Hello Jason
We tried to slay this dragon last year but it is one that keeps coming back from the dead.
If I understand his comments correctly (and I am not certain that I do as the language he used was dense and complex) I think that Mr. Krishnan is advocating that companies focus on doing what it is they said they were going to do, as described in their mission statements, instead of going off on tangents.
This is very laudable, something I hope corporate management and their boards are focused on, and by linking the achievement of corporate objectives to executive compensation, result in serving their shareholders.
The only masters that corporate executives should serve are the shareholders.
Anything else results in the principal-agent problem, examples of which abound, some of them elegantly described in your book, memorable ones being Enron, and the CFO with the 3-inch watch.
There is nothing wrong per se with returning cash to shareholders instead of wasting it on pet projects.
My two cents for the pro-shareholder camp.
Best wishes
Savio
PS I just finished reading your book - you have done an excellent job at making a complex subject easily accessible to reader with simple exercises and examples from your own life. I am now trying to unlearn some left brain bad habits - thank you for putting this book together.