies, and I think Intel is definitely up there. I mostly base this on employee compensation, benefits, treatment, culture, etc. -- all of these companies treat their employees really well and are purported to have fantastic culture. That's what's up.
Proud IBMer representing! Consulting by degrees baby! Hahahah.
[quote=Xepa]Proud IBMer representing! Consulting by degrees baby! Hahahah.
Half the time it's things like these that are what actually makes companies a good buy...
As long as GS tops the "most feared" list, I don't care if Apple leads this one.
What business leader do you respect the most? (Originally Posted: 09/22/2011)
What the title says... and why?
Brunello Cucinelli SpA - I would genuinely rather work here as a tailor than work at google as an engineer.
On google: I don't think I will ever understand why "top-level" computer scientists fetishize the kindergarten work environment. I would never want to work around a bunch of type A computer scientist/ Standford MBA drones. Google seems like the perfect place to work if your parents made all your life decisions for you (Wiped your ass until you were 22), and you are looking for a company that will emulate the experience.
Michael Steinhardt. I don't think I need to expand on his badassery.
i see him in the mirror every morning
Sidney Weinberg. Guy goes from knife fighting in the streets -> shoeshine boy at GS -> mailroom -> military -> back to GS -> trading -> saves the firm from bankruptcy -> CEO -> turns them into a global powerhouse. My hero.
He also changed his family legacy, and his kids grew up to be worthwhile people who served as partners at GS. Not saying they didn't have a direct connection, but they weren't the Paris Hilton type slobs either.
YETI
Bain Capital. Politics aside and regardless of how you feel about him, Mitt Romney took a salary of $1 per year just to save his company and pay his employees when the company was in trouble. Pretty honorable for a CEO to do that.
Koenigsegg - Built his firm based on a stop-motion film about a cycle repairmen who built his own race car. Minuscule size firm in a very heavy R&D business, constantly being one car from profitability. And, also, he builds cars which opens like this | |, not like this / .
Netflix - A lot of firms in dying industries often only pursue cost cutting strategies or other types of performance management activities. Therefore, I have a great deal of respect for Netflix for innovating their way out of a crisis, taking a truly well calculated risk.
Virgin Group
Zara; their supply chain is the gold standard. Unreal how fast they respond to market changes
Tech: I'd have to go with google, purely because they constantly release kick-ass tech that's open to the public. Fashion: Raffaele Caruso. Hands down the best bang for the buck menswear clothing company. Fantastic consistency, quality:price ratio, and they make fantastic looking apparel if you're into Italian tailoring. For shoes, I'd go with Vass, a small company from Budapest. Consumer goods: Huawei. good phones at affordable prices. Though there's been an explosion in that market the past 2 years or so.
Charmin - Ultra Soft.
They save my a** on a daily basis
Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Pearson Specter Litt
Vitol, Glencore, Cargill, Soros, Renaissance...
Blaze Pizza and Shake Shack
Stratton Oakmont - a company that our clients can believe in, a company that our clients can trust. A firm whose roots are so deeply embedded into Wall Street that our very founders sailed over on the Mayflower and chiseled the name Stratton Oakmont right into Plymouth Rock.
Wolf Cola - the official drink of Boca Raton
Wolf Cola. The right cola for closure.
Username checks out. Aren't you also the founder of Frank's Fluids?
I will say JP Morgan.
Playboy Inc.
Spearmint Rhino
Casinos
Dupont, Activision Blizzard, Hexagon AB and The Carlyle Group.
Lending Tree
I've gotta go there... The Catholic Church. Bear with me for a second.
What's better is that it's a nonprofit organization, so it doesn't pay taxes.
Still not somewhat mildly impressed? The Catholic Church has an estimated operating budget of $170 billion. By comparison, in 2016, Amazon generated revenue of ~ $136 billion. That is a respectable perspective.
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