Earnings are the fruit of a company’s labour. But the fact is that this fruit also depends on the tree to be healthy so it can grow and ripen soundly – that is a concept which is often eclipsed by the chase after the fast buck. “The apple does not fall far from the tree”, goes the saying. So the tree has to be sound first and stand on healthy, humus-rich soil so the trunk can supply the branches with nutrients to ensure their sustained growth. Then it can withstand storms and thunderstorms without suffering major damage. It can be flexible enough without breaking right away. It needs to grow slowly to make sure that not too much pressure is put on the organism! In this manner the tree-rings accumulate over time, stabilising the tree. Then new branches can grow.
Being firmly rooted in one’s soil – what a nice metaphor for this process of managing a company, whose goal is not rapid over breeding but strategically planned growth, with a sense of proportion. This is where the Bavarian mentality, with the sense of origin and being rooted in one’s soil, becomes reality as it is lived by senata.