Hello Brad
You raise an interesting point which tells me that you have either an insight into corporate operations or hands-on corporate operational experience.
The point you raise is one I am passionate about in the work I do - the long term value of short-term decisions.
The reason for this is that the immediate future (tomorrow, the next three months or even one year) can be predicted with some degree of accuracy.
Logical decisions made in the short term can be reasonably expected to add value in the medium or long term.
However there is a short-termism bias that I am not a fan of, and this aspect is what you also decry.
One example that I am fond of is British Rail outsourcing its rail maintenance operations until real accidents forced it to decide that this was a core part of their business.
Another Canadian example is the sale of Bruce Nuclear to British Energy - a good idea on paper but questionable long term sustainability.
I am pleased to hear that you made money on at least one of your investments in Canada.
The old boys club is alive and kicking here (we still claim allegiance to the Queen of England so if you are thinking Bertie Wooster waking up at 11A and going to the club - yippers as they say) so you can cherry pick when you have the time.
Always enjoy your thorough analysis.
Have a nice weekend
Savio