Power Failure Quotes

“A committee moves at the speed of its least informed member and too often is used as a way of sharing irresponsibility.”
― William D. Cohan, Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon

“Where Is It Written That To Be Successful In Business You Have To Be Smart?”)”
― William D. Cohan, Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon

“One time, at the final hockey game of his senior year, against rival Beverly at the hockey rink in Lynn, the score was tied at two after regulation. Jack had scored both goals for Salem. The game went into overtime, but shortly thereafter, Jack’s team lost. It was the team’s seventh loss in a row. Jack was pissed. He threw his hockey stick in anger, then skated to get the stick and marched off to the locker room.

Next thing he knew, his mother was in the locker room, too. She bounded right up to him, oblivious to the fact that the guys around her were in various states of undress. She grabbed him by the jersey in front of everyone. “You punk,” she yelled at him. “If you don’t know how to lose, you’ll never know how to win. If you don’t know this, you don’t belong anywhere.” He paused for a moment, recalling the memory. “She was a powerhouse,” he said. “I loved her beyond comprehension.”
― William D. Cohan, Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon

“John Myers, who spent thirty-seven years at GE, ran its pension fund for years, and sat on the GE Capital board, explained to me the keys to the success of GE Capital: GE’s AAA credit rating, allowing it to borrow money very cheaply. “Banks weren’t even rated AAA at that time,” he said. “We borrowed money cheaper than anyone could.” GE could also use GE Capital to reduce the taxes GE would otherwise pay on earnings from its very profitable industrial businesses. Here’s how that worked: If, say, an airline bought a new jet, it would have an asset that would depreciate over time, and the airline could use the depreciation to reduce its taxable income. But, at that time anyway, most airlines didn’t make much money, if any, so the value of the depreciation deductions was of little use to them. But to GE, the depreciation—the tax deductions—would be very valuable as a way to reduce GE’s pretax income and therefore to pay less in taxes. With that logic, GE Capital would buy the jets, lease them to the airlines at commercially attractive rates, and then use the depreciation on the jets to reduce the pretax income at GE.”
― William D. Cohan, Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon

“He threw his hockey stick in anger, then skated to get the stick and marched off to the locker room. Next thing he knew, his mother was in the locker room, too. She bounded right up to him, oblivious to the fact that the guys around her were in various states of undress. She grabbed him by the jersey in front of everyone. “You punk,” she yelled at him. “If you don’t know how to lose, you’ll never know how to win. If you don’t know this, you don’t belong anywhere.” He paused for a moment, recalling the memory. “She was a powerhouse,” he said. “I loved her beyond comprehension.” She”
― William D. Cohan, Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon