Useful to also read with Michael Mauboussin and Alfred Rappaport have to say on this topic as they are the pioneers of expectation investing, which set the base for this framework.

The issue is the concept of competitive advantage period has ceased to exist or if so, reduced substantially due to emergence of disruptive technologies. Hence investments made for the long term tend to get reviewed with a different lens now. I would believe that more than maximisation, it needs to be shareholder value optimisation. I may be accused of playing with words, but I agree with Robert, what is maximum. Also, executive compensation needs to be significantly back ended and annual bonuses need to be capped at much lower levels. Finally, performance review/evaluation has to be more cashflow and EVA based and not EPS based.

While not relevant, creating shareholder value through buybacks is also a weak sign of managers as it effectively demonstrates inability of management to identify concentric growth and value creating opportunities.