I’m both enjoying and learning from hedge fund manager Scott Fearon’s 2015 book, Dead Companies Walking.
He focuses on the six management mistakes he thinks are most deadly:
- Learning only from the recent past
- Sticking too closely to a “formula for success”
- Misreading or alienating customers
- Falling victim to a mania (e.g. the dot-com craze)
- Failing to adapt to major shifts in their industries
- Being physically or emotionally removed from company operations
(An example I would give of dealing with #5 is Deluxe Corp., which changed from a check and form printer to being a provider of related electronic services.)
Fearon also gives at least one example of switching from selling a stock short to closing out his position and eventually going long on the same company - Cost Plus World Market.
His website was unavailable, but I found articles by him at Seeking Alpha:
http://seekingalpha.com/author/scott-fearon/articles
I like his combination of intelligence, humor, and humility. I think he could be trusted with my money.