strategic drift Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Wakeman Consulting Group

David Marcus Replied. Now I Have Receipts.

Does David Marcus Still Think There’s No Evidence of Predatory Behavior? David Marcus was certain. In response to my post on the state of the live entertainment business, he took offense to me saying that Live Nation had won, but everyone else had lost. He replied to Charles Kaufman’s comment on LinkedIn to call me […]

The Narrative Economy of Finance

Why Blue Owl and Bill Ackman sell stories you want to believe—and what the numbers actually reveal. Blue Owl and Bill Ackman sell stories you want to believe…but what do the numbers really say? Finance loves a narrative. Bitcoin will replace gold. “Housing prices never go down.” Tulip bulbs traded for houses. The internet “changes […]

The Fix Was Always In

Dan Wall stood in a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday and said there’s “zero chance” the states will settle. Judge Subramanian shot back: “Not with that attitude.” (I like judges with the same dismissive attitude towards nonsense that I have.) 25 states are still fighting. They know this settlement is a bad deal. It doesn’t stop […]

The NY Times Just Published the Temu Version of My Met Opera Analysis

Same story. Less depth. No framework. Let’s compare. A little over two weeks ago, I wrote a piece called “The Met Opera’s Crisis Isn’t About Art. It’s About Strategy.” I laid out frameworks for analyzing the situation: Today, the New York Times published its own version. Same subject. Same desperation. Same Saudi deal. Same Chagall […]

I TOLD YOU SO! StubHub’s Earnings and Stock Crash!

About a year ago, I wrote about StubHub’s S-1. I spent days reading through it, analyzing it. I came away skeptical…if I’m being nice. Yesterday, the market caught up to me. StubHub’s stock fell 12.8%. Q4 revenue fell 16% to $449 million. Full year loss? $1.9 billion. I told you so. Let me recount the […]

$1.7 Trillion and the Question No One Asked…

Strategy is everywhere. In the arts. Sports. Government. Even finance. The quiet decisions that make an organization thrive or drift. Most people saw Blue Owl’s recent headlines about a $1.4 billion loan sale and halted redemptions and thought…liquidity. I saw strategy. Or, the lack of one. A $1.7 trillion industry that hasn’t answered the only question […]

February 25, 2026
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The Unthinkable Is Now Possible Tottenham Hotspur is in a relegation battle. This isn’t hyperbole. It is a genuine mathematical possibility. A 2019 Champions League finalist. A club with a £1.2 billion stadium. State-of-the-art training facilities. Global reach. A brand that says, “Big Six.” That club is 16th in the Premier League. Five points from […]