TABLE OF CONTENTS If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.
Alice in Wonderland
Lee had a reputation throughout the industry and within his company as a "big picture" guy, a visionary who seemed to see things that others couldn't. His detractors often quipped that he made so many predictions that some would have to be true they just didn't know which ones or when. They were convinced that he did not know either.
He had come up through the ranks in his company during the 1990s when management agility and nimbleness in decision making often were viewed on Wall Street as signs of strong management. The virtues of "first mover advantage" often were used to justify deals that, had they been made in a less heady time, would have been viewed as reckless. Be first and fast. Build a brand name and market share to erect barriers to others who may choose to follow. After all, this was the age of accelerating change. This was the age of electronic commerce and the new economy. This was an age when it was cool to be brash.
Lee bought into this philosophy. After all, he was a visionary. Although his view of the future was understandably somewhat fuzzy, he reasoned that he did not have the time to...
