(1). 1:It may be wise to double down this way. 2:However much risk-averse investors may prefer share buy-backs to ambitious capital-spending plans, halting investment could be seen as a flag of surrender by the likes of Amazon. 3:That said, FedEx’s failures—to respond more quickly to the changing e-commerce landscape, to read the runes of geopolitics and to end its stubborn refusal to join its two businesses—reflect a company whose management is long in the tooth. 4:Including Mr Smith, FedEx’s ten top executives average more than three decades at the firm, which is extraordinary.
(2). 1:It is hard not to misread the changing rules of business when you once rewrote them—even harder when some of your oldest friends are your sounding board. 2:It is clear that the directors have no stomach for replacing their chairman in the foreseeable future. 3:But unless Mr Smith brings in fresh executives, and then listens to them, his days at the business blackjack table should be numbered. 4:Think FredExit, in other words.