I came across a brief clip of Jeff Bezos speaking on what he looks for in his acquisition targets.
Bezos says that the primary question that he tries to answer in his assessment of a company is whether the senior leaders of the company are missionaries or whether they are mercenaries. He argues that mercenaries build companies for quick sale, whereas missionaries build products and services for their customers, and so are usually better.
Companies built by mercenaries tend not built to last since the founder’s intent is transactional, while those built by missionaries tend to last, since the founder’s intent is value.
In your chosen field, in your current practice, in the game that you are playing… Are you a missionary or a mercenary?