Economic Policy - Long Term Planning

I wrote a post yesterday on the value of long-term thinking and then I came across this report from the Committee for Economic Development in Washington, D.C.

Built to Last: Focusing Corporations on Long Term Performance

Here is an excerpt from the summary page of the CED, a non-political organization that started meeting in 2006 to review the performance of U.S. corporations. The bold and italics are mine.

Excerpt #1
Decision making based primarily on short-term
considerations damages the ability of public companies—
and, therefore, of the U.S. economy—to sustain
superior long-term performance.
Emphasis on quarterly earnings, compensation tied
to earnings per share, shortened CEO tenures, and
financial reports that fail adequately to inform about
company performance impede the task of building
long-term value. These phenomena are commonly
known as “short-termism,” and we believe that it is the
responsibility of corporate boards to use their power
either to eliminate these practices or to counteract their effect.

Excerpt #2
"Still, though short-term
considerations are often unavoidable, the growth of
hedge funds and other pooled assets, among other factors,
is stepping up pressure on companies to set aside
long-term objectives to achieve measures of short-term
performance. We are convinced, therefore, that individual
corporations, and the U.S. economy as a whole,
need an increased and continuing focus on enduring,
long-term performance. This statement was written to
encourage and help attain that necessary focus."